Dates poli recipe

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Ingredients

Step by step method

1. In a mixing bowl, take maida (I used semolina flour), add 1 tbsp of oil/ghee, salt and mix well. Then add water little by little to make a dough by kneading it well for 5 min. Dough should be soft and pliable. Cover and keep aside for atleast 2 hours.



2. Mean while, chop dates and grind it in a mixer.



3. Heat a pan with a tsp of ghee in low flame and add ground dates, coconut (I used desiccated, but fresh works well too).powdered jaggery and cardamom powder.Just heat in low flame to mix everything together.



4. Cool down and make equal sized balls (gooseberry sized). Once 2 hrs resting time is over for the dough, knead it again well and divide into equal sized balls. Pour a tbsp of oil over the rolled balls and keep it covered for 5 mins.



5. To prepare poli, over a clean kitchen counter top, place a butter paper and first flatten with hands.



6. Then stuff it with prepared dates by covering the dough around dates ball.



7. Flatten slightly and roll it thinly in between 2 butter papers. Butter paper helps to thin the poli well. If you do not have butter paper, you can use oil or dust generously with flour too.

 

8. Heat tawa and drizzle some ghee, transfer the poli to the tawa. Cook in medium flame. Drizzle more ghee on top and flip to cook both sides until golden. Repeat to finish.

Tips

• For soft poli, you should add more water while making dough and rest it well. You can also add 1/4 tsp baking powder to the flour for softness.
• Oiling and resting the dough is necessary for handling the dough without stickiness. While resting you can add oil to prevent it from drying, as well as for a pliable dough.
• I had no stock of maida, so had to use semolina flour. You can use half rava and hald maida too to make the dough, or even half wheat flour, maida combination.
• Never heat the dates mixture on high flame. Just mixing it to melt the jaggery and mixing is enough. You can use sugar too.
• If using fresh coconut and you need more shelf life, first dry roast the coconut and then add dates.
• The dates stuffing and maida , both should be in same texture (softness) for evenly rolling the poli.
• Stack the poli as you make to retain its softness.