A pan cooked Rotli with a sweet cardamom and tuvar dal filling smeared with generous amounts of ghee. This dish has many other names throughout the Indian continent popularly known as Puran Poli, at our house, it was always called Gari Rotli.

I remember my mum and Granny making these and as they came off the tavi (pan), they would coat it with ghee, and using ghee spoon make indents so that the ghee would seep into the Roti.

The Gari Rotlis are usually served with kadhi, and a vegetable shaak and rice.

Makes about 10 medium Gari Rotlis.

Ingredients:

SWEET DAL STUFFING:

• 1.5 cup tuvar dal oily or dry washed (split skinless Pigeon Pea lentils)
• 2.5 cups water
• 1 cup sugar (or 3/4 cup depending on how sweet you like your food)
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• A grating of Nutmeg (optional)
• 1 tsp khus khus (white poppy seeds)

DOUGH:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour (Roti atta)
• 1 1/4 cup  warm water
• 2 tbsp oil
• Extra flour for dusting

ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS

• ghee

Instructions:

SWEET STUFFING

1. Rinse the tuvar dal/ pigeon pea lentil really well and place it in an Instant Pot.
   
   
2. Add 2.5 cups of water, close the lid and set the valve to sealed and set it to manual pressure cook for 18 minutes.
   
   
3. Once done and the valve drops open the Instant Pot.
   
   
4. Mix the dal using a wooden spoon/ potato masher until no lumps remain.
   
   
5. Turn on the sauté mode or transfer the dal into a pot and continue drying the mixture of watery until it thickens for about 8 minutes. It should resemble a stiff mixture.
   
   
6. Add the sugar, Cardamom powder and Khus Khus seeds- adding sugar will make the mixture runny – panic not – continue mixing and cooking it, until the mixture is able to form a ball again.
   
   
7. Let it cool until you are able to touch it with your hands.
   
   
8. Knead the mixture for a 1 minute and at this point you could add a teaspoon of ghee and then form 10 balls.
   
   

MAKING THE DOUGH:

1. Combine the ingredients until the dough has formed – can be made using a mixer or hands.
   
   
2. Divide 10 balls.
   
   

STUFFING THE ROTLIS

1. Take a roti dough ball and roll it into a small circle (it doesn’t have to be a perfect round).
   
   
2. Place a stuffing ball in the middle of the roti.
   
   
3. Bring the edges together to make a tight stuffed ball.
   
   
4. Using your fingers, press the ball into a circle, making it larger and squishing the mixture inside evenly.
   
    
5. Dust the circle if needed with some flour and gently roll it into a larger circle. if you pressed this with your fingers you should have to roll out too much.
   
   
6. Heat a pan on the stove top to medium high heat.
   
   
7. Place the stuffed rotli in the pan and cook for about 1-2 minutes.
   
   
8. Flip over and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
   
   
9. Flip it back over cook it through, it should form a bubbled top, you can gently tap the bubble to get it to puff up more, at this point the roti is ready.
   
   
10. Remove roti to a plate and smear ghee on it, you can tap the surface to create dents so the ghee can seep into the stuffing.
    
    
11. Enjoy hot with a generous lashings of ghee, kadhi and a vegetable shaak.
    
    

Notes

• These can be made ahead of time, and kept in the fridge or can be frozen, when you are ready to eat simply warm the pan and reheat the rotlis and smear more ghee before serving. 
  
  
• Don’t skimp on the ghee, it’s what this roti is all about.