Hyderabadi Halwe ki Puri

EVENT: MEGA BLOGGING MARATHON#92

THEME: A-Z  FLATBREADS AND MORE – INDIAN FLATBREADS

What is Mega Blogging Marathon?

Well, its a group of bloggers who get together to post a dish for 26 days according to the chosen theme. For more details check out the initiator Srivalli’s page here. For this theme we had a choice of 3:

1. A-Z Indian Flatbreads that are not made using batter e.g. like rotis

2. A-Z Indian Flatbreads using batters e.g. dosa

3. A-Z International Flatbreads.

I decided to opt for option number 1. India has such a huge variety of flatbreads to offer that are made on the stove top, in the tandoor, in the oven, under the grill or fried. Its going to be a challenge to look for flatbreads beginning with all the letters of the alphabet as for this group cannot use batter based flatbreads. However, am up for this challenge.

Day 8 of the Mega Blogging Marathon brings letter H. Finding a flatbread with H was not that easy. Hara bhara stuffed paratha, halwa puri which is a puris served with a curry and semolina halwa. I thought that didn’t quite fit the bill. The search led me to a Hyderabadi Halwe ki Puri, a recipe by Hyderabadwala.com

Hyderabadi Cuisine or Deccani Cuisine is a unique style of cooking by the  Hyderabadi Muslims.This unique cuisine is an amalgamation of Arabic, Turkish, Mughal, Telugu and Marathwada cuisines. The foundation of this famous cuisine was laid down by the Bahmani Sultanate, developed further by Qutb Shahi dynasty and became a legacy of the Nizams of Hyderabad State. Till today this famous cuisine is much sort after for its rich flavors and unique cooking methods.

Hyderabadi Halwa ki puri or puran puri is different from Chobay ki puri. The main difference is the filling. Chobay puri is usually filled with a coconut mixture whereas the Hyderbadi one is filled with a sweet chana dal (chickpea lentils) filling. Its usually prepared during  Milad – Un – Nabi, the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammed, the founder of Islam.

Hubby and I are big fans of puran poli and therefore it was no surprise that we really loved these puris. The method may seem long but let me assure its such a delicious dessert.

HYDERABADI HALWE KI PURI

Makes 8

For the dough:

1 cup plain flour (maida, all purpose flour)

a generous pinch of salt

1 tbsp solid ghee

½ cup milk, room temperature

water

For the filling:

½ cup chana dal (chickpea lentils)

1 cup water

18-20 almonds, grind to a coarse powder

¼ cup grated mawa (khoya,solidified milk), optional

¼ cup grated fresh coconut

½ cup sugar

3 tbsp ghee

10-12 raisins

8-10 cashew nuts, cut into small pieces

½ tsp cardamom powder

¼ tsp nutmeg powder

a few strands of saffron

extra ghee or oil for deep frying

little water for sealing the edges

 

Preparation of the dough:

1. Add flour in a bowl. Mix in the salt.
2. Add ghee and rub it into the flour.
3. Add milk and bring the flour together to form a dough.
4. Add water little by little to make a pliable dough not too hard or too soft.
5. Cover the dough with a wet tea towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.

 

Preparation of the filling:

1. Wash and soak the chana dal in the measured water for 20-30 minutes.
2. Cook the dal with the water in a pressure cooker (1 whistle) till its done.
3. Let the dal cool down a bit.
4. Add the dal along with the water it was cooked in, into a blender.
5. Add the coconut and blend both together till it becomes a smooth paste.
6. Heat ghee in a pan.
7. Fry the cashew nuts and remove them from the ghee with a slotted spoon.
8. Fry the raisins and remove them as they plump up with a slotted spoon.
9. Add the dal mixture into the remaining ghee.
10. Cook it till it becomes hot, keep stirring it so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
11. Add the mawa and almond powder and mix well.
12. Add sugar and mix well. At this stage the mixture will become liquidy.
13. Stir and cook it over low heat. Be careful as the mixture will begin to splutter.
14. Cover it with a lid and stir frequently.
15. Cook the filling till it becomes thick and comes away from the pan.
16. Insert a spoon in the middle of the filling. If it does not fall down then its cooked properly.
17. Add saffron, fried cashew nuts, fried raisins,cardamom and nutmeg powders.
18. Mix well and let the mixture cool down completely.

 

Preparation of the Hyderabadi Halwe ki Puri:

1. Divide the dough into 8 parts. Roll each part into a ball.
2. Divide the dal filling into 8 parts and shape into an oval shape.
3. Roll one dough ball into a circle about 3 inches in diameter.
4. Place the filling on one half side of the puri, flatten it a bit.
5. Smear the edge of the dough with little water.
6. Cover the filling with the other half of the puri. It should be like a half moon.
7. Seal the edges by pressing it down well.
8. Keep the puri on a greased tray and cover it with a damp cloth.
9. Make the rest of the puris following steps 3 to 8.
10. Heat oil or ghee in a wok (frying pan, karai,kadai)over medium heat.
11. Put a small piece of the dough in the oil or ghee and if it sizzles up immediately, its ready.
12. Lower the heat, add 2-3 puris in the hot oil/ghee to fry.
13. Keep on flipping it slowly so that the puri cooks evenly. Fry till its light brown in colour and remove with a slotted spoon.
14. Fry the remaining puris.
15. Serve them warm or cold with some Hyderabad Irani Tea.

 

Tips:

• Don’t fry the puris over high heat as it will brown quickly and not be crispy.
• Add nuts and spices of your choice.
• Adding mawa(khoya) makes it taste good, however its optional.

 

A little request:

If you do try this recipe then please either

• add a comment below,
• send a picture to my email mayuri.ajay.patel62@gmail.com
•  tag me as #mayuri_jikoni on Instagram
• or tag me on Twitter as #Mayuri1962

 

You may want to check out what flatbreads I’ve made so far for this event:

A for Akki Roti

B for Bhakri

C for Chousela

D for Dalpuri

E for Ekadashi Thalipeeth

F for Fungawela Mag na Paratha/Sprouted Bean Parathas

G for Gulachi Poli

 

Check out what other Blogging Marathoners have made:

 

Sending this recipe to the following event: