Channa Dal Boli/ Poli (Kadala paruppu Boli)

I can describe boli as a sweet parata with a mixture of coconut, jaggery and boiled channa dal as the filling. Boli can also be made with rawa, milk or maida. It's usually served with kheer/payasam in Iyer weddings in Kerala and Tamilnadu and is quite popular in South India. My mom makes Boli on "Bhogi" day, the day before Pongal/Sankranthi and I tried it this year and was happy that it came out really well in my first attempt.  I packed some for my colleagues the next day and everyone liked it too :)

Dal is the Hindi word for dried lentil and there are different varieties of dals (toor dal, urad dal, moong dal, channa dal, masoor dal, rajma) used in Indian cuisine. Dal is a part of everyday cooking for vegetarian Indians as it is a rich source of protein. Channa Dal is my favorite in any form. I never forget to add it to tadka for dry curries and I loovveee kadala paruppu sundal and chickpea sundal! Oh yeah, channa dal is nothing but split chick pea with its skin removed, isn't it? Well, let me stop singing the fame of channa dal and get back to describe how Boli is made.

What I Used -

Channa dal /Bengal gram dal (kadala paruppu)- 2 cups
Coconut, grated - 1 cup
Jaggery or Sugar - 2.5 cups
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Maida (All purpose flour) - 3 cups
Turmeric powder /Haldi - 1/4 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Oil

Channa Dal

How I Made It -


Get the outer dough ready by mixing together maida flour, turmeric and salt with water. Add one-fifth of a cup of oil to the dough and make it elastic. This is important.

Sorry folks, the next time I make bolis, I will definitely add step-by-step photos to show the consistency of the dough and the filling.

For the Filling:

• Pressure-cook channa dal with some water. 
• Drain the excess water, mash the cooked dal or just give it a swirl in your electric blender/mixie.
• Turn on the gas, dissolve jaggery/sugar in a little water(careful, please do not add too much water) and mix grated coconut with it. Jaggery is a healthy alternative to sugar, but sugar makes the procedure easy for you to roll the boli with the filling inside. A specific type of boli made with sugar is very popular in Tirunelveli and is often called 'Tirunelveli Boli'.  But the recipe is different, for instance, no coconut is used. I will post that on another occasion.
• Add the mashed dal to the jaggery-coconut mixture. 
• Make small lemon-sized balls of this filling.

Making Bolis:

• Take bigger sized balls of the outer dough, apply some oil to the palm of your hands and stretch it to a circle.
• Keep the filling inside, fold the covering from all sides and roll the boli on a greased sheet or on your palms.
• Take a tawa or dosa kal, spread a little oil over its surface and cook the boli on it. Wait till it turns slightly reddish in color and reverse sides. Be patient and tune the heat setting to Low/Medium. It takes 4-5 minutes for a boli to be ready.
• Finally, smear ghee (1/4 tsp or lesser) over the boli and relish your bolis :)