{Check here if you are looking for more recipes for diwali}
INGREDIENTS: 2.5 cups of plain flour or maida 1 cup of semolina or rava 3/4 cup of crushed jaggery (adjust to taste) 1/2 cup of grated coconut 1 pinch of saffron powder (or saffron strands – see notes) 2 tbsp of finely chopped roasted cashewnuts (optional) 1 pinch of salt 2 tsp of butter 2 tbsp of ghee
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Sift the flour to remove any lumps. Add salt and saffron powder and mix well. Add enough water to make into a soft dough like for pooris. Set aside.
- Melt the jaggery with 1/4 cup water. Pass through a sieve to remove any impurities and set aside.
- Add the rava to a dry frying pan and roast until it starts to turn a darker shade of brown/red. To this, add the melted jaggery, coconut, and cashew nuts (if using). Mix well and keep stirring on low heat until the mixture starts to leave the pan and forms into a ball.
- Knead the dough again lightly and form into lime-sized balls. Form the rava mixture into similar sized balls too.
- Roll out the dough into circles and place the rava balls inside. Bring the ends together and form into one larger ball as shown below. Make sure the ends are brought together properly so that the filling doesn’t come out when rolling.
- Roll these filled dough balls gently into a circle. Heat a griddle or pan and brush with ghee generously.
- Add the rolled puran poli on the heated griddle and cook both sides until they are flecked with golden brown patches. These puris taste great warm or at room temperature and keep well for 2 days. If you plan to store them longer, refrigerate after cooling them completely immediately after cooking. They may keep a day or two longer that way but since there’s coconut involved, plan to finish them off quicker. Note: if you want to use saffron strands instead of saffron powder, dissolve the strands in 1 tbsp warm water and set aside for 10 mins before adding to the flour and kneading the dough. I hope you make these rava puran polis for Diwali this year. I am not sure if I have time to share a lot of Diwali sweets and snacks this year since we just moved into our place and there’s a lot of stuff to get done (like buying a bed!). Enjoy! 🙂
