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In the week when gulab jamun parathas were trending on Instagram, we got inspired to explore sweet flatbreads across India’s communities and corners

A recent viral video of a street vendor stuffing paratha dough with a crushed gulab jamun left foodies in a frenzy. While some thought of it as a magical combination to try, others were mortified by the bizarre fusion. But sweet flatbreads have long been a tradition across most Indian communities, their fillings varying from boiled lentils to pumpkin and even malai.

Pumpkin Puris and Satori

Home-chef Supriya Pal and mother Subhangi Gokhale are famed for their pumpkin puris and satori, the traditional Maharashtrian sweet flatbread. Pics/Shadab Khan

For Maharashtrians, puran poli is iconic, often made on auspicious occasions like Gudi Padwa and Makar Sankranti. But Supriya Pal, a home chef from Mira Road, tells mid-day that her favourite sweet flatbread is the pumpkin puris called bhopalacha puri in Marathi. Made from steamed raw, red pumpkin, these carry the goodness of dry fruit, jaggery and cardamom powder. The fried puri is a bit crispy and is delicious to eat on its own as an evening snack. “My mother hails from Nagpur where this variety of puri is famous; I don’t think I have seen it being made anywhere else,” says Pal. Their longevity makes them ideal to carry on travels, and Pal says when they want an extra-crispy batch, they add some maida to the dough. Satori is made using sooji or semolina, ghee, sugar, cardamom and milk. They are palm-sized and traditionally fried in ghee and taste best with a sweet-sour lime pickle. While puran polis accompany most festivals, satori is made all through the year. “These days, to cut down on sugar consumption, people replace the sugar with dates or even khoya. The khoya variety doesn’t last long, but the traditional one made with sooji and sugar lasts upto five days,” says Gokhale.

Lolo

Lolo is enjoyed during the festival of Satam

Lolo, or as some Sindhis call it meethi koki, is a flatbread made with sugar, flour and ghee. After soaking the sugar for four hours, it’s mixed with the flour to make the dough and rolled out into thick rotis that are roasted on the tawa on slow flame. Junisha Dama, a freelance writer and proud Sindhi, says, “Traditionally, lolo is made for the festival of Satam which falls in the month of Shravan.” It’s when the Sindhis pray to the goddess of fire and stay away from using the gas. These sweet flatbreads are made a day or two prior and can be stored for up to a week. They can be eaten as is or paired with a potato sabji. While it is a family tradition for the Damas’ to make the lolo every year for Satam, they also make it on regular days when a craving kicks in. Gureli is another sweet paratha that comes stuffed with jaggery, made only in the winters.

Sheermaal

Lucknow’s royal flatbread, shahi sheermal on sale outside Jama Masjid in Old Delhi. Pic/Getty Images

Mohammed Aiwaz Asif, the owner of the 108-year-old famed Mughlai food chain Karim’s, says that there are two kinds of sheermaal—plain sweet and a sweeter version with dry fruits. Sheermaal, also known as bhakharkarna in Iran (where the recipe in fact originated), is a saffron-flavoured sweet flatbread dating back to Mughal times.

It’s believed to be a recipe that travelled to various places along the Silk Route, including Afghanistan and India. While the regular sheermal pairs well with non-vegetarian dishes like korma, kebab, mutton and chicken gravy and galouti kebab, the sweeter version has the dry fruits dipped in a sweet sheera, giving it a more potent sacharine kick. “It won’t taste as good with vegetarian food. You wouldn’t eat butter chicken or dal makhani with a sweet roti, would you?” he says.
Since it is made from maida in a tandoor, it is best served hot. Made with saffron, milk, sugar, cardamom powder, and ghee, the preparation is a laborious one that could stretch over a couple of hours. Preparation for the dough making usually starts early in the morning and the saffron-infused milk is soaked overnight to get the right colour and flavours.

Holige

Sweet flatbreads, also known as holige or obbattu, are common in every home in Karnataka, says Bengaluru-based home chef Prajakti Desai. “Generally, they are made from jaggery, but I use dates to make a healthier version.” It’s on the occasion of Ugadi (same as Gudi Padwa celebrated in Maharashtra ) that holige land up on every table. A variety of preparations include the use of jaggery, peanuts, sesame and coconut. The most popular version, says Desai, is made with chana dal and jaggery. A filling of either of these is mixed together and used as stuffing for the paratha.

Prajakti Desai uses dates instead of jaggery to make a healthier version of holige

Some eateries in Bengaluru claim to offer close to 100 different variations of holige, using khoya, badam, dry fruit, toor daal, dry coconut, carrot halwa and anjeer among others. Originally, the dough is made using maida, but Desai replaces it with wheat and promises that it tastes just as good. The dough must be soft and usually soaked in oil for a couple of hours. Instead of rolling it, they put the dough ball, greased in oil in between two plastic sheets and begin to pat and spread it with their fingers to make it into a thin flatbread. They stay up to a week without refrigeration. The Brahmin community in Karnataka calls the paratha, holige, while the non-Brahmin calls it obbattu. “Holige is usually eaten with ghee on the side and hot milk is poured on top. During mango season, it is also eaten with aam ras. They taste even better the day after they are made,” Desai smiles.

Roghni Tikiya

Home chef Sheeba Iqbal offers curated dining experiences in her 121-year-old haveli in Lucknow. While Uttar Pradesh’s capital is famous for sheermal, it’s the roghni tikiya that Iqbal chooses to discuss with mid-day. Made using sugar, milk and ghee, it’s a breakfast item that is slow cooked and eaten warm. Since it goes beautifully with shammi kebab, kheema and egg bhurji, it’s a winter favourite. But, Iqbal says it also tastes good with the vegetarian aloo ke patle or potatoes. Crisp on the outside, soft when broken, and when eaten in summers, it’s paired with malai.

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