Ingredients:
For the dal:
Toor dal: 2 cups
Sugar: 2 cups
Shortening: 3 tb or more
Almonds: 2 tb
Candied fruit peel: 1/2 cup
Essence: 1 ts
Nutmeg, cardamom and mace: 1 ts
Charoli: 1 ts (optional)
For the pastry:
Cream of wheat: 1 cup
Flour: 1 1/2 cups
Shortening: 1 tb
For the maan:
Shortening: 4 tb
Flour or rice flour: 2 tb
The Steps:
Pre - Preparation :
Slice or chop the almonds and powder nutmeg,
cardamom and mace.
Preparation :
For the dal:
1) Soak dal overnight.
2) Next day put in pressure cooker with very little
water, just
enough to cover the dal completely.
3) Keep cooker on lowest heat for 20 mins.
4) Take off heat and add sugar and 2 tb shortening.
5) Cook on low heat stirring all the time, till
thick.
6) Now add almonds, charoli, mixed fruit, essence,
nutmeg, cardamom,
taste while adding.
7) This dal can be cooked and kept one day ahead.
8) Make 3-inch round balls.
For the pastry:
1) Mix together all the ingredients and knead with
enough water to
make a soft dough.
2) Cover with wet cloth and let stand for at least 3
hrs.
3) Overnight is better.
4) Roll out in 3 big balls.
For the maan:
1) Mix flour and shortening with hands, until very
smooth and light
to touch.
2) Keep immersed in cold water.
Assemble the pori:
1) Take one ball of pastry and roll it out flat.
2) Sprinkle a few drops of cold water and then
spread some of the
maan onto the flat pastry.
3) Sprinkle flour.
4) Roll out another ball of pastry of the same size
and layer it on
top of the maan, again go through the of sprinkling
water, adding
another layer of pastry and sprinkling flour at the
end.
5) Roll out last ball of pastry and put it on top.
6) Turn edges inward and roll up like a strudel
roll.
7) Keep covered with damp cloth.
8) Cut out one 3-inch piece from above roll, put
flour on hands and
twist the roll, press down the twists and shape into
a round ball.
9) Flatten this ball out and lift it and form a cup
shape in your
hands, put in this cup the dal ball.
10) Seal edges together with a little water.
11) Now is the hardest part - flatten this out till
it is a 1-inch
thick circle, 5 to 6 inches round.
12) Bake on a hot griddle on medium heat, keep it as
white as possible.
13) Add a little ghee to help. Do both sides.
14) The pastry layers will show cooked when you cut
it apart to test
if it is done.
Calories: 4555
Suggested Accompaniments:
Tea
Left - Over Ideas :
Crush the leftover puris with your hands, add warm
milk, melted ghee,
crushed groundnuts and shape into laddoos.