Poornam boorelu is a delicacy from Andhra cuisine which is made during special occasions such as weddings or as naivedya/ offerings during festivals. It is invariably made during Makar Sankranti.
It is made by deep-frying a sweet bengal gram (chana dal) stuffing enclosed in a crisp coating of batter made of faintly salted black gram (urad dal) and rice. The crunch of cashew nuts and poppy seeds in the soft melt-in-mouth sweet chana dal stuffing is a welcome surprise element. It is best preferred to eat when hot. The serving methods vary with each household. Many people prefer to relish it hot with a serving of ghee. Boorelu truly are a delight to eat! 🤩
This delicacy is known by many names such as Poornam Boorelu or Poornalu in Telugu where “poornam” means the sweet chana dal & dry fruits stuffing that is used in making it. It is also known as Suggi Unde (in Kannada), Sukhiyan/ Suyyam (in Tamilnadu), Sukur Unde (in Goa), Seeyam, Suzhiyan, Sugunta or Sugeelu in various parts of South India.
I have faint memories of my childhood…of my mom making these during the many years my family spent in Hyderabad. As much as my memory serves me, I remember absolutely cherishing them as a child. It was mom’s birthday on the day before diwali this year and I made these as a tribute to her as she has had a major influence on my cooking style.
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Sharing below Boorelu recipe I learnt from my mom. Before I get to it, do check my other desserts recipes too.
- Kardantu – Roasted chana barfi
- Genasina Payasa/ Sweet Potato Pudding/ Shakarkand Kheer
- Lauki/Bottlegourd Barfi – Instant no-mawa recipe
- Carrot Cake – No oven recipe
- Creme Caramel – No oven recipe
- Ragi/Finger Millet Laddus
- Roasted Chana Modak– No cooking recipe
- Makhana/Foxnut Laddus
- Marie Biscuit Laddus – quick, no-cooking recipe
- Oreo laddus – Quick, no-cooking recipe
- Oats-Almonds-Chia Seeds Laddu – Quick, no-cooking recipe
- Basundi
- Pineapple Upside-down Cake in pressure cooker
- Orange Custard
- Rice Kheer
- Putani hittina laddu /Roasted split gram laddu
- Mango mastani
- Mango Sheera/ kesari
- Gadbad ice cream
- Fried ice cream
- Mango shrikhand / aamrakhand
- Kashi halwa / ash gourd halwa
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Poornam Boorelu Recipe
Makes about 15
1 Cup = 240 ml
INGREDIENTS:
For stuffing:
- Bengal gram/ Chana dal – 1 cup
- Water – 3 cup
- Jaggery / Palm sugar / Refined Sugar – 1 cup
- Cashew nuts – 1/4 cup, finely chopped
- Poppy seeds/ Khus khus – 2 tsp
- Green cardamom – 4, powdered
For batter:
- Black gram/ urad dal – 1/4 cup
- Rice – 1/4 cup
- Salt – 1/2 tsp
- Water – for soaking & grinding
INSTRUCTIONS:
For batter:
1. Soak urad dal and rice separately in sufficient water for about 3-4 hours.
2. Rinse the urad dal and blend to a fine paste with minimal water.
3. Rinse and add the rice to the urad dal paste and continue grinding. Let the rice be a little coarse in texture. This will give a good crunchy texture to the boorelu coating. Alternatively, you may also use rice flour. But the texture will certainly be a bit different.
4. Transfer the batter to a mixing bowl.
5. Add salt, mix well and keep aside.
For stuffing:
1. Rinse chana dal, add water and cook in an open pot until the dal is well cooked – retains shape and doesn’t become mushy. To check if the dal is cooked right, press with the back of a spoon. If it mashes well without leaving a hard center, then the dal is ready.
2. While the dal is boiling, a layer of froth will form on the surface. Skim it and discard.
3. Turn off heat and using a strainer or colander, strain the dal. Save the water and keep aside. Allow the dal to cool down to room temperature.
4. Grate the jaggery or use powdered jaggery.
5. Blend the chana dal along with jaggery / palm sugar / refined sugar whichever you choose. I have used organic powdered jaggery in my recipe.
6. Blend to a coarse texture. It is okay if an occasional chana dal is left whole after grinding. Grind using minimal amount of water. The water in which dal was boiled, can be used for grinding.
7. If the chana dal stuffing looks a little too soft/runny. Cook in a pan on low flame while stirring continuously until the moisture evaporates.
8. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
9. Add finely chopped cashew nuts, poppy seeds, powdered green cardamoms. Mix well.
10. Make lemon/ ping pong ball sized balls with the stuffing.
For frying:
1. In a thick bottomed kadai, heat oil on medium heat. To check if the oil is hot enough for frying, gently release half teaspoon of batter into the oil. If it rises immediately, then the oil is ready for frying boorelu.
2. Dip the stuffing ball in the batter and coat it well all around.
3. With the help of a spoon gently release into hot oil for frying.
4. Do not disturb the boorelu for a minute. Allow it to turn golden brown and then turn it so that the other half gets fried too.
5. When the boorelu turns golden brown all around, scoop out our and drain excess oil on an absorbent kitchen paper towel. Repeat with all the stuffing balls. Enjoy delicious Poornam Boorelu!
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