Sankrathi is the first festival of the year and I have such lovely memories of this festival. As long as I can remember we always had ‘bommala koluvu’ at home which meant meticulously unpacking and setting up all the dolls that have been in our family for years. Every day of this four day festival, Amma makes something special and at the evening, guests would come home to get the haldi-kumkum. It was also a time for family unions. The house would be bursting with my aunt and uncle’s family, with lot of cooking happening. Fun times they were.
Fortunately parents are with us this year to celebrate Sankranti and we are trying our best to revive the traditions. One of the must-do things in our family for Sankrathi – on the first day of Bhogi is to make Bobbatlu/Bobbattu. Bobattu, also known as Puran Poli is a sweet dish made from chana dal and jaggery stuffed into crispy, soft maida outer covering. This has been one of my most favorite sweets growing up and keeping up with the tradition, Amma and I made it for Bhogi this year as well. The sweetness from jaggery and the flavour of ghee makes this sweet one of the tastiest Indian sweets that can be easily made at home. There are a few tricks to getting softer Bobbattu or Puran Poli and it lies in the consistency of the dough. The dough has to be pliable, soft with ghee or oil added to it and the filling, when stuffed in should be equally spread all over the Bobbattu.
To make Bobbattu | Bobbatlu | Puran Poli
What I used –
- Maida/All Purpose Flour, 1.5 cups
- Oil, 1.5 tablespoon (for making dough + rolling)
- Chana Dal, ⅓ cup (when cooked and powdered, should be ½ cup)
- Jaggery, ½ cup
- Green Cardamom, 2
- Ghee/Clarified Butter, 2 tsp
- Salt, a pinch
- Water, as needed
How I made –
1. To prepare the outer dough, take the all-purpose flour in a bowl. Add salt and mix water little by little until a firm dough is formed. Knead it really well and it should form into a ball of pliable dough. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and knead well. Let it rest for atleast 30mins.
2. In a pressure cooker, cook the chana dal for 4-5 whistles until it is well cooked. Drain the water completely and mash it well. If the chana dal is too coarse, run it smooth in a blender (it should be fine and powdery) along with green cardamom.
3. Add the powdered chana dal into a thick bottomed vessel. Add powdered jaggery and cook on a low flame. When the dal and jaggery comes together and is thick, remove from heat and let it cool down completely. Divide this stuffing into equal lemon sized balls.
4. Divide the dough into equal lemon sized balls. Apply few drops of oil to your palm and apply few drops of oil on a plastic cover. Take a ball of dough and press it with your fingers to form a thin circle. Place a ball of the filling in the center and close it with the dough from all sides. Gently press it into a roundel again.
5. Meanwhile, heat a flat pan or tawa. Once hot, reduce the flame to medium. Gently remove the prepared Bobbattu from the plastic and add it to the hot tawa. When the bottom is slightly cooked, gently flip it. Apply few drops of ghee over the cooked side and flip it again after 10-15 secs. Apply ghee on the other side and cook until golden brown spots appear on both sides. Remove it on to a plate and repeat the same with the rest of the Bobbatlu.
6. Serve hot with ghee spread on top! Offer as naivedhyam if desired 🙂
Note –
- Resting time for the outer dough is really essential to get the required elasticity.
- Adding a pinch of salt brings out the sweetness of this sweet.
- The dough should be oily to work with and apply few drops of oil every now and then to work easily with the Bobbatlu.
- When hand pressing the Bobbattu, ensure that the filling is being spread all over the circle made and not to a side.
- When pressing the Bobbattu, be very gentle or else the filling can come out. Ideally the outer layer should be very thin and the stuffing should be thick and evenly spread inside.
- Make sure all the water is drained from the cooked chana dal. Otherwise, the stuffing would turn runny.
- Also, cook the stuffing on low flame to avoid burning.
