Poornam Boorelu - Purnalu Recipe - Andhra Boorelu (2024)

Poornalu is a traditional Indian Sweet made in the Telugu States, popularly made during festivals and weddings. The outer layer is made with rice and urad dal and the inner layer is the sweet filling made with chana dal and jaggery.

Boorelu is a traditional sweet from Andhra. Its a deep fried delicacy, often made during Sankranthi -the harvest festival of India and Ugadi. The coastal region of Andhra where I come from, we call these Sugeelu and my husband’s family calls it Suguntalu.

Poornam Boorelu is also called Purnalu or Andhra Boorelu.

POORNAM BOORELU RECIPE:

(makes approx 20 Boorelu)

Ingredients:

FOR OUTER LAYER:

• Rice – 1 cup
• Urad dal/ Black gram dal/ Minapapappu – ½ cup
• Salt – two pinches
• Grated Jaggery- ¼th tsp
• Maida (all purpose flour)- 2 tea spoons (optional), add maida to the batter if the batter falls apart while frying.

FOR THE SWEET PURNAMFILLING:

• Chana dal (Bengal gram) – 1.5 cups
• Jaggery- 1.5 cups
• Fresh grated coconut- ½ cup (I used frozen coconut, just thawed it in the microwave)
• Crushed Cardamom Pods- 3
• A handful of chopped cashews

and Oil for Deep frying

PROCEDURE:

FOR OUTER LAYER:

• Wash and soak the rice and urad dal in water for 6-8 hrs or overnight.
• Drain the water and grind the rice and urad dal to a smooth paste by addingjust enough water. The consistency of the batter should be similar to the dosa batter.
• Add salt and jaggery to the batter and set aside.

FOR THE SWEET PURNAMFILLING:

• Cook the Chana dal with enough water. The dal should be just cooked and still holding its shape. It’s important not to over cook the dal. Drain all the water (make sure there is absolutely no water in the dal) and let the dal cool down for few minutes. Do not discard the water, it can be used to make rasam.
• Now transfer the dal to a food processor. Addgrated jaggery, coconut and cardamom powder. Pulse or grind the whole mixture till smooth. Taste it, if you feel you need more sweet add little more jaggery to it. The purnam mixture is ready.
• In case the purnam mixture is too soft, transfer the purnam to a pan and cook on stove in low flame till all the moisture evaporates. Finally add the cashew. Allow the purnam mixture to cool for few minutes and roll into medium round balls
• You can also use the microwave method- Place the purnam in a microwave safe bowl and cook for 5- 7 minutes, till all the moisture evaporates. Allow it to cool for few minutes and roll into medium round balls.

FRYING THE BOORELU:

• Heat oil for deep frying. Dip the purnam balls in the prepared batter. Let coat evenly and drop them gently in the hot oil.
• Deep fry till golden brown. Repeat with the rest of the batter. Serve Warm.
• If the outer layer is falling apart, add some maida to the batter to make the batter little thick.

You can use the same sweet filling and make Bobbatlu or Puran Poli

Please note that typically chana dal is used in the recipe, but I have used toor dal today.

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