Puranpoli comes as a belated wish

Puranpoli comes as a belated wish. Ganesha didn’t mind the store bought modaks but Vishwakarma was not happy. 😀

Now who is Vishwakarma. A rather stubborn chap if you get my drift. I was thinking maybe Thor or Mocha (from the banana plant) might do the trick. But I did that earlier and we had to keep up with the kitchen experiments. Extreme right wing is taking over the left-wing eyeliner. I woke up with a pretty clean non-smudged look and wondered where all those years went. I wasn’t partying, wearing make-up or the high heeled shoes? Alas, this was definitely out of character said my old friends.

Take it easy, said my mother. We still have some horrible smelly packet in the fridge. Turned out it was a belachan gifted by a friend. I used it to make a few curries earlier- including this yummy Papaya Pineapple Chicken. It doesn’t go bad very easily- pardon my ignorance. I have already written about Umami. But it seems we are asked to explore some 7th dimension to the taste palate.

Someone said a 7th dimension doesn’t exist, so I checked people were busy trying to create it. Like how finer nuances are continuously minced till you get a hairline fracture. Did you know about the weirdness of time travelling- how a particular fragrance or smell takes you into a different memory dimension?

Ok- so we have little dogs and bigger sniffer dogs. But plenty of dogs around. How do you throw a dog off a scent. Anyone checked? Pepper works? Are you sure?

I want to sleep, said the cat. And the dog wanted to bark and play all around. We are not killing either of them today.

Puranpoli creates a bit of a curiosity

So, while all of this was happening, we decided to find some basic ingredients to make this simple dish. Puranpoli it is.

I remember a lot of boondi and khoaa (puffed rice) during Vishwakarma poojas.

As a kid, sometimes I would go around with the driver to see these pujos and get a bit of the prasad from each stall. Later we would compare which one was better. Then the news was shared with others so that they could go quickly to these pandals where the prasad was better than the others. I remember fruits were not liked so much. The sticky sweets like boondi were preferred. These two are sometimes combined with a savoury mixture or dalmot. Weird combination but again it works.

What’s the origin story behind these now? I don’t know to be honest. All I know is that I have the ingredients for Puranpoli– just easily found ingredients locally. Phew. And doesn’t need an oven to heat up the whole house or kitchen all over again.

Needs a bit of arm work and teamwork. Perfect. We are not going to run into another Global Warming debate right now. But it seems waste management fines are being levied for wrong disposal of garbage. Happened 3 years ago in another apartment I stayed in. I remember that very clearly.

Sometimes, we have many agents who send out rats to eat away Garbage bags and cans. You doubt my words?

We caught a few recently and they keep reappearing. Somebody was trying to make them more endearing through a ratatouille cartoon with a few savoury cheesy dishes. But somehow, nobody is convinced here. Rats cannot be in the kitchen.

Health inspectors are not welcome here this weekend said somebody. We are sending a big cat to inspect other kitchens.

No meat in Puranpoli?

Now, this is the weird story of how we can have Puranpoli even after having meat. It’s just a stuffed flatbread (like a roti)- with a sweet lentil stuffing. A savoury lentil stuffing would make it dalpuri.

Dalpuri with alurdom was one of our favourite childhood treats. If you stuff it with meat- it becomes a keema paratha.

Now, we are talking about hardworking kids- do they deserve puranpoli or dalpuri or keema paratha? Yes. They do. Nobody is making them for me. So, I decided to make it myself. And a bit of sharing with a few others who may not have had it before.

Perhaps, we are trying to recreate a few old classic recipes here. It’s not that we don’t have them these days. Just that we don’t have them everywhere and all around the year. Not easily available in all shops or supermarkets.

Some of these festive foods are a reminder of being loved and cared for by others. Sometimes by strangers in different places where we went to have a bit of homemade love and homecooked food.

I am trying to pass it forward because there’s no way I can actually thank the people who fed me these many years ago.

Puranpoli is this week’s Kitchen Experiment

I haven’t made this before- honest confession. And I am not good at making chapatis or parathas. But we will try to achieve what is required here. All you need is a fresh dough and the stuffing.

Makes sense to prepare the stuffing in advance. Then it can be used the next day when you are making them fresh for breakfast or brunch.

