Monday, April 5, 2021

Nachani (Finger Millet/ Ragi) Ubbati (Puran Poli/ Obbattu/ Holige/ Leveled Sweet Bread).



"Nachani (Finger Millet/ Ragi) Ubbati (Puran Poli/ Obbattu/ Holige/ Leveled Sweet Bread)" ... I had kept aside some ubbati churan/ puran on holi day so that I could try out ubbati with nachani covering ... my fascination for this particular millet high in calcium continues ... rolling and shaping was tough and needed more dusting, I guess I must add in some more or wheat/ maida flour to bring in better shape ... nevertheless I am very happy that it was a success as taste wise it was simply Fantabulous ... definitely a healthier option of flour ... I prepared only few on trial basis and a small one is for Kakmam/ Crow, I am sure after relishing the change in taste it will fly off in full glory ... Yummilicious ...

** As you all know puran poli ie Ubbati is a sweet flat roti/ bread which has a sweet lentil stuffing within. There are numerous combinations in making of ubbati in India from North to South and East to West. I myself have posted quite a few of them, while I still have more in my draft and some more in my mind. This is a traditional sweet dish that is prepared in many parts of the country during “Holi~ The festival of Colours” and “Diwali~ The festival of Lights” and in our community, it is prepared and served at many functions too.

** I have written a lot about Ubbati/ Puran poli, so will not run into details about it, I have also made a collage and posted it a few days back too, you can find them all in my blog. I am sharing a common link at the bottom of this recipe, so that you can get to browse through the same whenever convenient. I am also sharing another traditional ubbati/ puran poli link where in you will find step by step explanation of the procedure of preparing the same. All are prepared in the same way keeping the basic method same with only ingredient variations.

** I have prepared this puran poli with nachani/ finger millet/ ragi flour for cover while the inner filling ie puran/ churan remains the same with chana dal/ Bengal gram dal along with jaggery. Definitely, a healthier option to maida/ APF used as the outer covering, though nowadays mostly wheat flour/ atta is used for the same. I will be sharing many more combos of this lovely puran poli that is a favorite of young and old alike. As it remains good for a few days, it is a delight to relish it at any given time and can be carried while travelling or in lunch box too.

** To all, who send me mail or comment on that I should move to Videos, I humble ask to be excused, as all my recipes are prepared, clicked, edited and blogged solely by me and as I also run a food group “Konkani Delicacies” it is very difficult to manage them all, moreover considering my health, I need to give it priority too. I have often shared step by step pictures and also write all my recipes in minute details, which is very easy to understand, so I assure you if you read carefully, observe pictures, you will not need a video at all.

** Here is my very own recipe for "Nachani (Finger Millet/ Ragi) Ubbati (Puran Poli/ Obbattu/ Holige/ Leveled Sweet Bread” … My style … do give it a try and give me a feedback …

** Ingredients :
** For the outer cover/ dough :
Nachani/ Finger Millet/ Ragi Flour : one cup.
Maida/ APF : 2-3 tblsp
Sugar Powder/ Sakre Pitti : 1 tsp
Fine Rava/ Chiroti Rava : 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds/ Sasam/ Rai : 1 tsp.
Oil/ Tel : ¾- 1 cup (Approximately)

** For the Puran/ Stuffing :
Chana Dal/ Bengal Gram Dal : One heaped cup
Jaggery/ Gud/ Goda : 1 cup
Coconut/ Soyi/ Nariyal : ½ cup freshly grated (White part only)
Cardamom Powder : ½ tsp


** For the outer cover / dough : Grind the rava, mustard seeds and sugar powder with a little bit of water to a smooth paste. Add half cup of water, mix well, strain this through a fine sieve or cloth. Collect the water and keep it ready aside.

** In a wide bowl add in nachani flour, maida and 1-2 tblsp of oil out of the 1 cup of oil, keeping the rest aside to be used later on. Mix in the flours and oil into a crumble mixture and then add in prepared and kept rava water and knead well into a soft dough.

** Do not add in all the prepared water at once, but add little by little adding only that much how much is necessary for binding a soft dough. Now follow the same pattern by adding in little by little oil and kneading till you get the dough to elastic consistency.

** I have used almost all of the oil and kneaded it well, you will see that the dough absorbs it well and can be really stretched out well too. If you check out on the link provided at the end of this recipe there are more detailed pictures showing the texture to be obtained too.

** Keep the dough covered with a wet cloth and tight lid aside for some about an hour or so. You can also prepare the dough well in advance and keep it for a few hours. Just knead the dough well once again just before filling in the puran and rolling.

** For the Puran/ Stuffing : Wash the chana dal well in plenty of water, drain and put it in a pressure cooker along with 3 cups of water and pressure cook on medium heat to 4-5 whistles. Remove and keep it aside for the pressure to drop on it own.

** When able to open the lid, do and check if the chana dal is cooked properly. It should be very soft and get mashed when you press it between two fingers. Only then, it becomes easy to grind it to smooth consistency without any lumps.

** If chana dal is not cooked well, you can cook for a few minutes on medium flame till done or even pressure cook to 2 more whistles on medium heat. Once done, strain off the excess water from the chana dal through a very fine sieve and keep it aside.

