Tanjore Marathi Recipes

Puran Poli

Puran Poli is a Maharashtrian dessert. Polis are like chapatis (Indian bread)

with the puran (sweet prepared with lentils) stuffed in it. It is known as Hoorna

holige in Kannada. It is customary that we prepare Poli/Holige during Ugadi/

Gudi padwa. My mom is an expert in preparing puran poli. Am yet to learn it

from her Am posting my mom’s specialty Puran poli/Holige recipe.

Puran Poli / Hoorna Holige Puran Poli / Holige with Ghee and Milk

Ingredients:

Maidha: 1.5 cups

Kadalai paruppu (Bengal gram): 3/4 cup

Jaggery: 1 cup

Elachi (Cardamom) powder: 1/4 tsp

Jathikai (nutmeg) powder: 1/4 tsp

Rice flour: 1/4 cup

Oil : 1/4 cup (To mix the dough and roasting the polis)

Preparation Method:

• Mix maidha, water and oil to make a dough (just like we do for

chappatis)

• Use the oil generously while preparing the dough to get soft polis.

• Leave the dough untouched for about 2-3 hours. Meanwhile prepare the

puran.

• Puran/Hoorna Preparation Method:

� Cook the kadalai paruppu in pressure cooker.

� Allow it to cool and drain the water completely.

� Smash the cooked dal in the mixer without adding water.

� Mix the smashed dal and jaggery in a pan.

� Add the elachi and nutmeg powder to this mixture.

� Heat the mixture (The puran should not be watery).

� Note that the puran should not become very hard.

� Remove the mixture from the stove when it is in the semi-solid state.

� We should able to make small balls without the puran sticking to our

hand.

• Make small balls out of the maidha dough.

• Press it in your palm and flatten it or make it as a cup.

• Make small ball out of the puran that we had prepared.

• Place the puran/hoorna in the flattened maidha dough and close it.

• While stuffing the puran, seal it completely.

• The puran placed within the maidha should not be visible.

• Dredge the maidha puran ball in rice flour.

• Now roll it like chappatis.

• Fry it on a tawa applying ghee on both the sides.

• Serve the Poli with Ghee and milk.

Poli can be served warm or cold. Some prefer to have it with ghee and milk. I

usually have Polis with ghee alone. Either way it tastes yummy.

Tips: While preparing puran/hoorna we can little ghee to the dal jaggery

mixture.

Moong Kosambari

Koshimbir is a “No-Cook” recipe. It is a healthy salad prepared with lentils and

raw veggies. Mustard seasoned in sesame oil acts as the salad dressing. This

cruchy recipe is a must in Thanjavur Maharastrian festive menu. We dakshini

Maharastrians enjoy sweet kosambari made with roasted channa dal along

with moong kosambari.

Ingredients:

Moong dal (payatham paruppu): 4 tbsp

Green chillies: 1-2 (chopped)

Raw mango and/or Cucumber: 1-2 tbsp (chopped finely)

Grated coconut: 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp

Hing (asafetida/perungayum): a pinch

Curry leaves and/or Cilantro: few (chopped finely)

Sesame oil (gingelly oil): 1/2 tsp

Lime juice (optional): 1/4 tsp

Salt: to taste

Preparation Method:

• Soak dal in water for about an hour.

• Drain the water and add chopped mango, cucumber, cilantro, salt and

grated coconut.

• Mix thoroughly.

• Heat oil and do seasoning with mustard seeds, hing and curry leaves.

• Add it to the dal kosambari.

• Add lime juice and stir well before you serve.

Sweet Kosambari

Kosambari (in Kannada) or Koshimbir (in Marathi) is a salad made with lentils.

Usually kosambari is prepared as a spicy salad with moong dal (split green

gram) and red chillies and seasoned with mustard seeds and curry leaves.

Koshimbir is a healthy Indian salad recipe. We can even add grated carrots,

beetroot and cabbage to make it even more healthier!

Sweet kosambari is a traditional recipe that appears in Tanjore Maharastrian

festive menu. Unlike moong kosambari, sweet kosambari is not prepared as a

salad. As the name suggests it is a “sweet” dish.

Sweet kosambari is served next to moong dal kosambari. Its a tradition to eat

sweet koshimbir after you finish moong dal koshimbir. Sweet kosambir is made

with chana dal (bengal gram), grated coconut, sugar and cardamom.

Ingredients:

Chana dal (bengal gram/kadalai paruppu): 1/4 cup

Coconut: 1 tbsp (grated)

Sugar: 1 tbsp (or less)

Ghee (clarified butter): 1 tsp

Cardamom powder: 1/4 tsp

Preparation Method:

Heat ghee and roast dal till it turns slightly brown in color.

