Sweet Lentil Flatbread
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 mins
- Yield: 13 bolis 1x
Description
This sweet, stuffed lentil-based flatbread, known as boli, is traditionally served with payasam at marriages or festivals in Kerala, India.
Ingredients
For the filling
- 1 1/4 cup (300 ml) Chana dal/Split chick peas/Kadala parippu
- 1 1/4 cup (300 ml) sugar
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg powder
- 1/4 tsp cardamom powder (3 no of pods)
- Few pinch of yellow food color (if using, I didn't )
For Outer cover
- 1 1/2 cup (360 ml) all purpose flour/Maida
- 3-4 drops of yellow food color
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) gingerly oil / Nalla Enna
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) water
- 1/8 tsp salt
For making boli
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) rice flour
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) ghee
Instructions
To make the Filling
- Wash Chana Dal/split chick peas with running water and cook it with 3 cups of Water in a pressure cooker. (Cook on high till one whistle; then lower the heat and cook for 5 minutes and then crank up the heat till one whistle.)
- Once the pressure is gone, drain the excess water in the dal and wash with running water once again drain it in colander.
- In medium saucepot cook the dal together with the Sugar (and food color if using) on medium heat .First sugar melts and it become watery .But with continued cooking it will form a thick mass
- Add Nutmeg Powder and Cardamom Powder; mix well and switch off the heat.
- Grind them into fine paste still it is warm, as it cools it get thickens.
- Divide them into 13 lemon sized balls and set aside.
To make the dough for the covering
- Mix together Flour, Salt and Yellow Food Color and make soft dough using enough Water. (The dough should be really soft; softer than a Poori dough)
- Keep it in a bowl and cover it with Oil. The dough should be covered completely with the Oil. Let it rest for 30 minutes at least.
- Pinch out 13 balls from this dough and set aside.
- To make the Bolis
- Divide the filling into 13 equal lemon sized balls.
- Take a small portion (the size of a marble) of the dough; flatten it in your palm; place a Dal filling in the middle and cover it with the dough.
- Flatten the balls and keep it aside on Rice flour and repeat with all the other portions.
- Roll out each Dal filled dough into 7 inch circles with the help of Rice flour to avoid sticking.
- Heat a tawa/ griddle on medium heat and cook the Boli on both sides till it starts to change the color here and there. When both sides are cooked brush with ghee, that will help to remove the flour and increase the flavor.
- Serve with Palpayasam.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: South Indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 boli
- Calories: 230
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Chana dal and can I substitute something else?
Chana dal — also called split chickpeas or Kadala parippu — is the split, husked version of brown chickpeas. It is pressure-cooked, drained, then cooked with sugar until it forms a thick, sweet paste for the filling. Yellow split peas are the closest substitute in texture and cook similarly.
Why does the dough need to rest covered in oil?
The instructions say the dough should be very soft — softer than a Poori dough — and must rest for at least 30 minutes fully submerged in gingerly oil (sesame oil). The oil keeps the dough from drying out and makes it pliable enough to roll thin around the dense sweet filling without tearing.
Why is the dal filling ground while still warm?
The instructions specifically note to grind the cooked dal-sugar mixture into a fine paste while it is still warm, because it thickens as it cools. Grinding it warm produces a smooth, shapeable filling that can easily be rolled into the 13 lemon-sized balls. 
