POLI

Bhogi festival is celebrated on the day prior to Pongal festival. People clean & whitewash their houses before this festival. All the old and unwanted things are gathered and thrown away in a sokkapanai(bonfire). Bhogi, Pongal and Mattu pongal are the harvest festival.

Apart from the general pandigai menu, we make Poli on this day.

INGREDIENTS:

Maida - 1 cup
Gingelly oil - 2 tablespoons
Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
Ghee - 1 ladle
Salt- a pinch
Banana leaf or plastic sheet - 1

For the filling:

Gram dhal - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup
Cardamom - 4
Scraped coconut - 1 cup

METHOD:

Mix maida, gingelly oil, salt and turmeric powder sprinkling little water.

Dry roast gram dhal till golden brown and soak in water for an hour. Grind it alongwith scraped coconut. Now add the jaggery and cardamom and grind again. (Do not add the jaggery in the beginning).

Heat a heavy bottomed pan, saute the above ground mixture and stir till it is thick like a ball. Allow it to cool.

Take a banana leaf or plastic sheet. Take out a small ball of the maida dough, spread it with your hand and place a small ball of the dhal jaggery mixture on it, cover and again spread it with your hand.

Heat a tawa, smear it with ghee and place the poli on it. Drizzle ghee to the sides. Flip it to the other side and again drizzle ghee to the sides. Take out when brown dots appear. Serve hot with some more ghee spread on the top.

VARIATION: Mix maida, salt, turmeric powder and water. Do not use gingelly oil for the dough. This dough will be like chappathi dough. Roll out chappathis, place the filling and cover. Roll again using a roller. Other procedures are the same.