** Note: Do not discard the cooked water, it can be used to prepare Katachi Amti, A traditional Maharastrian spicy-tangy dal. I have shared this recipe before, you can use search option and find the same and try it out too, tastes great as appetizer or served with rice.

** Grind the drained soft chana dal to a smooth paste either using mixer grinder or stone grinder or we get a stainless steel puran poli masher/ grinder in market which can be used too. I I have posted a picture of the same in other recipe and if needed you can check it out.

** Add the smoothly ground chana dal paste in a thick bottomed kadai along with grated (or cut to pieces or powder) jaggery/ gud, coconut and cook on medium flame till all the gud has melted well. Keep stirring until it leaves the sides and comes to a mass consistency.

** You can check out the picture of the consistency of both the outer dough and the inner puran mixture in the collage attached along in this recipe or you can check other recipes via link where in there are plenty of step by step pictures to help out.

** To check the correct consistency of the puran. Dip your fingers to water so that just a film of water stays on finger, now touch the puran/ stuffing being cooked on low heat with the same finger. If the mixture sticks to your finger it needs to be still done if not it is ready.

** Another more convenient and foolproof method of checking the same is, remove one spoonful of the stuffing/ puran and put it on a plate and allow to cool for a minute or two. Apply a little bit of water to your palms and try rolling the puran into a small ball.

** If it comes to rolling of smooth ball consistency without breaking or sticking then the puran is done. Correct consistency of puran is very necessary, as if it turns hard you will not be able to roll into ubbati when stuffed within and may run out making a mess.

** Remove and keep aside to cool a little bit, say for 5-10 minutes. Add cardamom powder, mix well and then prepare balls of equal size and keep it aside ready. Prepare similar number of balls with the outer cover and keep it ready too.

** Remember to always make the inner stuffing/ puran balls slightly bigger in size than the outer cover balls, also see to it that you get equal in numbers of both. Prepare them and keep them covered ready before you start rolling.

** Now comes the major rolling part of the dough along with the stuffed puran. Roll the dough ball with the help of rolling pin to a round shaped poori say about 3 inches in diameter, keep the prepared puran ball in center and fold over the dough from all sides.

** The puran ball should be covered with the outer cover all over by stretching it evenly. Roll it on flour to dust slightly and then roll with the rolling pin till you get an evenly medium sized rolled stuffed roti. Do not dust too much while rolling or the puran poli will not remain soft.

** Note : Details of rolling evenly etc. are all given step by step pictures in the link provided at the end of this recipe, do check out for the same if you are new to puran poli preparation.

** Now keep the prepared stuffing/ rolled ball in the center and fold over the dough from all sides to cover the puran/ stuffing ball evenly from all sides. Roll on your palms to make it into a full covering to the puran ball. Flatten a little bit and dust it / roll it in Maida.

** Heat a non stick tava till smoking point and then lower the heat to medium and wait for 2-3 minutes for the heat to be constant. Now place the rolled ubbati/ puran poli in the center and cook till you see bubble appearing on the top side of the ubbati/ puran poli.

** After a few seconds with the help of a flat spatula flip over the ubbati/ puran poli to let cook the other side that is the upper side too. You should see brown specks on the cooked side of the ubbati/ puran poli to note that it is cooked and done, do not raise heat or burn the same.

** When done, remove and place the puran poli as on a clean sheet of brown paper (usually news papers are used) or on wire gauge. Repeat above procedure with remaining puran and dough. Place all evenly spread on the paper to let get completely cooled.

** Note : Do not keep flipping the ubbati/ puran poli while cooking on tava often, as the ubbati is soft and may tend to break. Also flipping them too many times makes the ubbati/ puran poli a little bit harder when left to rest, so please avoid the same.

** For ubbati to turn soft and fluffy, you should cook one side fully and only then flip it over to cook the other side. Then again, flip over once for just few seconds, remove and place it on the wire gauge or paper to cool off completely, avoid placing directly in boxes.

** "Nachani (Finger Millet/ Ragi) Ubbati (Puran Poli/ Obbattu/ Holige/ Leveled Sweet Bread” is done and all ready to served. You can offer this to God as Naivedyam during holy days and there by distribute them among family and friends as prasadam too.

** While serving Ubbati/ Puran Poli always top it with a large tablespoon of melted homemade Ghee/ Toop as it tastes wonderful. Do try out this variation of ubbati/ puran poli and enjoy with your family and friends, I am sure a little bit of twist in food preparations are always welcome.

** Our ancestors insisted “Ghee/ Toop” be served with puran poli as chana dal puran/ stuffing by itself is supposed to kindle body heat and some indigestion. Addition of ghee is believed to balance it out and make it easier on the tummy and they were right, so do it.

** Given below are two links, the first one is for the recipe and step by step method of preparing traditional puran poli and the next one is a common link to all puran poli/ ubbati shared in the blog before. Do browse through them and try out various option and remember to give me a feedback, it always helps me to do that much more … Thank You, Stay Safe, Stay Blessed.

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