The festive season and the time to dig into sweets won't begin until September.
But if you want to start early -- and why not? -- try out pastry chef Abhinav Singh's wonderfully different Nutella and Coconut Puran Poli, that's a cross between a Western-style pancake and apna Indian poli.
It's wickedly delicious with Nutella, desiccated coconut, coconut milk and cashews and will cheer up your wet and gray monsoon weekend.
Garnish it with cherries, grapes or any seasonal berries available in the market.
A graduate of the Institute of Hotel Management, Bhubaneshwar, Chef Singh has been delighting folks with his pastry skills for the past six years at Doubletree, Ahmedabad, Conrad in Bengaluru, Hyatt Regency at Dehradun and now at Novotel near Mumbai's international airport.
Nutella And Coconut Puran Poli
Serves: 2
Ingredients
- 150 gm maida or all-purpose flour + extra for rolling out the polis
- 50 gm ghee or cashew butter
- 50 gm Nutella
- 100 gm desiccated coconut
- Few strands kesar or saffron
- 50 ml fresh coconut milk
- Pinch green elaichi or cardamom powder
- 30 gm chopped cashews
For the sauce
- 50 ml maple syrup
- 50 ml milk
- 10 gm corn flour
To garnish
- Cherries or red/black grapes or seasonal berries
- Edible flowers and leaves
- Powdered pistachios
- 1 crushed Motichoor Laddoo, optional
- Melted ghee
Method
For the sauce
- In a small saucepan, boil milk over high heat.
Reduce the heat and add the maple syrup.
Slowly, add the corn flour bit by bit.
Keep stirring until the mixture begins to thicken and you get a smooth mixture with no lumps.
Don't let it thicken too much because it should have a flowing consistency.
Take off heat and keep aside.
For the puran poli
- In a bowl, combine the maida and coconut milk.
Add the kesar, green elaichi powder.
Knead to make a smooth dough.
Divide the dough into two portions.
Keep aside. - In another bowl, combine the desiccated coconut, Nutella and the chopped cashews.
Keep aside. - On a lightly floured surface, using a belan or a rolling pin, roll out one portion of the maida-coconut milk dough into a 1½-inch diameter ball and roll it out very thin like a roti.
Spread 2 tbsp of the Nutella-coconut-cashew mixture on top.
Bring the edges together like a potli or moneybag and lightly flatten.
Again, roll it out very carefully.
Repeat for the balance rotis. - Heat 25 gm of the ghee in a large non-stick tawa or frying pan over medium-high heat.
Fry the puran poli like a paratha, on both sides, till golden brown.
Take off heat.
Fry the balance puran poli. - For serving, drizzlemore melted ghee on top of each poli and garnish with the cherries, red/black grapes or seasonal berries.
The sprinkle some of the powdered pistachios, edible flowers and leaves, and a crushed Motichoor Laddoo.
Serve hot with the sauce.
Editor's Note: For a low-fat, low-sugar version of these polis, reduce the ghee used for frying to the bare minimum and replace the maida with ragi flour. Also skip the nutella and do not serve with sauce, drizzled ghee or sprinkled Motichoor Laddoos.
Chef Abhinav Singh is the pastry chef at the Novotel Mumbai International Airport
