Bobbatlu/Bakshalu/Puran Poli

Bobbattu/Bakshalu/Puran poli is a traditional sweet and prepared in many states of India. It is a sweet filled bread and known as Bobbattu or Bakshalu in Telugu, Holige or Obbattu in Kannada, Boil in Tamil and Puran Poli in Marathi. Filling will be made with chana dal or moong dal and sugar or jaggery will be used as sweetener and cardamom or fennel seed powder is used to flavor the filling. Grated Coconut can be used in making filling along with dal but it is optional. Traditionally all purpose flour will be used to make the dough, but wheat flour can also be used to make dough. Some will use half all purpose flour and half wheat flour to make the dough. Making bobbatlu is time taking but this sweet worth it.

Let's see how to make bobbatlu:

Soak and cook chana dal

Take Jaggery and little water in a vessel and cook till jaggery dissolves and to a boil
add cardamom powder 

Add cooked dal and cook till it comes together

Grind the cooked dal mixture and keep aside.

Mix semolina and all purpose flour and make into soft dough, apply oil and keep aside for
1 hour and make balls out of filling and dough. Filling balls must be little big

Make as shown in the image and fold the dough and press into small puri 

Yield : 9 to 10 (May vary depending on size)
Ingredients For Filling (Poornam):

• Senagapappu/Chana dal - 1 cup
• Grated Bellam/Jaggery or Sugar - 1 1/4 cup (Jaggery taste good)
• Ellachi/Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Ingredients For Making Dough:

• Maida/All purpose flour - 1.5 cup
• Rava/Semolina - 1 Tbsp
• Oil - 1/4 cup
• Salt - pinch
• Water as needed (up to 1/2 cup)

Preparing Poornam:

• Wash and soak senagapappu/chana dal up to 2 hours.
• Cook the soaked dal in 2 cups water for 3 whistles or cook in a thick bottomed vessel until the dal is done. (If cooking in a vessel add more water)
• Strain the water and keep the dal aside.
• Add jaggery or sugar or half jaggery and half sugar and 1/4 cup water and cook till jaggery dissolves and comes to a boil (No need to get string consistency), then add cooked dal and cook till the dal thickens by stirring and add cardamom powder. 
• Let it cool and grind the dal to paste and keep aside. It thickens after sometime.                                                                        OR
• Grind the cooked dal into paste and add it the dissolved jaggery mixture and cook till it thickens by stirring and add cardamom powder and keep aside until cools. It thicken more after cooling. Don't leave the poornam on stove alone, it may burn. We have to stir continuously while thickening.
• Make balls out of the poornam.

Preparing Dough:

• Mix semolina and little water and add all poupose flour, salt to semolina mixture and make it into soft dough by adding little water at a time and apply oil. (Dough must be soft like puri dough)
• Keep aside for 1 to 2 hours by soaking in 1/4 cup oil. (If don't want to use so much oil apply little oil to the dough.
• Make balls out of dough. Dough balls must be little smaller than poornam balls.

Preparing Bobbatlu:

• Take the dough ball and make it into small puri with hand by applying oil.
• Place poornam in the middle and close it with the dough.
• Apply oil to a plastic sheet and place the dough filled with poornam and press it gentle with hand by applying oil and make it into thin chapati.
• Heat a griddle and cook the bobbatu on both sides by adding little ghee or oil. (Ghee adds flavor)