Sweet Poli

My 307th recipe, “Sweet Poli”, a famous South Indian street food. Soft flat bread filled with a sweet lentil and coconut filling. Perfect to have it warm as an evening snack, especially during this cool weather.

After spending a good couple of months enjoying in my mom’s company, slowly trying to get back to my rhythm of cooking and photographing. It certainly feels good to be back to blogging. The timing to get back could not have been much better. Any guesses why ? Revi’s Foodography has slowly and steadily turned 2 on the 4th of December. A happy 2nd anniversary for this blog.

Of course, for celebrating the special occasion, I had to post something sweet. For the 1st anniversary I had made a gorgeous looking and delicious chocolate peppermint cake. So this time decided to make something more traditional. While there are a lot of classic Indian sweet dishes, I wanted to make one which I love the most. This Poli is a favorite of mine ever since childhood. Hence there could be no better dish to post today than this Sweet Poli.

There are quite few places in Chennai which is famous for making the famous poli. One such stall was located close to my house. Whenever I was in mood for some delicious evening snack, my dad would be quick to go and grab a few of the hot Poli from that stall. While they sold both the sweet and savory versions of Poli there, the savory version was my favorite. My mom made even better poli, but due to the time consumed for preparing, it was usually reserved for only special occasions.

Poli is nothing but a stuffed Indian flat bread. There are different versions of Poli made, with different fillings. It is often called by different names as well based on the region of India it is made. I had posted a version from a different region of India already.

The version which I made today is a classic one from my mom, which has a sweet stuffing made from chana dal and coconut. The outer layer is made out of all purpose flour with a tinge of turmeric which give a lovely golden yellow color. Sweet Poli is tawa fried and when served hot, the outer layer will remain slightly crisp yet soft to bite into. All in all a super delicious snack which will turn into your next family favorite.

Sweet Poli

Sweet Poli

Revathi Palani

Sweet Poli is a famous South Indian street food. Soft flat bread filled with a sweet lentil and coconut filling. Perfect to have warm as an evening snack.

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Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 1 hr

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

For filling

• 1 Cup Chana Dal
• 3/4 Cup Jaggery
• 1/2 Cup Grated coconut (tightly packed)
• 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
• 1 tsp Ghee

For outer layer

• 3 Cups All purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• a pinch of Baking soda
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
• 3 1/2 Tbsp Oil + as needed
• Hot water - as needed

Instructions

 

• First wash and pressure cook the chana dal until done. Remove the excess water from the dal and mash it nicely. Keep it aside.
  
  
    
  
    
• While the dal is cooking, we can prepare the dough for the outer layer. To a large mixing bowl, add the all purpose flour, salt, baking soda, turmeric powder, oil and mix well.Now, add hot water little by little to the mixture and make it into a smooth and sticky dough. Take a little more oil and spread it fully around the surface of the dough. Cover with a wet kitchen towel and leave it to rest.
  
  
    
  
    
  
    
• Add the jaggery to a small pan along with a little water. Cook until the jaggery is completely melted. Filter out the impurities using a metal filter.
  
  
    
• Return the jaggery syrup to the pan and continue to cook in medium flame until it bubbles up.
  
  
    
• Now add the grated coconut and mix well. Once the mixture slightly thickens, add the mashed dal to the pan and mix well. 
  
  
    
• Add the cardamom powder and ghee and mixture. Continue to cook until the mixture thickens and doesn't stick to the pan. Turn off the flame and cool it down to room temperature.
  
  
    
  
    
• By now the dough would have become very soft and pliable. Take a small portion of the dough and roll it into a ball. Lay it out on a greased surface (I used a plate) and flatten it out using your fingers.
  
  
     
• Take a small portion of the filling and roll it into a ball. Place the filling in the middle of the dough, use your fingers to pull the dough and cover the filling. Roll it back into a smooth ball. Place it back onto the greased surface and flatten it out using the fingers.
  
  
    
  
      
• Heat a tawa (flat griddle) in medium flame and transfer the poli dough to the tawa. Drizzle oil / ghee and cook both sides of the poli until nicely golden.
  
  
    
• Serve hot.

Notes | FAQ

- Leaving the dough to rest for about 15 mins is essential to get a soft and pliable dough.

- Ghee is added to enhance the flavor of the filling. Vegans can skip it.

- The poli dough should be spread so thin that the filling is visible outside through the outer layer.