The festive season has begun and preparations for the days to follow are being planned in every household. Navratri to New Year is most cheerful time of the year. The absolute joy of seeing an array of delicacies prepared during festivities is the most satisfying feast for the tummy and eyes. Today, I’m here to share Kobbari Poornam Boorelu Recipe on the occasion of Dussehra.

Poornalu is a traditional South Indian festive sweet prepared in most telugu homes as a part of any festival celebrations. This is one sweet, which my mom continues to prepare even till date for every single festival. She is an expert in making them…..I don’t think I can ever get close to her perfection. The plan was to actually make them in a paniyaram pan. But, I opted the traditional method of deep frying as I’m also making video.

I have rambled quite a bit about the festival in this post, where I also share my all time favourite Semiya Saggubiyyum Payasam. Do have a look!!

Coming to the recipe, the fillings and the outer coverings differ from region to region. These are known with different names in different regions of India- To name a few sukhiyan, suyam, susiyan, seeyam, suzhiyam, sugeelu or sugunta. While many use chana dal as filling or this coconut poornam or even a combination of the two. Some of them use toor dal or even moong dal filling…again choices are endless!! The outer covering is again made up of lots of variations like urad dal batter, maida (all purpose flour) batter and rice-urad dal mixture (like we make). The proportions could be different which is the deciding factor for the texture of the boorelu. In today’s Kobbari Poornam Boorelu Recipe, we will be using coconut jaggery mixture, aka Kobbari Poornam or Kobbari Louz.

Just make sure that the rice-dal batter is thick enough to coat the balls evenly and holds shape. At the same time, the filling should be hard enough to bind to form laddus. If you get these right….you are good to go and you can never go wrong!! It can be a little difficult for beginners, but, you never know…!! Don’t give up without trying!!

Click HERE to go directly to the video!! Continue reading for detailed recipe!!

Off to Kobbari Poornam Boorelu Recipe!!

Steps to follow for Kobbari Poornam Boorelu Recipe:

Stuffing for Kobbari Poornam Boorelu Recipe:

Click HERE to go directly to the video!! Continue reading for detailed recipe!!

Click HERE for the detailed recipe for the filling. Today we are using Coconut Jaggery Poornam as filling.
Click HERE to watch video to prepare this poornam (stuffing).

To make batter for outer covering:

Soak rice and urad dal separately/together for 5 to 6 hours or overnight.
Wash soaked rice and dal and drain away the water.

Combine the two, add required water (not too much) while grinding.
Grind well to a smooth textured batter. Ensure the batter is neither thick nor thin.
Remove the batter to a bowl.

Add required salt and mix well.
The consistency should be between idli and dosa batter.
Store batter in the refrigerator until you start making poornalu.
Make small balls of the filling. Click here to learn how to make the filling.

Let’s make poornam boorelu and deep-fry:

Remove batter from the refrigerator and add a pinch of cooking soda (optional) and mix well.
Heat oil in a deep frying pan or kadai over medium heat.
Once the oil is hot enough, do a test with a pinch of the batter. If oil is hot enough, the batter rises to the top immediately.
Dip each ball of stuffing (poornam) in the batter carefully using fingers or a spoon, coat it well, swipe off the excess drippings and drop them one by one gently into hot oil. Ensure the Poornam ball is completely covered with batter.

Pour oil using the slotted spoon from the sides (like how we do for vadas) which helps in puffing up the boorelu.
Turn sides and fry until light golden brown.
You can fry for an extra minute for a crispy crust.

Repeat the process with left over batter.
Turn off the heat once you are done.

Serve them hot/cold or at room temperature. I love to have them hot.
You can store these in an airtight container up to 2 days or refrigerate for about a week. You can heat up in a microwave just before serving them. In fact, some people re-fry them in oil and have it…. I have never tried it though.

KOBBARI POORNALU

A Quick Summary:

Print Recipe

Kobbari Poornam Boorelu Recipe | Kobbari Burelu | How to make Burelu | Poornalu Recipe

Kobbari Poornam Boorelu Recipe for making poornalu, a traditional festive delicacy in South India. It’s a deep fried rice-dal dumpling stuffed with cardamom flavoured coconut jaggery mixture.

Prep Time5

Cook Time40

Total Time5 40

Course: Festive Sweet / Dessert

Cuisine: Indian (South Indian)

Servings: 6 to 8

Author: Padma Veeranki

Ingredients

For the outer covering:

1 cup Black gram dal/Urad dal
2 cups Raw rice
Salt to taste

For the filling:

Click here for the recipe!!

To Deep Fry:

Required oil for deep-frying

Instructions

Outer covering:

Soak rice and urad dal for 5 hours.
Wash and drain away the water.
Combine and grind well to a smooth textured thick batter. Ensure the batter is neither thick nor thin.
Transfer to a bowl, add required salt and mix well.
Set aside in the refrigerator until you use it.
Make small balls of the filling.

Deep-frying:

Remove the batter from the refrigerator and add a pinch of cooking soda(optional) and mix well.
Heat oil in a deep frying pan over medium heat.
Once the oil is hot enough, dip each ball of stuffing (poornam) in the batter, coat well and drop gently drop into hot oil.
Turn sides and fry until light golden brown.
You can fry for an extra minute for a crispy crust.
Serve them hot/cold.

My Notes:

Batter for the outer layer should neither be thick nor very thin. The Urad dal batter should be thicker than a dosa batter, but slightly thinner than Idli batter.
In case your batter becomes runny, you can save it by mixing little rice flour to the batter and bring it to the right consistency. But do not use too much, it will result in hard poornalu.
You can add a pinch of cooking soda to the batter just before frying. This gives an added crunch.
Fry the poornalu in hot oil, otherwise the batter will absorb a lot oil.
The shelf life is longer when made with dried coconut. If you use fresh coconut, this will keep well in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
For more tips click here & here!!
Click here for another variation for the filling.

Check out another version of these POORNALU WITH LENTIL FILLING. It’s almost the same procedure, but, the difference in ingredients give a drastic change in the taste. Make both variations and see which one is your favourite.

Or, check out how the same coconut jaggery filling can be used to make KUDUMULU/KOZHUKATTAI.

Do check out other FESTIVAL RECIPES & DIWALI SWEET RECIPES from blog!!

Many more to come!!…..STAY TUNED!!

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Wishing you all a very Happy Vijaya Dashami/Dussehra 🙂

Happy Cooking 🙂

Cheers!!

Padma.