Bobbatlu Recipe | Obbattu Recipe | Holige Recipe

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If you are a fan of the famous stuffed sweet flatbread Puran Poli of Maharashtra, then you must not miss trying this Bobbatlu Recipe too – a similar delicacy from the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. While this name is how it is known as in various regions of Andhra, it is also popular as the Obbattu Recipe or Holige Recipe in Karnataka. This delicious South Indian style flatbread is stuffed with a sweet, cardamom scented filling made of chana dal or tuvar dal. It is common during festivals like Ugadi, Ganesh Chaturthi and Gudi Padwa. Also, a favorite Diwali Sweet too.

bobbatlu folded and served on a white plate with text layover.

About Bobbatlu Recipe

As I mentioned in the beginning, since these yummy sweet flatbreads majorly belong to cuisines of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, so it is the Bobbatlu Recipe in Telugu language while Obbattu Recipe and Holige Recipe is what is commonly referred to in Kannada language. A similar variation becomes the Puran Poli of Maharashtrian cuisine.

For the Bobbatlu Recipe, usually all-purpose flour or maida is used to make the outer covering. This results in a thinner flatbread. Although in this Obbattu Recipe, I have used half-half of both all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour (atta). Also, this Holige Recipe is different from this Puran Poli recipe that I have shared on my blog.

Other ingredients that I add for the dough of the Bobbatlu Recipe are oil or ghee, turmeric powder, salt and water. The turmeric is what imparts a prominent yellow hue to this Holige Recipe. If you are not that fond of it, then you can give it a miss too. But then this Obbattu Recipe won’t be an authentic one.

For the stuffing of this classic South Indian sweet flatbread, I have used split, husked Bengal gram (chana dal), jaggery, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder. You can even prepare the stuffing with split, husked pigeon pea lentils (tuvar dal) and give the nutmeg a miss, in case you don’t have it at home.

Tips For Perfect Obbattu

One of the best Bobbatlu Recipe is that of my aunt. The first time she visited use is when I got accustomed to her Obbattu Recipe. She had made lovely, decadent flatbreads and her Holige Recipe is what I follow till today.

She had also shared her knowledge on the know-how to make the most perfectly delish South Indian sweet flatbreads. Here are some of those for you to refer:

  • The dough has to be kneaded very well. It should be like elastic and soft.
  • For rolling, use finely ground rice flour as it helps in rolling evenly and thin, without breaking the flatbreads.
  • Some cream of wheat (rava or suji) can be added to the dough.
  • The more oil in the dough, the better is the texture of the dough.
  • Chana dal has to be cooked well and ground well. If there are specks of whole chana dal in the ground stuffing, then the flatbreads can break while rolling.
  • If the chana dal is slightly under cooked, then the jaggery becomes hard when the mixture is cooked.
  • Do not overcook or brown the flatbreads too much, as then they become dense and hard.
  • According to my aunt, it is best to have puran yantra. If you do not have puran yantra, then the next best option is a mixer or grinder. If you make these flatbreads often, then consider buying a puran yantra.

Like I said earlier, this recipe gives you tastiest flatbreads. Also, preparing these typical South Indian flatbreads does take a lot of time. So, do plan and organize your time and activities before making them.

Step-by-Step Guide

How to make Bobbatlu Recipe

Make Dough

1. In a sieve, take 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 cup all-purpose flour (maida), ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder and ½ teaspoon salt.

whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, turmeric powder and salt added in a sieve for making dough for holige recipe.

2. Sift and keep aside.

ingredients for making dough for holige recipe sifted.

3. Add about ⅓ cup water.

water added to sifted ingredients for making dough for holige recipe.

4. Knead lightly. Add water as required while kneading.

ingredients kneaded lightly for making dough for holige recipe.

5. Next, add 5 tablespoons oil and continue to knead.

oil added to dough for holige recipe.

6. Knead till all the oil is absorbed. Basically, you will have to knead for about 7 to 8 minutes or till all the oil is absorbed and the dough becomes very soft and pliable.

Add more water, if required.

kneading dough for holige recipe.

7. The dough should be kneaded very well to get a smooth, soft and elastic texture.

showing elasticity of holige recipe dough.

8. Cover and keep aside. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes. You can spread some oil all over the dough also and then cover the bowl.

dough ready for holige recipe.