- Tastes great when served hot, especially with ghee spread on top. Stays well for 2-3 days.
srividhya
Happy Sankranti.. Delicious. Looks so perfect and inviting. I
n kannada its called bele obbattu 😉 We prepare this for ugadi..
CHCooks
Thanks Sri.. happy Sankranthi to you as well 🙂 Actually for Bobbattu, I dont need an occasion 😀
srividhya
Oh yeah that's very true...
CHCooks
🙂 🙂
Bingo's Mom
What a co-incident! I just kept the dough for resting. BTW, i add little turmeric to the dough and i make the boli as we make any stuffed parata... I don't flat it with hand. Lazy me 😀
CHCooks
Wow 🙂 Same pinch 😀 Yes BM, I thought of adding that in my notes but totally forgot. Will update the post now. We usually dont add turmeric at our home, but like the color 🙂
MyCulinarySaga
Yummy - i want it now 🙂 Happy sankrant !
CHCooks
Thanks much Trupti 🙂 Happy Sankranthi to you 🙂
kavitaparvathi
Happy Sankranthi and recipe bookmarked.
CHCooks
Thanks kavita.. happy Sankranthi to you 🙂
Priya Joshi
Ohhh myyy myyyy this is evergreen recipe but what I use is toor daal instead of chana dal..
Good job...
Happy sankranti....
CHCooks
Thanks much Priya 🙂 Now toor dal is something new to me - shall try it soon.. Happy Sankranthi to you 🙂
Chitra Jagadish
Authentic one...perfect festive treat...
CHCooks
Thanks Chitra 🙂 Happy Sankranthi to you!
Chitra Jagadish
Thank you Ch...
CHCooks
🙂
Lynz Real Cooking
Hi CH, I really want to make this, can I ask you, what is jaggery and chana dal? Thanks dear! xx
CHCooks
Oh, let me try to help you Lynn. These things should be available in Indian store I believe. Jaggery is something sweet made from Sugar Canes. Unlike Sugar its not polished and hence light brown to deep brown in color and has a lot of iron content which is good for health. Basically a healthy substitute for sugar and used in many Indian sweets *as sugar was not easily available in olden days*. Chana Dal is split chick peas, removed of the husk and polished. Its also called Bengal Gram in English. Hope this helped. Let me know if you have any more doubts - happy to help 🙂
Lynz Real Cooking
Thanks so much dear CH!
CHCooks
You are most welcome dear Lynn 🙂
Lynz Real Cooking
🙂
Osyth
Happy sankranthi wishes to you and enjoy these divine looking sweet treats 🙂
CHCooks
Thanks a lot for your wishes, Osyth 🙂
Freda @ Aromatic essence
I love puran polis!! And the way you've made it , is just the way I like it!! Please send me some 😀
Happy Sankrathi to you and your family 🙂
CHCooks
Awww wish I could send you some Freda 🙂 Thanks much for your wishes 🙂
Freda @ Aromatic essence
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Smiling Notes
Omg I miss puran poli so much.. I want one right now! This looks so good! 🙂
CHCooks
Thanks a lot SN 🙂 Welcome to my blog!
Traditionally Modern Food
My fav:-) v add little turmeric powder to the dough.. Urpoli looks perfect yum yum
CHCooks
Yeah, this is how amma makes it so I always skip turmeric 🙂 Thanks dear!
Aruna Panangipally
Sankranti Shubhaakaankshalu! The Bobattlu look awesome.
CHCooks
Thanks much Aruna 🙂 Sankranthi Subhakanshalu 🙂
kushigalu
Happy Sankranti dear. This looks so perfect and delicious. My all time favorite and I can have this anytime 🙂 We call it ubati in konkani. Loved your version 🙂
CHCooks
Thanks much Kushi 🙂 Happy Sankrathi to you!
lynne hoareau
Hi CH, Happy Sankrathi to you and your family. These look so inviting and tasty. I would love to try them.:-)
Bharani
my fav... in Kannada we call obbatu... looks yum and superb 🙂