Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Puran Poli
A soft wheat flatbread stuffed with a sweet, spiced chana dal and jaggery filling, griddled with ghee, made across Maharashtra for Holi and Gudi Padwa.
Indian (Maharashtrian) · advanced · serves 6
prep 40 min · cook 30 min
~177 cal · 3g protein · 24g carbs · 7g fat · 1g fiber · 0g sugars · 4g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Puran poli is Maharashtra's great festival sweet: a soft wheat flatbread wrapped around puran, a filling of chana dal cooked down with and scented with and nutmeg, then rolled thin and griddled with . In Marathi puran means the sweet lentil filling and poli means flatbread, and no festive menu in the state feels complete without it.
It is made above all for Holi, when a coconut and a puran poli are traditional offerings to the goddess Holika at the bonfire, and for Gudi Padwa and Ganesh Chaturthi. The art is in the puran: the dal must be cooked so it just holds its shape, then mashed smooth and dry so the filling rolls without tearing the dough.
It is eaten warm with a generous drizzle of , sometimes with a bowl of warm milk or the tangy katachi amti made from the dal's cooking water.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
1 cup chana dal (split Bengal gram)
1 cup , grated
1 tsp ground
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1.5 cups whole wheat flour (atta)
3 tbsp , plus more for griddling
1/4 tsp turmeric (for the dough)
a pinch salt
Instructions
1
Make the dough: mix the atta with turmeric, salt, 1 tablespoon ghee and enough water to make a soft, pliable dough. Rest 30 minutes.
2
Soak the chana dal 20 minutes, then cook in water until soft but still holding its shape, and drain well.
✎ Chef’s note
Do not let the dal go mushy, and drain it thoroughly; a wet puran will not roll cleanly.
3
Cook the drained dal with the jaggery, cardamom and nutmeg, stirring, until thick and dry enough to hold a ball, then mash smooth and cool. Divide into portions.
4
Roll a piece of dough small, place a ball of puran in the centre, seal the dough over it, then gently roll out into a thin round, dusting with flour so it does not tear.
5
Griddle on a hot tava, brushing both sides with ghee (or oil), until golden brown spots appear and it puffs. Serve warm with a little more ghee.
Maharashtrian Holi and Gudi Padwa tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Maharashtra (Mumbai). Malvani is the coastal style, from Malvan down in Sindhudurg, and it is shared with Goa rather than owned by Maharashtra. It runs on coconut, dried red chilli and kokum, the sour fruit that both colours and sharpens a fish curry where a lime or tamarind would be used elsewhere.
🗺️
India. India is less a single cuisine than a subcontinent of them, where every state cooks differently, coconut-rich curries in the south, tandoor breads and rich gravies in the north, vegetarian thalis in the west. A vast spice vocabulary and deep vegetarian traditions make it one of the world's most varied tables.
🌍
Asia. Fermentation is the thread that runs the whole way across: soy sauce and miso, Korean doenjang and kimchi, Southeast Asian fish sauces, the soured batter behind an idli. Chilli is the newcomer among them, arriving only after 1500 with Portuguese and Spanish traders, which makes the heat in Sichuan, Thai and Korean cooking far younger than the fermenting underneath it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
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Good to know
You’ll need: Griddle or flat pan, Rolling pin.
Storing it: Best the day it is made. Wrap well and refresh in a warm oven, or freeze and reheat straight from frozen.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Puran Poli?
A soft wheat flatbread stuffed with a sweet, spiced chana dal and jaggery filling, griddled with ghee, made across Maharashtra for Holi and Gudi Padwa.
Where does Puran Poli come from?
Puran Poli is a Indian (Maharashtrian) dish from Maharashtra (Mumbai), India.
Can Puran Poli be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Puran Poli recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Puran Poli safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Puran Poli take to make?
About 70 minutes total (40 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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