Poornalu - A Gluten Free Festival Sweet

Yummy Poornalu!

Today is Durga Ashtami. It is celebrated with great passion and fervor, all over India and especially in West Bengal. 

Ashtami marks the eighth day of the Navratri and on this auspicious day, devotees observe rigorous fast, feast, and worship Goddess Durga who symbolizes 💪 strength. A celebration of traditional culture and customs, massive idols of Goddess Durga are installed throughout India while enormous puja pandals are set up at various places for devotees to visit and worship.

 

Poornalu (or Boorelu, as known in Telugu-speaking regions) is a traditional Andhra sweet that is most commonly made for festivals like Dussehra, Varalakshmi Puja, Ugadi, etc, and also served at weddings. With the advent of milk-based sweets, the popularity of traditional sweets has dwindled in the past few years. Lately, sweets like Poornalu are making a comeback along with the interest in traditional cultural habits.

This Poornalu recipe was passed down to my mom from her mother who learned to make it from her mother-in-law. I love learning about these dishes because it is a way for me to learn about culture and family history. This year has been especially difficult because my maternal grandmother passed away at the end of March. She used to visit us during the festival season and shared stories about the festivals and the food. She was a vivacious spirit. 

Below is the recipe for this sweet. Hope you like it as much as I do. 

Ingredients for the lentil filling (this makes 22-25 lime sized balls)
- 1 cup channa dal or yellow split peas

- 1/3 cup grated coconut (optional)
- 1 cup grated jaggery 
- 10 to 12 cardamom pods, seeded and (powdered with a pinch of sugar)


Ingredients for the dough
- 3/4 cup urad dal (husked black gram dal), soaked for 5-6 hours or overnight, and ground to a thick fine paste
- 1/4 cup rice flour

- A pinch of salt

- A pinch of baking soda

Ingredients for frying

- 3 cups of vegetable oil

Procedure
1) Pressure cook channa dal with plenty of water until dal is soft but not soupy. Using a colander, drain the excess water. Transfer the dal into a flat container and mash well until it is in paste consistency.

2) Add the jaggery, coconut, and cardamom to the dal paste into a non-stick pan and keep mixing under low heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes together (approx. 10 minutes) without sticking to the walls. Transfer it into a container and cool it for 15-20 minutes. 

3) Grease a plate with 1/2 tsp of oil, and make lime-sized balls of the lentil mixture and arrange them on the plate without any of them touching each other. 

4) Mix the rice flour, salt, and baking soda into the ground urad dal paste and add water as needed to loosen it to a pancake batter consistency. 

5) Heat oil in the frying pan on medium heat, when heat it felt to your palm placed safely at a distance above the oil, drop a small amount of dough into the oil. If the dough rises up to the surface of the oil quickly, the oil is ready for frying. 

6) Take a lentil ball and dip in the coating dough well to cover all over and gently drop it into the oil. Continue this step with an additional 3-4 balls coated and gently dropped into the oil. After a couple of minutes when the oil bubbles subside on the Purnalu, turn them over and continue to fry them to golden brown color. Using a slotted ladle, collect them from the oil, and let the oil drain further by placing them into a strainer. In a couple of minutes, transfer them onto a flat serving dish. Continue these frying steps with the remaining lentil balls. 

7) Serve them hot to experience the crunchy coating. 

Quick Tips

- Brown sugar can be substituted for jaggery; if jaggery is not readily available. Keep in mind, it will have a slightly different taste. Adjust the brown sugar as per your taste. 

- Store-bought dosa dough can be used instead of making your own coating batter. 

- Cold Purnalu can be reheated in the toaster oven for a better taste; just dab the oozed-out oil after heating. 

- Dry coconut can be substituted if fresh coconut is not available. 

Tip Three: Boost Nutrition to Food Items - Wheat and Ragi Flatbread

Wheat and Ragi Roti or Flatbread

Roti or fire-toasted/puffed flatbread is the most common part of the meal all over India, but more prevalent in the Central and Northern parts of the country. It is made with whole wheat flour and comparatively nutritious as compared to another basic grain such as Rice. 

