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Masala poli , south-indian style
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Masala Poli | Spicy Potato masala stuffed flatbread

Masala poli, a savory flatbread stuffed with spicy potato and peas masala. The flatbread is cooked with a mixture ghee and oil, sprinkled with gun powder on top and studded with herbs and cashew nuts.
Course Appetizer, Main Course, Snack
Cuisine Indian
Keyword How to make savory flatbread, Masala bread, Masala flabread, Potato flatbread, Spicy flatbread, Stuffed bread
Prep Time 30 minutes
Rolling and Cooking each bread 6 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 253kcal

Equipment

  • Rolling Pin
  • Flatpan/griddle for cooking the flatbread

Ingredients

  • 1 cup All purpose flour
  • 1 cup Whole wheat flour
  • ¾-1 cup Warm water
  • ½ cup oil any vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 tbsp gun powder idly milagai podi
  • fresh coriander leaves for garnish
  • oil for making the poli/bread

For the Filling

  • 2 nos large potatoes
  • ½ cup green peas i used frozen
  • 1 no large onion finely chopped
  • ¾ teaspoon red chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon coriander powder
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • ¾ teaspoon salt or to taste

Tempering

  • 2 teaspoon oil
  • ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds/kadugu
  • teaspoon hing/asafoetida
  • tablespoon broken cashew nuts
  • sprig of curry leaf

Instructions

Let us make the dough

  • Mix together both the flours in a large bowl, add salt and turmeric powder mix well. Add half the oil to the flour mix and knead to form crumb-like dough.
  • Now slowly add warm water to this and knead a smooth, elastic dough, add the remaining oil in batches while kneading and knead a super soft dough.
  • Originally the dough is made of all purpose flour, since we are using a combination of all purpose flour and wheat flour, we might not get that elastic consistency. Knead a soft dough and Let it rest covered for 30 minutes.

Let us make the filling

  • Peel and cube the potatoes, add enough water for the potatoes to immerse microwave high for 10 minutes for them to cook. you can also cook on stove-top, until soft.
  • Drain the excess water. Let it cool for a minute or two and then mash the potatoes well, while it is still hot .
  • Heat oil, splutter mustard seeds, broken cashews, hing, curry leaf. Next add onion and saute until translucent.
  • Now add the mashed potatoes and peas to it. Add red chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric and salt
  • Cover and cook in simmer flame for 8-10 minutes for the flavors to mingle and the rawness to escape. Take it off the heat and let it cool completely.

Let us make the Poli

  • Divide the dough into 7-8 portions. Divide the filling into ping-pong size balls. There might be some filling leftover, its  fine, they can be made into sandwiches. 
  • The bread is usually patted/shaped on banana leaf and cooked, since i couldn't find one, i used my steel plate with little grease on it.
  • Grease your plate or use a ziploc cover, take a ball of dough, grease your hands with little oil, pat the dough to make a disc.
  • Place a ping-pong sized filling in the middle of the patted disc and make it flat. Bring the edges of the dough together , covering the filling
  • Drizzle a teaspoon of oil on top, pat it flat into thin disc. Since i have used wheat flour- all purpose flour mix, i couldn't get it very thin. If using All purpose flour alone, you can stretch it pretty thin. 
  • Add a dash of gun powder and few coriander leaves to the shaped disc and pat again, 
  • Heat a griddle, once the heat is high, reduce the flame to simmer,  carefully remove the patted poli/flatbread on to the hot griddle, drizzle with ghee/oil and cook both the sides until done.
  • It takes around 1 minute to cook one side. Be patient, don't burn the bread. Once done, remove it on to a flat plate.
  • Repeat the same with rest of the dough. Serve warm. This bread doesn't need any accompaniments, if you insist, i might serve it along minty yogurt, to balance the flavors.

Notes

  • I have made the dough with a combination of wheat flour and all purpose flour. 
  • You can choose to make the dough with either of these flour completely. 
  • Masala poli made of all purpose flour can be stretched thin while rolling and so will be soft once cooked. 
  • Ghee is prefered for cooking the masala poli, you can also mix ghee and oil for cooking. 
Check the Idly podi Recipe here 
 

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Nutrition

Calories: 253kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 515mg | Potassium: 105mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 126IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 2mg