Nendrabale Banana and Dates Puran Poli.

A Sweet Poli ........ Nendrabale Kele ani Khajoor ghalnu Ubbati / Nendrabale Banana Puran Poli adding Dates ......

This dish is similar to puran poli a roti stuffed with sweet filling within. Puran poli is a sweet roti prepared during the festival of holi. Puran poli is known by the name “Ubbati” in GSB / konkani Saraswat household. A dish that is prepared during most of the festivals and celebrations. The inner filling of the ubbati is sweet and is called as churan or puran. There are different varieties of puran’s prepared while the outer covering remains the same. The outer covering is prepared most of the time with Maida, but some people use wheat flour too.

Nendrabale banana is a South Indian banana that is used extensively in the southern parts of India. It is usually not consumed as it. The banana is served either as bajia, steamed or making it into halwa. Sometimes it is used in curries too. I have used it here in making of puran for stuffing in the ubbati by adding to it some dates syrup.

For the outer covering : Grind 1 tsp of haldi powder with 1tsp sugar, 1tsp rava and 1 tsp rai (sasam) to a fine paste in a mixer. It should be ground to really very fine paste. Remove the paste in a large flat bowl and add ½ cup of water and a pinch of salt to the same. Mix well. Add 1 heaped cup of maida and mix well to a soft dough. Add more maida if necessary. Now add 2-3 tblsp of oil to the dough and knead it to a very soft elastic consistency. Keep this covered aside.

To prepare the Nendrabale banana and Khajoor (dates) churn / puran : Chop one large sized ripe nendrabale banana to fine pieces. Cook it on low heat in a thick bottomed kadai with a tablespoon of ghee. Keep stirring and mashing it in between till it is cooked into a mashed consistency. Add ½ cup of khajoor syrup. Khajoor / Date syrup is available in the market, if not you can grind half a cup of seedless dates to a fine paste by sprinkling little bit of water. 

Whichever method you use add this to the cooked banana and mix well. Add a little bit of grated jaggery, say about 50 gms and mix well till it is well combined and leaves the sides of the kadai. You can form small balls out of them when the texture is right. It should be similar to the texture of chana dal puran prepared for puran poli. Remove and let cool completely. Add a 1 tsp of cardamom powder and mix it evenly then make small lemon sized balls out of these and keep aside.

To prepare the ubbati / puran poli : Remove lemon sized prepared maida dough, make a smooth ball out of it. Dust this in maida and roll it to a poori shape. Keep the prepared puran ball in the center, lift all the other sides to cover it up and shape it into a covering over the banana puran. Flatten it a bit and roll it into a round shaped roti by dusting some maida. When rolling the puran poli do not press too hard lest the puran comes out of the dough. You should roll it gently, smoothly and firmly with equal pressure. You will learn the process with patience and practice.  

Heat a tava to smoking point, lower the heat, wait for a few minutes, then gently place the rolled puran poli on the tava. When bubbles start appearing on the top, gently flip over the puran poli to cook on the other side too. The ubbati / puran poli will usually rise up to a ball shape if well rolled. When evenly cooked remove and let cool. Repeat the process with the remaining puran and dough. 

Nendrabale banana – Khajoor Ubbati / Puran Poli is ready. Serve it topped with melted fresh homemade ghee.