Ghee (Clarified butter) for cooking and to drizzle on top once cooked
Instructions
Making Stuffing:
Wash toor dal 2-3 times with water until the water is not cloudy anymore.
Soak in enough water for approximately 2 hours.
Discard the soaking water, add fresh water, and cook in instant pot with the pot-in-pot method.
Cook on manual (high pressure) for 10 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally, once the pin drops, open the lid.
Transfer the cooked dal to a pan along with the jaggery. Turn on the stove to medium heat. Add saffron to the mixture and stir well.
As the jaggery begins to melt, the mixture will become runny.
Continue stirring the mixture to prevent it from sticking to the pan, scraping the sides and bottom as needed to prevent burning. Cook the mixture until the puran thickens.
To check if the puran has reached the right consistency, insert a spoon vertically into the center of the mixture. If the spoon stands upright without falling, the puran is ready. If the spoon falls, indicating that the puran is still loose, continue cooking and check again.
Once ready turn off the stove and add cardamom powder and freshly grated nutmeg. Mix well.
Transfer the puran to a plate and allow it to cool down.
Making The Dough:
Take whole wheat flour and salt in a bowl. Add oil. Mix by rubbing with your finger until oil is incorporated well.
Add water gradually and start kneading the dough. The dough should be smooth and soft, just like paratha dough.
Drizzle a teaspoon of oil and smooth out the dough by kneading it 3-4 times.
Cover it and let it rest for 15 minutes.
Rolling & Cooking Vedmi:
Divide the cooled puran mixture into 7 equal balls.
Similarly, divide the dough into 7 equal portions and shape each into a smooth ball. Flatten each ball between your palms to form a disc.
TIP: The size of the puran ball and dough ball should be the same to achieve the perfect ratio of outer cover to stuffing.
Work with one flattened disk at a time. Lightly dust it with dry flour and roll it into a 3-inch diameter circle.
Place the stuffing ball in the center of the circle. Begin gathering the edges and pinch them together at the center to seal the dough.
Gently flatten the stuffed dough using your fingers.
Lightly dust the flattened dough with dry flour and further flatten it using your fingers.
Begin rolling the dough gently until it forms a circle with a diameter of 7-8 inches.
Heat a tawa or skillet over medium heat. Once hot, place one poli on the tawa and allow it to cook on the bottom side until small bubbles form on the top.
Once bubbles appear, flip the poli. Spread some ghee on the top surface of the poli.
Flip the poli again and cook, gently pressing it with a spatula. Spread some ghee on the flipped side.
If rolled properly, the puran poli will puff up. By this time, the bottom part should have a few brown spots, indicating that it is cooked.
Flip the poli once more and cook, pressing gently with the spatula.
Remove it from the tawa, smear more ghee on it, and serve.
Notes
Don’t use too much water while cooking dal otherwise cooked dal will be watery and stuffing takes longer to thicken up.
Puran Consistency is Key: Ensure the stuffing is cooked to the right consistency—neither too runny nor too thick. Do the spoon test.
Roll Gently: Roll out the puran poli dough gently and evenly to avoid tearing. Applying too much pressure can cause the filling to spill out.