Mug Puli (A sweet delicacy made with roasted yellow lentil) ~

This is one of my personal favorites and this Sankranti Week will be incomplete if I don't share this recipe. I make this every year and all my efforts in preparing this seems to be worthy as I take the first bite of it. The crunch you feel as you bite into it and the very next sec you feel the sweet juicy stuffing. Too good to resist!

I feel the tricky part of this recipe is making the outer coating. As usual we will be making a dough but this time it will be made with yellow lentil or Mung/Mug Daal. 

We need:
For dough

• Yellow lentil/ Mug Daal: 1 cup 
• Rice flour: 2-3 tablespoons
• All purpose flour /Maida : 2-3 tablespoons
• A pinch of salt. 

For filling

• Freshly scraped coconut - 1 cup
• Jaggery/Sugar - half a cup
• Small cardamom or Elaichi powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Milk powder (as required)

For syrup

• Jaggery/Sugar -1 cup
• Water 1 cup
• Small cardamom or Elaichi powder - 1/2 teaspoon

For frying

• White oil 

Method:

Step 1:

We will be starting with the filling. If you are using jaggery, then heat jaggery with very little water till it forms a uniform mixture. Strain the mixture to remove impurities and keep aside. Add this jaggery mix or sugar to the scrapped coconut and start heating in a pan over low-med heat. Keep stirring as this will be very sticky. Use a non-stick or heavy bottom pan preferably. Once the whole mix comes together after approx. 6-7 mins, add milk powder to this to absorb excess moisture. We don't want the stuffing to be having too much liquid as this may result in breaking the pulis as we fry them. And we don't want the stuffing to be super dry either, so milk powder will help in keeping this filling moist but less liquidy.As the preparation time of the stuffing will depend on the amount of juice the coconut has oozed out and the quantity of milk powder may vary accordingly. Add Elaichi powder & turn off heat. Transfer to another bowl and let it cool. I skip Elaichi powder if I am using jaggery. I somehow feel Elaichi kind of overpowers the typical aroma of jaggery. This filling is somehow very similar to what we use in Paatishapta. Click here if you want to check that.

Step 2:

As we finish preparing the filling, we will make the syrup. Mix all the syrup ingredients in a sauce pan. Let it boil till the mixture is reduced and becomes thick. We need this warm.

Step 3:

Dry roast Mug daal in a pan till they change colour evenly and gives a nice aroma. Wash and add warm water to it. Cover it and heat on a med flame to make the lentils soft. Add very less water initially, enough to just cover the daal. Keep on checking it & keep warm water handy. Add if required. The purpose of this is - we want to make the daal soft & mushy but not a proper paste with lots of water in it. In that case we will end up adding more of flours which we do not want. We want the outer cover of the pulis to have the taste of daal not of the flours. When the daal is ready, take off - keep aside and let it cool. 

Once the daal is cold enough to work with - mash them a little more with back of a ladle or spoon. Add salt, little bit of both the flours and start kneading. Keep on adding equal quantities of the flours as you knead them to a smooth yet tight roll-able dough.  

Step 4:

As the dough is ready, take small balls out of it and start making a bowl or katori shape by pressing them on the centre with thumb & spreading the sides - similar to what we do for stuffed Parathas/Kachori. Oil your hands if needed. It should not be too thick other wise it won't be cooked properly. By this time, the filling will be cold enough to make balls out of it. Make small balls of size little lesser then the lentil balls. Add the filling ball in to the katori/pocket you created. Fold it nicely to a semi circle & seal everything from sides. You can also use moulds to make this. I prefer moulds, they save a lot of time. Repeat the same process for the rest.

Step 5:

Heat oil in a pan. Test the oil by putting a small piece of dough. It should sizzle and come up immediately. This means the oil is hot enough to seal the Pulis & ensure not to break them. It should not be smoking either. Add the pulis one by one but don't over crowd the pan by adding too many at a time. We don't want to drop the oil temperature & mess everything. Keep the heat on low- medium so that the pulis are cooked nicely. Once fried from both the sides, take them out and put them in the warm syrup for a min or so. Take out and keep in a different bowl. 

Don't dip the pulis in syrup if you are not serving immediately as this will destroy the crunchiness. In that case, keep the fried pulis separate, while serving - just warm the sugar syrup a little and then dip the pulis. The fried Pulis can be easily stored airtight in refrigerator for couple of days.

A not-so-quick but a delightful recipe for sure. 

You can also try making a savoury version of it replacing the coconut stuffing with any vegetable filling & obviously avoiding the sugar syrup. Happy Cooking :)