Bakshalu, or BObattu, also known as Holige and Pooran Poli, is a popular dessert in many parts of India. It is made from flour, and chana dal or red gram is a popular dessert in many parts of India. It is made from flour, chana dal or Red Gram and jaggery. These three simple ingredients are enough for the end of Bakshalu, a delicious meal that combines culture and cuisine.
Want to know how to make jade bakshal? It’s such a simple dish, but it’s such an integral part of Indian culture that we can’t understand. From its immune-boosting function to being a good source of protein, vitamins, minerals, and fibre, it’s packed full of goodness.
Let’s see how to make Bakshalu with jaggery, and after that, we will also cover the variations of this dish in the forms of Bobattalu, Holige, and Pooran Poli later in this blog.
Bakshalu is primarily a dish from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and has been made for Ugadi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Navratri, and other festivals. It represents happiness, health, and prosperity in life.
The stuffing is called Poornam and is made by cooking chana dal and jaggery together until they reduce to a fine paste. There’s no quick way to make Bakshalu, but blenders and pressure cookers have reduced their cooking time a little. Still, it’s better to organise your time before you jump into preparing the yummiest Bakshalu using this recipe.
Ingredients To Make Bakshalu With Jaggery
Here are the ingredients you need for the traditional Bakshalu:
- Jaggery (crushed or powdered)
- Red gram or Bengal gram, 1 cup
- Cardamom
- Wheat flour or maida suji 1 cup
- Salt
- ghee
- Water
Prepare Bakshalu
Soak the Red gram or chana dal for 30 to 40 minutes or overnight.
Preparing the dough
Take suji ravva or whole wheat flour, a spoonful of ghee or oil, and a pinch of salt and mix them well by rubbing the mixture between your palms. Once the ghee has spread evenly, gradually add water and knead a soft dough.
The key to making fluffy Bakshalu is a well-kneaded dough.
Cover the dough with a wet cloth or a lid and let it rest.
Knead lightly. Add water as required while kneading.
Next, add 10 tablespoons oil and continue to knead.
The dough should be kneaded very well to get a smooth, soft and elastic texture.
Preparation of the Poornam or Bakshalu Stuffing
Rinse and strain the soaked chana dal and transfer it to a cooking bowl. Add water and cook it well.
Then, strain the Red gram and let it cool.
Cooked Red gram add jaggery and cardamom cook well on low flame for 15 minutes, and blend it into a fine paste. Use water(kattu) in between pulses to get a smooth stuffing/poornam.
Use the strained water for making Rasam (Poornm charu). You can also knead chapati dough with this water or add it to curries or dals.
The stuffing sticks easily, so stir it continuously.
Switch off the flame and let the stuffing cool down.
Grind or blend to a fine and smooth consistency.
Rolling the Bakshalu
Place the stuffed dough ball on a rolling board and sprinkle some rice flour. Instead of rice flour, you can also use all-purpose flour for this Obbattu Recipe.
Take the dough and knead it gently one more time. Now, take a small portion of it and spread it using your fingers.
Take a small portion of stuffing and keep it in the centre of the dough.
Gently roll to a large Holige. Add rice flour as required while rolling.
Cover the stuffing with the dough by bringing the edges closer (Just like you would do for making any stuffed paratha.)
Now, dust some finely powdered rice flour or refined flour on the rolling board and start rolling the stuffed ball of Bakshalu.
Roll the Bakshalu as thinly as possible.
Cook Bakshalu
Then, heat the tava and roast the Bakshalu. Use ghee or oil on both sides and gently press the edges to make them fluff up and cook well.
Spread some ghee or oil on this top side too that is facing you.
Flip again and roast the second side of the flatbread till golden.
Serve the hot Bakshalu with a drizzle of ghee or a side of your choice.
Fold and serve Bakshalu with milk or ghee by the side, or have them plain. Or you can lift and place them in a roti basket so that they remain warm.
Tips
Make sure you are kneading a soft, smooth and elastic dough for this recipe. You have to spend some time kneading the dough very well. Do not be in a hurry. Take your time and knead the dough well.
For the stuffing in this recipe, you can either use chana dal or tuvar dal (arhar dal). Basically, use whatever lentils you prefer.
Drain the water very well from the cooked lentils. Waterlogged lentils will make the filling mixture mushy and moist.
You can even add some freshly and finely grated coconut to the stuffing.
Sugar can also be used as a sweetener for the stuffing, instead of jaggery. Other alternatives are palm jaggery and coconut sugar.
While rolling, you can either use rice flour or all-purpose flour.