To understand the nutritional value we need to look at the main contents of Puran Poli. As noted above, the predominant ingredients are Chana, Plain flour, Jaggery or Sugar. 1. Chana: It is a variant of Chickpea. It provides Fiber, is a major source of Protein, may help reduce Cholesterol and also contains Zinc, Folate and Calcium.. Toor dal can be used in place of chana dal and it has similar properties as of Chana dal. 2. Plain flour, Jaggery or Sugar: These are the major sources of Carbohydrates. While plain flour adds Complex carbohydrates, Jaggery and Sugar are Simple carbohydrates.
Regional variants
The method of preparation varies from place to place. There are many varieties of Obbattu including peanut, sugar, coconut, sesame and groundnut flavors. Sometimes grated coconut is added in Konkan, Maharashtra. Coconut palm jaggery may be used. Similarly, a mix of sugar and jaggery can be used as a sweetening agent. Normally nutmeg is used as a flavoring along the coast which is replaced by cardamom or sometimes both elsewhere. Methods of rolling the stuffed dough also differ. It can be rolled using rice flour which makes the rolling very convenient. In some recipes flour is not used at all; oil or ghee is used to roll it into a flatbread instead. The rolled bread can be roasted with or without any ghee or oil, which sometimes is smeared after its completely cooked. In some places, all-purpose flour dough is used after adding a pinch of turmeric which gives it a traditional yellow color. The dish is produced using a sweet filling inside flour dough. This is then rolled out and cooked on a hot griddle, usually with ghee. The size and thickness of puran puri also vary greatly, in Gujarat where the stuffing used is toor dal, it will be small in size and thickness will be more, whereas in holige with coconut stuffing it will be larger in size and with less thickness.
Karnataka
It is a special dish served in the state of Karnataka on all occasions, especially during Yugadhi/Ugadi. Different varieties of Holige are served in various parts of Karnataka and the most common is the one prepared with yellow gram and sugar or jaggery and obbattu is also prepared using coconut and sugar as the ingredients, There are various variants of Holige prepared across Karnataka Kadle bele Holige or Chickpeas Holige, Kobbari Holige or Coconut Holige, Shenga Holige or Groundnut Holige and Sakkare Holige or Sugar Holige and many other variants.
Maharashtra
It is also the special dish of Maharashtra which is prepared on every occasion at every house especially during festivals such as Ganesh Chaturthi and Holi. It is eaten with Basundi, Aamras, Kadhi, Amti, etc. In Pune, Puran Poli is eaten with a variant of Amti known as Katachi Amti is prepared with the remaining water of Chana Dal used to make Puran. A topping of ghee is must, because Chana dal is heavy to digest and ghee eases to digest. In the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, it is eaten with Wada - A pakora made of all lentils. The Puran Poli made on khapar is very famous in this poli is big in size and is roast on a big pot made of clay called kapar is heated from down the old lady's of the 90s are expert in making it many people come to eat this special dish from other countries.
Opputtu
Opputtu in Tamil Nadu is a golden yellow sweet pancake from South India. It is eaten during a traditional Sadhya along with Payasam. Several varieties of opputtu are prepared including thenga boli and sharkara. Opputtu is especially famous in the southernmost districts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, India. Opputtu is eaten mostly after lunch or as an evening snack. opputtu looks like a flattened chapati and is golden yellow in color. It is popularly sold in trains by the hawkers. "Kadambur opputtu" is a famous, and it is available in coconut and brown sugar flavors. Varieties of opputtu are available throughout the Deccan states.
