daliya poori..guilt free treat and tips to make your poori healthier



puris are considered fattening food and as they are deep fried........ they actually absorb oil but the problem is....we in India are so obsessed with poori that it is sort of a comfort food for us...........at least for my generation it is....we have grown up eating hot puffed up pooris with aaloo matar , kaddu ki sabzi or even with aam ka achaar sometimes........aaloo puri is a favorite breakfast of most north indians and there are many versions of poori for many occasions....just think ...can we do without pooris......no, i can't.....:)

when i became health conscious in my teens , i definitely started having pooris in a healthier version ...yes i had started cooking by then n was quite innovative at that......so i used to make palak wali poori and chukandar waali poori which in the later years, i found that my daughter also loved to eat....i remember the days when Mithi would hold a rolled up green or red puri in her tiny lil hands and take bits from it n smile at me......good old days are never to be forgotten..............................................
I made some adjustments in the process of making pooris so that they absorb less oil and are healthier......there are a few points i worked on and i hope they can be helpful for any new cook....

1. Always make poori with whole wheat flour and never use any flour for dusting while rolling the poori...use oil to grease the surface....any flour on the surface of poori allows it to absorb more oil during frying...
2.Do not add any shortening to the dough and make a loose dough...it is a common practice to add ghee as shortening to knead and the dough is made stiff....this is to make karari poori or crisp pooris which remain soft after cooling down.......my suggestion is, when you want to have the poori hot , make the dough stiff ...you will get crisp pooris( but that will get leathery when cold)......so i like it made with a loose dough which is soft n fluffy when hot and when it cools down , it remains soft .
3.The most important point is , fry the pooris ( or anything for that matter) in a controlled temperature.....the oil should not smoke ...as this allows harmful n sometimes toxic fatty acid chains to be formed from even the healthy oils you are using ( some people experience flatulence and heartburn due to this)....the idea is to fry the pooris at a temperature when the poori swims n dances into the oil when you slip the poori in it  ( when you slip the poori in a less hot oil , it will take more time to get cooked and will absorb more oil...will become hard too)...medium flame works best....
to test whether the oil is ready....put a pinch of dough into the oil n see if it starts dancing rapidly.....it's ready for the poori..
4.Never have pooris with high fat gravies like paneer butter masala or any creamy buttery delicacy....aaloo subzi works well when made in less oil....but the best is to have it with ras wale aaloo or kaddu ki subzi...
or ras waala kaddu , green peas ghugni , oil free chhole ....the idea is to pair it with a very low fat subzi so that the total calorie count of the meal remains limited and if it is paired with a high fiber subzi like kaddu ( pumpkin) most of the oil in the pooris may well be flushed out along with the fiber...

5. Always try to have poori as a breakfast...or for lunch and never for a dinner.......think about it, you have the answer..

In my attempt to make my poori healthier i move to the next level.....my brother had once told me that there is an eatery in Nehru Place where the poori seems to be like having daliya in it.......the idea was good n i tried it....was really tasty n guilt free.........here is how i did it.....simple and healthy idea........

ingredients for the poori..

1/2 cup of daliya or broken wheat soaked overnight or at least for 2 hrs
1.5 cup of whole wheat flour

to proceed ..........cook the daliya with a little water to one boil so it gets mushy like this.... daliya adds to the fiber content  and you get the goodness of whole wheat......cooking the daliya this way ensures the softness of poori though you get the texture of daliya which comes through in a mild way....if you add soaked , uncooked daliya to the dough, you will get crisp poori which is to be had hot...slight cooling will cause the poori to get leathery.....


now knead the dough by mixing the whole wheat flour into the cooked n cooled daliya ...
 you may need to add some water  to make a soft pliable dough or the water in the cooked daliya may suffice..

you can see the daliya grains in the dough but it will not interfere with frying....

divede the dough into small portions , roll out pooris on a greased surface and fry in medium hot oil......

i served it with kaddu ki subzi which is very flavorful and light ......you can find the recipe here , this is the kind of breakfast which makes you happy to indulge .....doesn't sit heavy on your digestive system and keeps you guilt free......

also this kind of breakfast keeps you full for many hours...though i know it is not easy to make such things in the mornings , but if you keep the subzi and your dough ready in the fridge , you can afford to have a healthy n yummy breakfast which prevents you from mid morning munching....keeps you energy level high through the day......

All said and done , this recipe and the idea of breakfast sounds like a boringly healthy sounding version of a popular Indian breakfast....but i think anybody who has tasted the poori sabzi which is sold in most old Indian cities like Banaras, Lucknow or even old Delhi....would love these pooris....as these street eateries serve the yummiest whole wheat pooris with a simple low oil subzi....much like this one....this one you can make more hygienic n healthy by using the oil of your choice.....

enjoy........                                                                                             

Comments

  1. Very well explained dear.I too make these pooris once in a while.

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  2. thanks pari for dropping by...i know you must be making these as a seasoned cook...this post is actually intended for new cooks.

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  3. nice different poori dear..please do participate in my first cooked food event..check my blog for details

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  4. Love luchis ... but always maida luchi ... like any true blue Bong. :-) My in-laws side do make wheat pooris but I can't eat them. :-)

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  5. great tips to make these yummy things healthier love it

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  6. You truly are health queen!
    Btw i hope u received my email?
    I do remember about guvar and i promise to post the recipe very soon :-)

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  7. Sangeeta.
    This is another good one from you I eat Puri or Luchi made from 50:50 atta and Maida.

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  8. Great Tips!...i make whole wheat pooris! Feel better having them than the maida ones!

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  9. thanks everybody for the sweet comments..

    Shama ...though i do not remember which food i cooked first but i would try n participate in the event..

    Sharmila...even i love luchis with aloo dum , but when you want out come out of that pattern , you have to do something like this....ha ha...can you understand the dilemma of a person who has been loving all those chhole bhature, motor shuti'r kachuri , luchi , malpua and everything refined.....and tries to break that pattern...:)

    thanks Rebecca ...hope it comes out helpful for you..

    Parita....thanks a lot for calling me a health queen...i am just trying to make 'Macrobiotic' Indianized..

    ushnish.........this puri gives you the softness of maida puri as the daliya is cooked but the fiber content gives it a different kind of bite...i like it n everybody can try it once to see if it works for them..

    Preeti....yes dear, whole wheat pooris are a lor better that the maida ones...that's good enough n this daliya one is for wt.watching people who want to indulge ..

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  10. anybody who had eaten puri sabzi in the streets of old Indian cities like banaras, is likely to love these...:)

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  11. Those are great tips, keep it going girl. Nice to see you back in your old spirit.

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  12. thank u i love puries to withh choolay but now on a diet but i think i can giv myself a trat with this recepie. VERY nicely explained

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