Tirunelveli Boli - Golden Yellow Sweet Pancake

Tirunelveli is a district in the southern part of the state of Tamilnadu in India. If you were reminded immediately of Tirunelveli Halwa (Irutukadai halwa), you're right! This place is very famous for their Halwas.

This recipe is totally different from Halwa, but Boli is also a sweet and this particular recipe is a variation of Boli that originated in Tirunelveli.  If you're wondering what Boli is like, I have an introduction posted here. We use sugar instead of jaggery and there's no coconut involved, so these can last longer. There are more differences, read on...

Ingredients -

Channa Dal (கடலை பருப்பு) - 1 cup

Sugar - 1 cup

Cardamom - 3 pods (to be powdered)

Nutmeg (ஜாதிக்காய்) - 1 no. (crushed)

Rice flour - 1/3 cup

Maida /All purpose flour - 1 cup

Turmeric  powder - a pinch

Gingely Oil - 2 tbsp

Method -

• Pressure-cook channa dal with sufficient water for 3 to 4 whistles. After it is cooled, grind to a paste. 

• Take a pan, add sugar, cardamom powder and crushed nutmeg to the ground paste.

• Sugar melts in the heat and becomes liquidy. Keep stirring on low flame for sometime until it gets solidified. This is the "poornam" , i.e., the sweet filling.

Poornam

• Take maida flour, add a pinch of turmeric powder, oil and sprinkle some water. Make it into a dough. This is the outer covering. This would be a little elastic in state. 

Outer covering for Tirunelveli Boli

• Take maida dough, divide it into 10 equal sized balls. Roll a ball into rice flour, then flatten it slightly. 

• Keep a small ball of poornam, cover it from all sides. Flatten it using the chapathi roller. Dip into rice flour as required, to avoid getting sticky. This is similar to the process of making Aloo paratha. 

• Heat a tawa, add 2 drops of oil and cook the boli, one at a time. Reverse sides to get both sides cooked. 

• Smear some ghee before serving, to enhance its taste.

Tirunelveli boli is ready to be enjoyed :)

P.S.  Credits to my mom for the recipe and to my sis for clicking pics (instead of  devouring the delicious bolis ) when amma made it :)

Sending this perfectly apt recipe to My Mother's Kitchen : Indian Mithai Mela