Poornam Boorelu (Poornalu, Burelu Recipe)

Poornam Boorelu (Poornalu, Burelu Recipe)

Poornalu or poornam burelu are sweet stuffed fried balls made as an offering to the Hindu Goddess Lakshmi & Durga. These are very popular in Andhra pradesh and are prepared during festivals.

For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips.

Prep Time4

Cook Time1 15

Total Time5 15

Servings16

AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )

Ingredients for poornam

1 cup chana dal (split chickpeas, senagapappu)
1¾ to 2 cups water (2½ cups for pressure cooker)
1½ cup jaggery grated or palm jaggery or sugar
2 tbsps coconut fresh (optional)
¼ tsp green cardamom powder

Ingredients for outer covering

¾ cup urad dal or minapappu
1¼ cup raw rice
1 pinch salt
Oil for deep frying as needed

How to make the recipe

Preparation

Wash and Soak separately urad dal and rice in water for 4 to 5 hours.
Option 1 - Cook dal in a pot (stovetop): Rinse chana dal well thrice and soak in water for a minimum of 2 hours and a maximum of 3 to 4 hours. Later drain the water and pour fresh water as mentioned in the recipe and bring to a rolling boil. Cook uncovered until soft but not mushy & they should still hold their shape. (add more hot water if required or evaporate the excess moisture while cooking).
Option 2 - Cook dal in a pressure cooker: Rinse the dal and add to a pressure cooker and cook for 5 to 6 whistles or for 10 mins in a instant pot. Lentils must be soft, hold shape but not mushy. If there is excess water in the dal, strain it.

Preparing poornam for boorelu

Cool down, mash or blend the dal to a smooth or coarse mixture in a blender. I just mashed it. Put back the dal to the same pot.
Optional step - Skip this if your jaggery is clean & free from debris. To a large bowl, add grated jaggery and 45 ml of water (about 3 tbsps). Melt jaggery by placing this bowl on a low flame or microwave for 1.5 minutes. keep this aside.
If using sugar, add it to the mashed dal. If using jaggery , filter the prepared syrup to the mashed dal. Discard the debris. Mix them well. Add fresh coconut if using and cardamom powder.
Cook till the water evaporates completely and the dal looks dry and comes together like a mass. When it cools down, make 14 to 16 equal sized balls.

Make batter for poornam boorelu

Drain the rice in a colander. There must be no dripping water.
Add urad dal, little salt and little water to a blender. Blend till frothy or smooth. Adding too much water will make the batter runny, so use as needed only.
Next add rice to the batter and repeat blending. Keep the batter slightly coarse , this helps the outer covering to turn crusty. The consistency should be like thick dosa batter. If the batter turns runny, add little dry rice flour.
Heat oil for deep frying. Check if the oil is hot by dropping a small portion of batter, it must come up.
Next drop one ball each time to the batter, take a tablespoon and coat it well and swipe off the excess drippings. Then drop it in the oil.
Do not disturb for a min or more to prevent breaking. Fry till golden on a medium heat. Stir them in between. Fry them in batches till you finish off all the balls.
Repeat frying poornam boorelu for a min or two for extra crust.
You can make punugulu with the left over batter.
Cool them completely and Offer Poornam Boorelu to Goddess Lakshmi. For serving - Heat up little ghee in a small bowl, make a small hole in the center. Pour little ghee and enjoy.

NUTRITION (estimation only)