Happy Vijayadasami to all ...Here is today's special!!
History as narrated by my grandma:
"Pala Poli has been prepared in our family for atleast a 100 years. It has been tweaked and changed as per needs of each family but essentially the concept is the same. Right from my childhood days, it was my fav. My mom used to prepare pala poli for my birthday every year. So it was kind of an unwritten rule, that pala poli needs to be prepared on my birthdays and also when I need to be pleased for whatever reason! My mom used to prepare atleast 100-150 puris and save them for a few days. Also there were always 20-30 people at home in my childhood days. So those puris used to come handy when we wanted to have a quick breakfast. Just stir in sugar in milk and dip the puris in it and enjoy. To this day pala poli is my most preferred sweet."
Therefore, these pala polis are dedicated to my maternal Grandmother..I wish she could taste these and certify that they were exactly how she likes..
I am also glad to have prepared pala poli as this was an unknown sweet for my dear husband and he fell in love with these. Icing on the cake was my picky 8 year old polishing off her share!!
Ingredients -
For the puris -
Chiroti Rava / Sooji (Fine) 1 cup
Salt as needed
Water as needed to make a sticky dough
Oil/Ghee 1-2 Tbsp
Oil for frying
For the kheer -
Milk 3 cups
Poppy seeds 2 Tbsp
Fresh coconut grated 3-4 Tbsp
Sugar 1 cup
Cashews + Almonds 1/4 cup (Optional)
Cardamom powder 1/4 tsp
Method Of Preparation -
In a mixing bowl, make a dough with Sooji, water and salt. The dough should be a tad thin as sooji would absorb water very easily. Just coat the dough with ghee/oil and cover with a muslin cloth and let it rest for atleast an hour. The more the dough rests, the better. If the sooji is of the fine variety, the process becomes faster. Alternatively, sooji can be powdered a little or seived to get a fine texture or can be used as is but resting time needs to be increased. I used the fine sooji and rested the dough for 2 hrs.
Also separately soak poppy seeds, cashews and almonds in about 1/2 cup of water/milk for about an hour.
For the Kheer - (Also known as Gasala Payasam)
Make a fine paste of the soaked poppy seeds and nuts adding coconut and the water/milk used to soak them.
In a thick bottomed sauce pan, boil milk and add sugar. Mix until the sugar dissolves and then add the poppy seeds-coconut paste.
Let the kheer boil (stir continuously) for about 10-15 min until a nice aroma fills your kitchen. Add cardamom powder and keep the kheer aside.
For the Puris -
Knead the dough and make about 10-12 (depending on how big or small the puris need to be made) portions and roll out thin puris using as much maida/rice flour as needed to handle the dough.
In a wok/kadai heat oil and on a moderately low flame fry the rolled out puris and drain them on kitchen paper towels. Make sure the puris turn out crisp (Make dents on the rolled puris if need be) and don't puff out like normal puris.
For Pala Poli -
In a bowl, dip the Puris in the Kheer for about 5 min and gently fold the puris into half and place then in a serving tray/plate and stack them. Pour some more of the kheer on top of the stacked puris and garnish with grated Almonds if desired!
Notes -
1. Take care not to make the Dough too loose (just like chapati dough would be fine) as it would become very sticky and unmanageable when making the puris.
2. The kheer is usually made a little sweeter as the puris would be dipped in them and dilute the sweetness.
3. If the kheer alone needs to be made then reduce the sugar to 3/4 cup or as per taste.
I am sending this off to 'Only Festive' event hosted by Khaugiri and initiated by Pari ,
'CFK - Festive Foods Sweet /Savory Versions' event hosted by Suma and started by Sharmi and to 'CWS - Poppy Seeds' hosted by Cook Like a Bong and started by Priya.
Preparation Time 45 min (Excl the resting time)
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