Diabetes is very prevalent among Indians because carbohydrates are a major portion of Indian food which increases the glucose release in the system. This value is called as Glycemic Index (GI).

In simple words, the Glycemic Index is explained as the measurement of glucose release after the intake of carbohydrate-containing food. It is a carbohydrate ranking based on its impact on glucose release levels. The GI index is measured from 1 - 100 and is divided into three levels as follows:

• Low GI: 1 to 55
• Medium GI: 56 to 69
• High GI: 70 to 100

However, the GI index does not take into account other nutritional content of the food such as proteins, vitamins, and minerals. To counteract the quantity issue, researchers developed the glycemic load (GL) measurement, which accounts for the quantity of the food being eaten. The glycemic load looks at both the quality and the quantity of the carb. It is calculated by multiplying the GI by the number of carbohydrates (in grams) in your portion size, then dividing that number by 100. It is recommended to keep your daily GL under 100.

For example, an apple has a GI of 40 and contains 15 grams of carbs. (40 x 15)/100 = 6, so the glycemic load of an apple is 6. This is considered a low GL food.

The GL values can also be broken down into three ranges.

• Low GL: 1 to 10
• Medium GL: 11 to 19
• High GL: 20 or more

Depending on your health goals, following a GI-based diet might mean you'll be able to rely less on standard dieting measures such as calorie counting or regimented portion control. Simply being more mindful of your carb choices rather than severely limiting them can also be more sustainable in the long run, as compared to more restrictive diets.

Any guesses what is the GI value of Whole Wheat Roti is? It stands at 69; at an upper Medium level. That's pretty high 😔 !

Can we reduce the GI value so that the basic food item can still be enjoyed and will be nutritious? 

By pairing the Whole Wheat flour with Ragi flour, you can reduce the GI value. Ragi Flour stands at <40 GI value (finger millet). It is considered a poor man's food. I wonder why? 

Make the roti dough using Whole Wheat /Ragi flour in a 1:1 ratio that will reduce the GI value and GL too, ultimately. In such a ratio, the GI will be 69+40/2 = 54.5, taking it to a low GI level. In addition to lowering the GI value, Ragi flour has many other nutritious qualities.

Ragi is finger millet, which is high in protein and minerals in comparison to all other cereals and millets. It is also a source of protein, which is perfect for vegetarians. Ragi is a great source of iron making it beneficial for individuals with low hemoglobin levels. 

Below are the instructions on how we made the whole wheat and ragi roti or flatbread:

The ingredients needed to make the dough for flatbread are 1/2 cup of Whole Wheat flour (atta), 1/2 cup of Ragi flour, 2 pinches salt, and 100 ml of lukewarm water. Combine the dry ingredients and slowly add the water to bring the ingredients together. Make sure to gather all the mixture from the sides and knead the dough until it's not sticky and make it into a ball. Rub a teaspoon of cooking oil on the surface of the dough and place it in a bowl with a lid to cover. Put it aside for 15 -30 minutes. 

Quick Tips: Add water slowly as sometimes based on the flour, it may not require all the amount. If the dough seems flaky and dry, add a little more water.  However, if the dough seems sticky, add more flour to absorb the water.

                                         

Make lime size balls and then roll out each ball into flat roti with a rolling pin. Make sure each roti is evenly rolled out. 

Then toast each of the roti for a couple of minutes on each side on the Tawa (or flat pan). Next, transfer the toasted rotis onto the round stainless steel BBQ Grill Netted Mesh with Handle. Once the roti or flatbread puffs up, transfer into a flat container with a lid to keep the rotis warm. Rub or spray oil or butter to keep them soft.

The rotis or flatbread are now ready to be served and enjoyed with your favorite curry. We have a great selection of curries as well; check them out on our recipes page. 

We hope you are enjoying reading about our tips during this Navratri. If you have a good tip to share, please post a comment. We love hearing from our readers. 

*Reference Materials: https://www.verywellhealth.com/glycemic-index-chart-for-common-foods-1087476