I thought easy peasy. Not making hundreds of them here…. won’t break a sweat. But I did break a sweat. Why?

I suddenly remembered how I had little moong bean stuffed roasted, baked or steamed cakes in other countries like Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan and China.

And these were sold as street snacks in little tea shops as well. Some of them in night markets or touristy food courts. Am I being too touristy in my own country now? Who will make them when you can easily buy them? That’s the thing I’m trying to explain. I can’t buy them!

That little voice in my head just doesn’t stop. In the native slang it’s called keeda (insect).

Ok- we get it. She’s got a cooking bug. Nothing impressive about this boring old hag or this boring dish.

Let me narrate again a boring story. Just has a few ingredients for the stuffing and a few more for the flatbread- all available and doesn’t take many groceries runs.

Puranpoli is “appeasement”

But then, you have to make the stuffing, the dough and the stuffed bread. And there’s a whole lot of cleaning up to do later on. So, we are relooking at the decision.

Too many reasons not to make Puranpoli.

• Puranpoli is not native to where I belong (search more)
• It is not very aspirational for the younger generations looking for more glamorous cafe fare. (why?)
• It has gluten, sugar and ghee. I have a history of being allergic to gluten, breakouts due to sugar and I am trying to lose weight. (fair point)

So why would I do this to myself if I wasn’t trying to be too “paka” (overripe or precocious) or smart.

As an older woman in her late 40s writing so much to make a simple dish to try and share with others, may give you some insight into the conditions surrounding her.

The way she is treated in her own hometown. Horrible feeling of isolation within her own family or friend’s circle. The same people who celebrated her success at some point, may ostracize her simple offering of puranpoli. And then say you need to make rosogolla, maachh or pantabhaat instead! Why?

Let me repeat this line that tells you something about how difficult it is to change mindsets or palates.

Some people broaden as they explore the outside world while others huddle or curl up into little balls or circles. There’s no right or wrong in either. I am telling you that I have experienced both.

Puranpoli for a child or a mother

We don’t have control over how others view our learning from them. Some think it’s really good to learn and share. Others view it with suspicion and may not say anything to your face. But later you find them sending out a few chosen whispers that reinterpret your simple act of learning and sharing.

A person who refuses to learn or change, continuously finds flaws with others. I would much rather work on my own self first.

My biggest challenge these days is simply to get up, cook and eat. There are days I don’t feel like cooking or eating. Maybe just grab a packet of chips or biscuits if I am really hungry.

We have all gone through some phases like that. Who has the luxury not to bother about this problem? Not me.

When I undertook the experiment I had many questions- like should I use moong dal or chana dal, chholar dal or some other kind of dal?

Puranpoli made by a very reticent cook

Why not pick up the phone and message or call to ask someone? Interesting you should ask me this.

Why not search online and check another recipe to replicate? Again, it’s a very interesting reason why I didn’t do that though I thought about it.

It doesn’t matter. Bottomline is it will taste good. And you just try to recreate a bit from your memory and add a few things which are not from memory. My puranpoli turned out to be nothing like what I had tasted before. The ones I had tasted were thin and light, very finely rolled out much like the theplas I tasted earlier.

But hey, it tasted so different and good. I actually found the courage to go and share it with my neighbors and friends who are good cooks, themselves.

Do try a little bit first and don’t go for second helpings if you can help it. We are creating a very limited quantity today on a special top secret mission. 🙂

Footnote

From a September Weekend

I take a bow and a blow

You don’t need to follow this flow

The airstream and the water needs to show

Whichever way nature said it will go

But in the midst of that current

I stood for a bit and felt the tingle of anticipation

Just a few little bites and I was transported

To a time and place far away

It wasn’t quite home and yet I felt

Surprisingly at ease in a moment of wonder

I could remember and recreate

Somewhere the homage was to life itself

We the living cried memories from even the dead

And held me close as I felt the absence.

The presence of these in my dreams

Said a simple offering is all that it seems

Do not make it into more than that

You tried, you cried and finally felt a satisfaction

In knowing that the offering was accepted

By those who didn’t quite know or see

How even camphor and cardamom

Is perhaps a story of a dead grandmom.

Melting Lemon Drop 20.09.2026