Coconut Poli

Tomorrow being Ugadi, here comes a special post-

Coconut Poli!

Also called Thenga poli, Kayi holige or kobbari obbattu, it is an Ugadi special dish. It is a type of Indian flat bread with a sweet filling. The filling may be a coconut-jaggery mixture, dal-jaggery mixture or even Khova (my personal favourite 😋) But in my first ever attempt at home made poli, just thought of sticking to the coconut variant. This recipe is my eldest sister Manju’s. She is the cooking expert in our family, who can cook tirelessly for any number of guests.

Back to our dessert, with each bite of the poli, you can immerse yourself in the crunch of the coconut and the just right sweetness of the jaggery. You just can not refuse another serving of the hot hot polis, fresh from the tawa. The whole house smells of sweetness and celebration. So, treat yourself to some fresh poli, drizzled with ghee and have a happy Ugadi!

Preparation time: 40 minutes| Cooking time: 15 minutes

Cuisine: Indian| Course: Dessert

Ingredients:

Maida- 1 cup

Sesame oil- 2 tblsp

Turmeric- a pinch

Salt- ¼ tsp

Coconut- 1 cup (grated)

Jaggery- ¾ th cup (grated)

Cardamom powder- a pinch

Ghee- 2 tblsp

Rice flour- 2tblsp (to sprinkle while rolling the poli)

Method:

1.     Take maida, turmeric and salt in a mixing bowl. Add water little by little and make a soft dough. Add 2 tblsp of sesame oil to the dough and knead well for 5 to 10 minutes. The dough should be kind of loose. Keep it covered with a cloth until use.

2.     Take grated coconut and grated jaggery in a kadai. Cook on medium flame for 5 minutes or until coconut and jaggery combines well. Let it cool.

3.     Once the coconut and jaggery mixture is warm enough to handle, make lemon sized balls out of it.

4.     Take the dough and make lemon sized balls out of it too.

5.     Take a ball of dough and roll it using the rolling pin. Use rice flour in between, as needed, while rolling the poli.

6.     Place the coconut and jaggery filling in the middle and cover it from all the sides.

7.     Roll it again gently to make round shaped, slightly thin poli. Use rice flour while rolling, so that the dough doesn’t stick.

8.     Heat a tawa and drizzle some ghee on top of it. Transfer the rolled poli to hot tawa. Drizzle ghee on top. Cook on medium flame, flipping in between, until golden spots appear on both sides.

Notes:

·       Make sure the dough is loose, so that the poli is soft.

·       Adding oil to dough makes it loose. So, don’t miss that step.

·       Cook on medium flame for softer poli. Cooking on low flame may yield crispy poli.

·       After making the poli, stack them in a hot pack, to keep them soft.

Step by step pictures

 take maida, turmeric powder and salt

in a vessel. add water little by little

and make a soft dough

 add 2 tblsp of sesame oil to the dough

knead it for 5 to 10 minutes

keep it covered with cloth until use

 take grated coconut and grated jaggery 

in a kadai. cook on low flame, for 5 minutes 

or until they combine well

 coconut filling is ready .

cool it for sometime

 when it is warm enough to handle make 

small balls of it. make balls out of dough too

 roll the dough using a rolling pin

 place the filling in the center

 close it form all the sides

 roll it gently into round shaped poli

 heat a tawa. drizzle ghee on top

transfer the poli to tawa

drizzle ghee on top of poli. 

cook on medium flame, flipping in 

between, until golden spots appear on both sides.

poli is ready to be served with hot ghee