Puran Poli

Before you start

• Make the dough first and rest it at least 1 hour, covered, under a film of ghee. A slack, well-rested dough is the whole trick.
• Rinse and soak the chana dal 2 hours before cooking so it cooks evenly and does not need extra water at the end.
• Have a colander ready to drain the cooked dal thoroughly. Wet puran will never hold inside the poli.

Method

1. Knead the atta, maida, turmeric, salt, 2 tbsp ghee and enough water into a very soft, sticky dough, working it for 8 minutes until it stretches without tearing.It should be softer than chapati dough, almost too soft to handle. That is correct.
2. Coat the dough with a spoon of ghee, cover and rest at least 1 hour.
3. Pressure cook the soaked chana dal with 500ml water for 4 whistles until soft but not disintegrating, then drain it thoroughly in a colander for 10 minutes.Keep the drained cooking water. Thinned with spices it becomes katachi amti, which is served alongside.
4. Mash or pass the drained dal through a sieve until completely smooth.
5. Cook the mashed dal with the jaggery in a heavy pan over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture pulls away from the sides and holds a line when you drag a spoon through it.Jaggery loosens the mix before it tightens. Do not panic and do not stop stirring, or it catches.
6. Stir in the cardamom and nutmeg and let the puran cool completely. It should be firm enough to roll into balls.
7. Divide both dough and puran into 8 portions each, with the puran balls slightly larger than the dough balls.
8. Flatten a dough ball in your palm, sit a puran ball in the middle, gather the edges over the top and pinch them shut, then flatten gently.
9. Dust with rice flour and roll out very gently to about 18cm, turning often and using almost no pressure.If the filling breaks through, patch it with a scrap of dough and carry on rolling from the centre outwards.
10. Cook on a medium-hot tawa for about 1 minute a side until pale brown spots appear, smearing each side with ghee as you turn it.
11. Serve warm with a spoon of ghee poured over, and katachi amti alongside.

Storage

Keeps 3 days at room temperature in an airtight box, or 1 week refrigerated. Warm on a dry tawa for 30 seconds a side before serving; never microwave, it turns rubbery.