Add coconut, sugar and cardamom powder Mix thoroughly and serve.

Somasi

Ingredients:

• Maida: 3 cups Rava (Sooji): 1 cup

• Pottu Kadalai (Roasted bengal gram) powder: 1 cup

• Desiccated coconut (Copra) : 1 /2 cup

• Sugar: 1 cup

• Cardamom powder (Elachi) : 1 tsp

• Cooking oil : To fry the somases

• Somas presser (Shown in the figure) : one (This is optional)

Preparation Method:

• Puran preparation for somas: Grate the copra. Mix pottu kadalai powder,

sugar, grated copra and elachi powder.

• keep it aside Roast rava and powder it.

• Mix the powdered rava with maida.

• Add water and prepare a dough (Just like we do for making puris).

• Make small balls out of the dough and roll it (small ones as puris).

• Place the flattened dough on the somas presser.

• Keep the puran and close it.

• Remove extra dough protruding from the sides of the somas presser.

• Now remove the somas from the presser and deep fry it.

• Delicious somas is ready to relish.

If you do not have a somas presser, follow these steps:

• Roll the dough as puris.

• Keep the puran in the middle.

• Fold the dough (as a semi circle) and stick the ends with little oil.

• Now fry the somas

Mor Kuzhambu

Ingredients:

• Yoghurt: 2 cups

• Bhindi: 1/2 cup (Chopped medium size)

• Turmeric: 1/2 tsp

• Salt: to taste

• Cooking oil: 1 tbsp

• Coconut oil (optional): 1 tsp

• Kadalai paruppu (Bengal gram): 1tbsp

• Ginger: 1 tbsp

• Red chillies: 2-3

• Green chillies: 2-3

• Jeerakam (Cumin seeds): 1 tsp

• Dhaniya (Coriander seeds): 2 tsp

• Asafetida: 1/2 tsp

• Coconut flakes: 1 tbsp

• Curry leaves: few Cilantro: Handful (Chopped)

• Mustard seeds: 1 tsp

NOTE: This recipe involves heating yoghurt. Keep your stove in low flame else yoghurt may

get spoiled! I usually cook for 5-10 mins in low flame. If you find yoghurt separating out,

switch off the stove immediately. Over heating may spoil the recipe. Using coconut oil is

optional, this gives extra flavor and aroma to the recipe. You can use ordinary cooking oil

instead of coconut oil too.

Preparation Method:

• Soak kadalai paruppu, jeerakam, dhaniya, red chillies, green chillies and

asafetida in 1/2 cup of water.

• Meanwhile fry bhindi and keep it aside.

• Mix yoghurt, turmeric and salt.

• Grind the soaked ingredients, coconut and ginger along with the water used

for soaking.

• Mix the ground masala with the yoghurt thoroughly and ensure there are

no lumps.

• Add fried bhindi to the yoghurt mixture.

• Cook for 5-10 minutes, keeping the stove in low flame.

• Keep stirring.

• When the mixture starts boiling (you can see bubbles coming out), switch

off the stove.

• Remove from the stove top and add curry leaves and cilantro.

• Heat coconut oil and do seasoning with the mustard seeds & cumin seeds.

Add this to Kadhi and enjoy!

Vangi Baath | Brinjal (Eggplant) Rice

Ingredients:

• Brinjal (Eggplant): 4-5

• Onion: 1

• Chana dal (Bengal gram): 2 tsp

• Urad dal (Black gram): 2 tsp

• Red Chilies: 2-3

• Coconut (Grated): 2 tsp

• Coriander seeds: 1 tsp

• Curry leaves: few

• Salt: to taste

• Asafetida: a pinch

• Oil: 2-3 tsps

Preparation Method:

• Cook rice and keep it aside.

• Meanwhile prepare the vaangi bath powder.

• Heat little oil and fry chana dal, urad dal, coriander seeds, asafetida and red

chilies

• . Add coconut, fry for 1-2 mins and then remove the mixture from the stove

top.

• Allow it to cool and then grind into powder.

• Cut the brinjal and onion into thin slices.

• Heat oil and do seasoning with mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry

leaves.

• Saute onion till it turns slightly brownish in color.

• Now add brinjal and fry it till becomes soft (till it is cooked).

• Mix salt and the vaangi bath powder that we had prepared already.

• Stir well and switch off the stove.

• Allow the curry to cool.

• Now add the cooked rice to this curry and stir thoroughly.

• Tasty Vangi bath is ready.