Learning To Make Sweet Poli

Soon after my marriage I used to watch my mother-in-law in action in the kitchen. She would be in-charge. I loved whatever she cooked. Especially the sweet polis were a melt-in-the-mouth.

For special occasions I would assist her in preparing this sweet dish. I did learn about the ingredients, the process, the finale, etc., but the polis would never turn out as soft as hers whenever I tried it on my own. Its edges would be thick.
But after many years I did manage to learn the secret from her.

Now for that incident followed by her recipe!

Once my mother-in-law was visiting us and wanted to have polis. So I started the process while she simply watched from the sidelines. When the first one was ready, I proudly gave it to her for tasting and saw her actually frowning!

It was thick. I tried the second, the third, the fourth and still she kept telling me,
"Roll it thinner than that". I got so wild with frustration over her repeated comments, that I just put the rolling pin down. I wanted to walk away from the kitchen!

She must have sensed my displeasure and quietly took charge and started rolling the poli while it was my turn to watch her. It was as if she was coaxing it to spread thinner and thinner until it was almost the size of a thick paper!! She was persistent about that.
She shallow fried them one by one. I tasted one of hers and knew why she had frowned. They were such wonderful delights and soft, melt-in-mouths that no one could stop with just one!!

That day I learnt what it was to know something really well. In fact this is what expertise in 'anything' is all about.

That moment she was not the mother-in-law nor was I her daughter-in-law. It was the teacher and the taught. It was one among my most beautiful learning experiences.

As always, I appreciated and thanked her for showing me how to make them much better. Both were happy to have shared this deep bonding that day. Earlier too I had learnt to make so many dishes from her.

It is a combination of the right ingredients, the process, the tips which are more important for a dish to come out well. The patience to perfect it with practice until one gets it right also helps.

Now for the recipe: (try a smaller quantity first. Can try larger quantities when one feels confident by trying it out several times. I know this advice is misplaced in these days of diabetes, calories, etc!)

Now for the recipe.

For the dough:
100gms refined flour.
A pinch of salt.
A pinch of turmeric powder to get the yellow color.
50ml of gingely oil.

2 to 3 teaspoons of water (strictly optional)

Mix all the above except water and ply into a soft dough. (Keep it covered and leave it alone for at least 3 to 4 hours. Your fingers may get very oily but never mind, as its the grease which will make the polis softer when it is shallow fried later.

For the Filling:
1. 10 cardamoms, de-skinned and powdered.
2. 100gms sugar or jaggery. (Jaggery will mean, melting it in less water, filtering the scum, sand, etc.). I prefer sugar as its less messy and more tasty.
3. 100gms of bengal gram dal.
To dry roast the dal until it gives out an aroma and turns golden brown. Wash and soak in water for 20 minutes. Then pressure cook until soft. When cool, drain all the water and blend only the cooked dal into a thick even paste. Now add the sugar 'n' spice and blend all of them well.

Heat a thick bottomed kadai and thicken this paste until it turns dry or turns into a dough-like consistency.

Make equal sized balls from the dough. About 10 to 12 of them.
Make as many from the filling also and keep it separately.

Take a plastic sheet, grease it with oil, place a portion of dough in the centre, cover it with a transparent plastic sheet, spread the dough with fingers (or rolling pin if possible). Slowly peel off the upper plastic sheet and place a portion of the filling in the centre and fold in the edges, covering it from all sides. The filling should not be visible to the eye at all. Place the plastic sheet and flatten it to, as thin a poli as possible. This is by far the 'trickiest' and most difficult part.
One can use rice flour as dust to help roll it thinner on a clean, dry flat surface like the granite kitchen slab, if one is not comfortable using greasy plastic sheets.

Heat a hot plate or tawa and cook it by gently turning it both sides alternately and quickly. Remember a poli cooks very fast. When light brown spots begin appearing, spread ghee over the surface and edges. When done, fold it and serve hot or cold.

Has a shelf life of more than 2 weeks if water is not used at all to make the dough.
Tastes heavenly and could be very addictive.

Enjoy.

Mahalakshmi

Problems and Solutions

Real time problems need real time solutions which answers are not so easy to find in books.

All the theory we may have learnt at school and college may not come in handy most times.

There is neither a right way nor a wrong way with problem solving.

The most successful way of solving a problem which I know of from experience, is to sound out very trusted and close ones for their opinion.
Their way of looking at the same problem may differ. They could offer a third dimension.
A via media solution could then be worked out after hearing them out patiently.
80% of opinions may not work out, yet when opinions are sought the sense of participation itself is the reward (and a learning experience). This is the first step.

When a solution is actioned, one has to wait for the results to show. This is the second step.
With time everyone settles down to hear and being heard.
The best solution may not work out in practical terms.
The leader among the group invariably emerges. He or she may be young or old. It's the problem solving ability which has to be respected.

We get to read about such instances in our ancient texts where rishis and yogis engage in 'tarka' (holding healthy arguments or discussions with mutual respect, to arrive at the right answer). All these wise men have been known to respect each others' opinions or views even though they may prefer to strongly, but respectfully, disagree with each other! What an ideal situation!!

Cut back to the modern age where one hears more often than not, "Tarkam pannade. Naan solratha kel", (meaning, don't argue, just do as I say). Lot depends on who is saying this.
If the person who says this, happens to be a wise and an experienced one, its better to follow his advice.

Most times, experience has won hands down over knowledge of theory, combined with little or no practical experience. Perhaps because 'experience' has tread the path long time back and knows which pitfalls to avoid and how best to safeguard 'or' because of learning through other people's 'experience'!

Mahalakshmi.