Deepavali special- Haal obattu or poori payasa

First of all let me convey my belated Diwali Wishes to everyone. I know I have been absconding from my virtual kitchen for a long time now. This absence has actually left me feeling guilty. First there were some unexpected changes that took up a lot of my time and energy and then all of a sudden my laptop needed a battery replacement. It took almost 10days and a lot nagging to make S replace the battery. Now that everything is in place, I decided to post the recipe for Haal obattu.

The source of this recipe is my mom. She normally makes this for Dussehra or Diwali. This is one of my many favourite desserts because, any I love any kind of kheer or payasa. But strangely though, I never ventured to make this after I got married. So just before Diwali, I called up ma to ask for the recipe which she sweetly gave it out to me. Unlike the regular obattu or holige, this dish does not come with a filling. Instead, the crisp flat bread is dipped and served with poppy seed kheer. This makes the dessert extremely rich and satisfying. To top all this, this dessert has a great soporific effect on you. Do you need any more reasons to not to make this? :)

Haal obattu recipe:

Preparation time: 30min+ soaking time

Cooking time: 20min

Serves- 4

Ingredients:

For the poori:

Chiroti rava or fine semolina- 2 cups

Butter- 4tbsp, melted

Salt- a pinch

Water to knead

Oil to deep fry

For the poppy seed kheer

Poppy seeds- 3 tbsp

Rice- 1/2tsp

Almonds- 8-10, soaked

Milk- 500ml or 1/2 liter

cardamom- 5-6, powdered

Sugar- 2/3 cup

Grated fresh, frozen or dry coconut- 4tbsp

Method:

For the poori:

• Assemble the semolina, and salt in a large bowl and add the melted butter.
• Mix the butter well so that the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
• Add water gradually and mix into a firm dough.
• Allow the dough to stand for atleast 30min

For the poppy seed kheer:

• Dry roast the poppy seed and the rice till brown and fragrant. Take off the heat and cool completely.
• Grind the cooled poppy seeds and rice along with the soaked almonds and the coconut to a fine paste by adding a little water.
• Take the ground mixture in a pan. Add the milk and mix well.
• Heat the mixture on a low flame till the it thickens.
• Add the ground cardamom and mix well.
• Turn off the heat and add the sugar and set the kheer aside.

To proceed:

• Divide the poori dough into 14-16 equal portions and set aside.
• Using a little oil or wheat flour, roll each portion of the dough into a disc of 4-5" in diameter.
• Heat oil in a wok and deep fry the pooris on a low flame till the poori is brown and crisp.
• Take off the heat and drain on an absorbent paper. 
• Repeat the same procedure for the rest of the dough.
• To serve, Arrange one or two pooris on a plate and pour some hot poppy seed kheer on the pooris and allow the porris to soak the kheer for around 30 secs. 
• Pour some more kheer and serve immediately.