Moog Puli

This deep-fried moog dal pitha is nutty and crunchy on the outside with a rich coconut and jaggery filling inside.

  • Cooking time
    2 hours
  • Calories
    152
    kcal
Recommended by
99.2
%
of
3137
members who rated this recipe on Youtube

"Moog puli" is a mung lentil based pastry stuffed with a sweet filling—we are using coconut and winter date-palm jaggery–then deep-fried and coated in a syrup. It is light, crisp, and salty-sweet. While we are using a grainy sugar coating, a jaggery based syrup is another option.

"Moog puli", often known as "bhaja puli" (fried puli) or "moog shamli" is a type of "pithe" (pronounced "pee-thay") which is an umbrella term used to describe a variety of items prepared using rice, date-palm jaggery (only available in winter), coconut, milk, and flour. Pithe is no single dish, but a category of sweets that are part of the cooking tradition dedicated exclusively to turning the season’s harvest into delectable foods.

Books in this recipe

No items found.
Like the work we do? Help keep this site ad-free by making a donation.
Donate

Ingredients

Serves
18 pulis
  • 100 g moog dal
  • 2 g salt
  • 400 ml water (to boil the dal)
  • 50 g rice flour
  • 5 g ghee
  • 100 g khejur'er patali gur (winter date-palm jaggery in solid form)
  • 100 g freshly grated coconut
  • 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
  • 100 g sugar
  • 20 ml water (for the syrup)
  • vegetable oil for frying

Method

  1. Dry-roast moog dal until light-brown. Wash well and set it to boil with 2 g salt and 400 ml water. The dal will boil until it is soft and mushy, and the water has dried up fully.
  2. While the dal is boiling, take grated coconut and patali gur in a kadai and mix it well by hand.
  3. Turn on the heat and allow it to roast on medium flame for about 10 minutes until nutty. Remove from the heat immediately.
  4. Toast sesame seeds separately and add them to the coconut-jaggery filling. Mix well. Set the filling aside while we prepare the coating.
  5. The dal will have boiled by now. In case the water has not yet been fully absorbed, increase the heat to dry it up.
  6. Whisk the dal well to break down the grains completely. Grains of dal will puncture the coating, so ensure they are fully mashed (you can blitz them in a mixer-grinder if you prefer).
  7. With the pan at low heat, add rice flour and mix roughly. Cover and allow it to cook for 5 minutes, undisturbed.
  8. After 5 minutes, mix the dough well.
  9. Transfer to a work bench, drizzle some ghee and knead until the dough is even.
  10. Divide into 18g portions. Keep covered to prevent them from drying out.
  11. Flatten each portion by hand. Place the filling in the centre, close the ends, and shape into spindle-shaped puli. Ensure there are no cracks in the coating.
  12. Fry on medium heat until brown. Be alert while doing so, as dal tends to burn very quickly.
  13. Once all the puli have been fried, prepare a thick sugar syrup with 100 g sugar and 2 tbsp water. When it comes to a boil, add the puli and continue cooking until the sugar crystallises.
  14. Remove from the pan and allow it to cool before eating.

Recipe discussion

Did this recipe help you cook something that made you happy?

At Bong Eats, we are working to standardise Bengali recipes, and present them to the world in a way that anyone, anywhere will be able to cook Bengali food with confidence—even if they have never tasted it before. We want the world to know that there is Indian food beyond tikka masala.

A lot of time and money goes into creating precise recipes such as this one. We don't want to depend on advertisements that track our viewers' activities through third-party cookies; we do not want take sponsorship money from companies that don't make subpar products.

You can help us make this a sustainable venture that can employ talented local writers, editors, photographers, recipe-testers, and more. Donate to keep us going.

Make a One-time donation

Help us keep Bong Eats free and open for everyone by making a one-time contribution. You can donate as much as you want. No amount is too little.

Donate
Become a member ⭐️

Join to get access to a vibrant private community of people who full of people who love to cook, feed and eat. Get answers to your questions about recipes, techniques, where to find ingredients from fellow members. If you love cooking, this is the place for you.

Monthly LIVE cookalongs
Shiny new private forum
Adda after every video release
Personalised recommendations
✨ See Membership Perks ✨
OR

✨ What's new?

View all »

Amra'r Chutney

A sweet, sour Bengali chutney made from two kinds of hog plum (biliti amra and deshi amra), spiced with bhaja masala

  • 30 minutes
  • 73
    kcal
Viewers liked this
%

Calcutta Chicken Rezala

Chicken cooked in a thin, pearly white gravy such as the kind served in restaurants like Sabir, Aminia, Shiraz, Royal, Arsalan, etc.

  • 90 mins
  • 371
    kcal
Viewers liked this
99.2
%

Taal'er Kheer

A palmyra fruit pudding

  • 30 minutes
  • 254
    kcal
Viewers liked this
99.2
%

Taal'er Luchi

made with taal (palmyra) pulp

  • 60 minutes
  • 93
    kcal
Viewers liked this
99.2
%
See all New recipes »
More
pitha
recipes
View all »

Moog Puli

This deep-fried moog dal pitha is nutty and crunchy on the outside with a rich coconut and jaggery filling inside.

  • 2 hours
  • 152
    kcal

Choshir Payesh

Tiny, handmade, spindle-shaped rice-flour dumplings cooked in milk

  • 2 hours
  • 258
    kcal

Shora or Chitoi Pithe

A simple Sankranti snack made with rice batter—served with freshly grated coconut and liquid date-palm jaggery.

  • 4 hours
  • kcal
More
gur
recipes
View all »

Moog Puli

This deep-fried moog dal pitha is nutty and crunchy on the outside with a rich coconut and jaggery filling inside.

  • 2 hours
  • 152
    kcal

Choshir Payesh

Tiny, handmade, spindle-shaped rice-flour dumplings cooked in milk

  • 2 hours
  • 258
    kcal