Fried Bread (Poori) in Sweetened Milk (Paal Bholi)

Paal Bholi is a Tamilian delicacy. It is usually made during the Pongal festival. It can be caloric heavy but is amenable to low-cal modification that is still tasty and flavorful. I tend to make it whenever I am stuck in the house usually during snow days. Today is one of those days. I made the low-cal version because I had a gallon of 1% milk sitting in the refrigerator that was past its expiry date. Mind you, low-caloric or not, it is addictive!

Paal Bholi; Low Cal version

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking tie: 15 minutes
Eating time: 1 minute !

Ingredients:

1/2 gallon of 1% milk
Sugar: 1/4 cup
Saffron strings: a pinch
All purpose flour: 1/2 cup
Corn oil to fry
water: 1 tblsp
salt to taste


1. Pour the milk into a heavy pan or a dish and cook on a low simmer till the milk is reduced in half. (This process will take about 30 minutes.) To prevent sticking, stir the milk regularly. Add sugar and saffron strings. Transfer the milk to a wide shallow dish and continue to heat it on low simmer.

2. While the milk is cooking, in  a bowl mix flour and water and knead to a smooth dough. The dough should be firm. If it is soft, add more flour. Put it in a ziploc bag and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

3. Remove the dough from the bag and make small balls, the size of a quarter. Roll the ball thinly into a round disk (poori).

4. Heat oil in a deep skillet. To test the heat, drop a tiny piece of dough into the oil. If the piece comes up right away sizzling, then the oil is ready for frying.

5. Fry the poori one at a time. Remove from oil when it turns brown and puffy. Drop the poori straight into the hot simmering milk.

6. Turn off the heat. Soak the pooris in the hot milk for 15-20 minutes. The pooris will become soft and soggy with sweetened milk and ready to eat.

Enjoy!