PURNAM BOORELU

A very traditional telugu recipe which is made for special occasions such as pooja, festivals and marriages. A very special naivedyam to Goddess Lakshmi is purnam boorelu. The light crunchy outer layer with sweet filling make this Andhra sweet a traditional delicacy. A few simple ingredients and a simple procedure but many don't dare to do these as a simple mistake in making the stuffing can end up in complete failure. Here I give a procedure which you cannot go wrong any time. Make this special naivedyam for this Dussara.

INGREDIENTS

Urad dal                   1 cup
Rice                          2 cups
Salt                            a pinch
Oil                            for deep frying

for the filling

Chana dal                  2 cups
Jaggery                      1+1/4 cup(grated)
Elachi powder           1 tsp

PROCEDURE

Soak the dal and rice for at least 4 hours and grind to a thick Batter. Much thicker than the dosa batter. Add a pinch of salt. If possible let it rest for 5 to 6 hours. If for naivedyam you don't get that much time, so add a pinch of baking soda. If you use a wet grinder for making the batter you need not use the soda.
Th general and traditional way for making the filling is cooking the dal in a pressure cooker and grinding it along with the jaggery. But this can be tricky as the filling can quickly turn into a runny batter if correct amount of water is not used or if you over cook the dal.
I give a very simple and never go wrong procedure for making the filling.
Soak the dal for at least 4 hours and then wash it throughly. Cook the dal with 3 cups of water on high flame for 10 to 12 minutes without the lid. Check if the dal is cooked. Now remove the water and lay the dal on kitchen towel and let it completely dry.
After an hour or so grind the dal in a mixer. Add the grated jaggery and pulse the mixer so that a thick paste is formed. Add the cardamom powder and the filling is now ready.
Divide the filling into equal size balls.
Dip these balls into the urad dal and rice batter and deep fry them on medium flame. Make sure that the outer layer completely covers the filling. Use a large spoon to gently drop the purnalu into the hot oil.
Offer them as naivedyam and serve with hot ghee on the top.

TIPS
If the outer layer batter is runny or you are not able to coat the filling with the batter add some rice flour to the batter.
If the filling is runny keep it on the stove for 10 to 15 minutes. Keep stirring. When the mixture thickens   remove on to a greased plate and let cool. By now the batter will thicken and you can easily make the purnam boorelu.