Holige is a sweet and savoury thin roti-like special dish. The flatbread, made with wheat flour, is stuffed with a sweet filling. Shenga Holige (meaning, peanut holige in Kannada) is a flatbread made using wheat flour with a filling of a paste of roasted peanuts and jaggery, flavoured with a hint of cardamom powder.
The peanuts and jaggery stuffing in Shenga Holige has a rich taste, similar to the flavour of peanut butter. Different kinds of stuffing are used in other Holige preparations, such as yellow gram, cane sugar, a chickpea mix, other kinds of nuts, even dates. Holige is tasty and healthy and is eaten as dessert after an elaborate meal or as a sweet dish by itself.
Holige, also known as Obbattu in Kannada, is known by various names in other parts of the country - such as Puran Poli in Maharashtra; Oliga/bobbatlu in Andhra Pradesh; Boli in Kerala, Poli in Tamil Nadu; and Puran Puri in Gujarat. The dish is usually served during special occasions, like harvest festivals, but it can be eaten at any time of the day or year. One can even enjoy it with a hot cup of coffee for breakfast or evening snack. Peanuts and jaggery make the Shenga Holige healthy too. Peanuts, which is a legume, is good for the heart and are said to be good for weight loss too. Holige is also often served with paal payasam, which adds to its taste.
Here is a recipe for Shenga Holige.
Ingredients:
- 1½ cups of peanuts
- 1 cup grated jaggery
- Wheat flour
- Cardamom powder
- Ghee
- Salt
- Refined oil
- Water
Method:
- Put two cups of wheat flour in a bowl, add one teaspoon of salt, and one teaspoon of oil, and mix.
- Add one and a half cups of water and knead the dough, while kneading press down on the dough with your knuckles, and make sure the dough is stiff.
- Add one teaspoon of oil to the dough and knead once more, keep it aside.
- In a pan, put the peanuts and on low flame roast it.
- Take off from the fire and after the peanuts cool down, remove the peanut coverings.
- Put the peanuts into a mixie and grind it into a fine powder.
- Add the grated jaggery, cardamom powder, and make a paste of stuffing.
- Make small balls out of the dough and roll each into a small-sized holige.
- Put a teaspoon of the stuffing in the centre of the small paratha and make a ball with the stuffing inside.
- Put the ball, sprinkle a little flour over it, and roll it like a roti.
- Put the holige on the tawa, add one teaspoon of ghee, and cook the holige on both sides.
Serve the Shenga Holige hot.
