Yes, unlike New year in the west which is always on 1st January,our New year falls on a different date every year- It is usually mid March- April.
In India we follow the Hindu calendar, and Gudhi Padva (Marathi New Year) falls on the first day of the Chaitra month.It is also known and celebrated as Ugadi by telegus ,Yugadi by Kokanis,Navreh in Kashmiri Pandits and Cheti Chand by Sindhis.
The names might be different but the idea still remains the same-to celebrate creation,to celebrate life to celebrate new season of spring.
A little Trivia-
In Maharashtra,people raise a Gudhi in their window or balcony to symbolize victory.
*A gudhi is a long stick adorned with a bright yellow-orange colored cloth with a kalash (copper pot)inverted over it and neem leaves and flowers tied around it.
Here is a pic of gudhi i got from the internet: (Pic Courtesy- Google)
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| Gudhi |
Ideally we eat Shrikhand Puri on this day at home,but to get that here in London, i would have to travel an hour. So we had Mango flavored yogurt instead :P
But i decided to make something sweet in my kitchen. Now while everyone of you reading will know what a Puran Poli is I am going to make its variant called Tel Poli.
Ingredients-
Plain Flour (Maida)- 1 cup
Oil- 2-3 tsp for adding and about 6-7 tsp for rolling
Sugar- 1/2 cup
Chana dal (Split Bengal Gram) - 1/2 cup
Cardamom - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Procedure-
1. Take 1 cup of maida and add 2 tsp of hot oil to it (we call this as mohan and it gives crispiness to the poli) add water and knead.
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| Plain flour,oil and water. |
2. Knead it to a soft dough. Add oil on it and keep aside.
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| Soft dough covered with Oil |
3. Wash and soak the 1/2 cup chana dal for 2-3 hours and then pressure cook it in a cooker with 1 cup of water (chana dal becomes double in volume after soaking).Drain the excess water after dal is cooked.
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| Drain additional water from the cooked dal |
4. Now add 1/2 cup of sugar (or more if you have an extra sweet tooth-just as salt the sweetness of sugar varies from place to place)
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| Cook the dal and sugar |
5. Cook it on a medium flame, stir from time to time.
6. Cook it until all the water has evaporated and it is dry enough.
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| Keep stirring occasionally |
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| Water has evaporated |
7. Now pass this dal mixture through a sieve to make it smooth (you can use a blender-if you are in a rush) but i highly recommend manual straining.
It should look something like this:
8. Now we are ready with the dough,the filling and rolling pin and board.
9. Rub a little oil on your palm before rolling (Well it is called Tel-poli meaning oil for a reason)
10. Make a small disc with the dough.
11. Place a small portion of filling and make it into a ball.
12. Roll it thin (Apply oil to the rolling pin and board as well- believe me this helps) Turn the rolling board while rolling and not the dough. As we do not use any flour while rolling we roll it on an oily surface.
13. Lift it on the rolling pin like this:
14. And place it on the tava or a flat griddle.
15. Roast on a medium flame on both sides. (Apply ghee if you wish- i love adding ghee while serving)
16. Enjoy the crispy and crunchy Tel Poli.
My tip-
