Kuch meetha ho jaye

A recent viral video of a street vendor stuffing paratha dough with a crushed gulab jamun left foodies in a frenzy While some thought of it as a magical combination to try others were mortified by the bizarre fusion But sweet flatbreads have long been a tradition across most Indian communities their fillings varying from boiled lentils to pumpkin and even malaiPumpkin Puris and SatoriHomechef Supriya Pal and mother Subhangi Gokhale are famed for their pumpkin puris and satori the traditional Maharashtrian sweet flatbread PicsShadab KhanFor Maharashtrians puran poli is iconic often made on auspicious occasions like Gudi Padwa and Makar Sankranti But Supriya Pal a home chef from Mira Road tells midday that her favourite sweet flatbread is the pumpkin puris called bhopalacha puri in Marathi Made from steamed raw red pumpkin these carry the goodness of dry fruit jaggery and cardamom powder The fried puri is a bit crispy and is delicious to eat on its own as an evening snack ldquoMy mother hails from Nagpur where this variety of puri is famous I donrsquot think I have seen it being made anywhere elserdquo says Pal Their longevity makes them ideal to carry on travels and Pal says when they want an extracrispy batch they add some maida to the dough Satori is made using sooji or semolina ghee sugar cardamom and milk They are palmsized and traditionally fried in ghee and taste best with a sweetsour lime pickle While puran polis accompany most festivals satori is made all through the year ldquoThese days to cut down on sugar consumption people replace the sugar with dates or even khoya The khoya variety doesnrsquot last long but the traditional one made with sooji and sugar lasts upto five daysrdquo says GokhaleLoloLolo is enjoyed during the festival of SatamLolo or as some Sindhis call it meethi koki is a flatbread made with sugar flour and ghee After soaking the sugar for four hours itrsquos mixed with the flour to make the dough and rolled out into thick rotis that are roasted on the tawa on slow flame Junisha Dama a freelance writer and proud Sindhi says ldquoTraditionally lolo is made for the festival of Satam which falls in the month of Shravanrdquo Itrsquos when the Sindhis pray to the goddess of fire and stay away from using the gas These sweet flatbreads are made a day or two prior and can be stored for up to a week They can be eaten as is or paired with a potato sabji While it is a family tradition for the Damasrsquo to make the lolo every year for Satam they also make it on regular days when a craving kicks in Gureli is another sweet paratha that comes stuffed with jaggery made only in the wintersSheermaalLucknowrsquos royal flatbread shahi sheermal on sale outside Jama Masjid in Old Delhi PicGetty ImagesMohammed Aiwaz Asif the owner of the 108yearold famed Mughlai food chain Karimrsquos says that there are two kinds of sheermaalmdashplain sweet and a sweeter version with dry fruits Sheermaal also known as bhakharkarna in Iran where the recipe in fact originated is a saffronflavoured sweet flatbread dating back to Mughal timesItrsquos believed to be a recipe that travelled to various places along the Silk Route including Afghanistan and India While the regular sheermal pairs well with nonvegetarian dishes like korma kebab mutton and chicken gravy and galouti kebab the sweeter version has the dry fruits dipped in a sweet sheera giving it a more potent sacharine kick ldquoIt wonrsquot taste as good with vegetarian food You wouldnrsquot eat butter chicken or dal makhani with a sweet roti would yourdquo he saysSince it is made from maida in a tandoor it is best served hot Made with saffron milk sugar cardamom powder and ghee the preparation is a laborious one that could stretch over a couple of hours Preparation for the dough making usually starts early in the morning and the saffroninfused milk is soaked overnight to get the right colour and flavoursHoligeSweet flatbreads also known as holige or obbattu are common in every home in Karnataka says Bengalurubased home chef Prajakti Desai ldquoGenerally they are made from jaggery but I use dates to make a healthier versionrdquo Itrsquos on the occasion of Ugadi same as Gudi Padwa celebrated in Maharashtra that holige land up on every table A variety of preparations include the use of jaggery peanuts sesame and coconut The most popular version says Desai is made with chana dal and jaggery A filling of either of these is mixed together and used as stuffing for the parathaPrajakti Desai uses dates instead of jaggery to make a healthier version of holigeSome eateries in Bengaluru claim to offer close to 100 different variations of holige using khoya badam dry fruit toor daal dry coconut carrot halwa and anjeer among others Originally the dough is made using maida but Desai replaces it with wheat and promises that it tastes just as good The dough must be soft and usually soaked in oil for a couple of hours Instead of rolling it they put the dough ball greased in oil in between two plastic sheets and begin to pat and spread it with their fingers to make it into a thin flatbread They stay up to a week without refrigeration The Brahmin community in Karnataka calls the paratha holige while the nonBrahmin calls it obbattu ldquoHolige is usually eaten with ghee on the side and hot milk is poured on top During mango season it is also eaten with aam ras They taste even better the day after they are maderdquo Desai smilesRoghni TikiyaHome chef Sheeba Iqbal offers curated dining experiences in her 121yearold haveli in Lucknow While Uttar Pradeshrsquos capital is famous for sheermal itrsquos the roghni tikiya that Iqbal chooses to discuss with midday Made using sugar milk and ghee itrsquos a breakfast item that is slow cooked and eaten warm Since it goes beautifully with shammi kebab kheema and egg bhurji itrsquos a winter favourite But Iqbal says it also tastes good with the vegetarian aloo ke patle or potatoes Crisp on the outside soft when broken and when eaten in summers itrsquos paired with malai