Cook Lentils

9. While the dough is resting, you can start with the sweet stuffing. Rinse and take 1 cup chana dal (hulled split bengal gram) in a 3 litre stovetop pressure cooker. Also, add 2.5 cups water.

If you want, you can even soak chana dal for an hour. You can also use toor dal (arhar dal, pigeon pea lentils) instead of chana dal.

chana dal and water added to pressure cooker for making sweet stuffing for holige recipe.

10. Pressure cook on medium heat for 6 to 7 whistles.

pressure cooking chana dal for making sweet stuffing for holige recipe.

11. When the pressure settles down naturally, open the lid of the cooker and check if the chana dal is cooked well.

Take a few chana dal grains and mash with your fingers. They should get mashed easily. Take care as the lentils will be very hot.

checking the doneness of chana dal by mashing on the fingertips for making sweet stuffing for holige recipe.

12. Strain the chana dal lentils and let them cool or become warm. 

Use the strained water for making Rasam or Katachi Amti. You can also knead chapathi dough with this water or add it to curries or dals.

straining cooked chana dal for making sweet stuffing for obbattu recipe.

Blend Stuffing Ingredients

13. Then, add the cooked chana dal in a mixer or grinder jar.

cooked chana dal added in a grinder jar for making sweet stuffing for obbattu recipe.

14. Add 1 cup chopped jaggery, ½ teaspoon green cardamon powder and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg powder.

I have used organic jaggery and hence not dissolved in water and then strained it.

jaggery, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder added in grinder jar for making sweet stuffing for obbattu recipe.

15. Grind or blend to a fine and smooth consistency.

If you are unable to grind, then add 2 to 3 tablespoons or more water as needed. Grind at intervals. Grind, then scrape the jar and grind again.

The entire chana dal mixture should have a smooth texture. No whole or part chana dal should be visible in the mixture.

Otherwise while rolling, the flatbread will break. Make sure to cook the chana dal well.

ingredients ground to a smooth consistency for making sweet stuffing for obbattu recipe.

Cook Stuffing

16. Heat 1 tablespoon ghee in a pan.

heating ghee in a pan for making sweet stuffing.

17. Add the prepared chana dal-jaggery mixture.

prepared ground mixture added to pan for making sweet stuffing.

18. On low heat, stirring continuously, cook the mixture till it starts to leave the edges of the pan.

cooking stuffing mixture.

19. Then, turn off the heat and set aside. Let the stuffing mixture cool down.

cooking stuffing mixture.

20. Make medium sized balls from the mixture and keep aside. Cover them so that they do not dry out.

medium size balls made from cooked stuffing mixture.

Assemble, Stuff and Shape

21. Pinch a medium sized ball from the dough. Roll to a neat ball.

pinching ball from prepared dough.

22. Gently flatten it with your fingers. You can also use the rolling pin and flatten it.

flattening dough ball.

23. Place the chana dal stuffing ball in the flattened dough.

placing stuffing ball in the flattened dough ball for making bobbatlu recipe.

24. Then, begin to bring the edges together.

bringing edges together for making bobbatlu recipe.

25. Press the edges at the center.

pressing edges at the center for making bobbatlu recipe.

26. Then, flatten the center and gently roll the stuffed dough ball between your palms. To see the method of stuffing and sealing, do check the video embedded above.

flattening and rolling the stuffed dough for making bobbatlu recipe.

27. Stuff the dough balls this way and keep covered with a kitchen napkin, so that they do not dry out.

stuffed bobbatlu recipe.

Roll Bobbatlu

28. Place the stuffed dough ball on rolling board and sprinkle some rice flour. Instead of rice flour, you can also use all-purpose flour for this Obbattu Recipe.

sprinkling flour on prepared bobbatlu recipe.

29. Gently roll to a large Holige. Add rice flour as required while rolling.

stuffed dough balled rolled to a large bobbatlu recipe.

Cook Obbattu

30. Heat a tawa or flat skillet. Sprinkle some flour on the tawa and it should get golden (wipe off this flour). Then, gently place the Obbattu on the tawa.

rolled bobbatlu recipe placed on hot tawa.

31. Roast the flatbread till one side is golden and then gently flip. If the stuffing and rolling is done well, the flatbread will puff up as you see in the photo below.

roasting bobbatlu recipe till it puffs.

32. Spread some ghee or oil on this second side. You can skip adding ghee or oil in this Holige Recipe, if you prefer.

spreading ghee on bobbatlu recipe.

33. Flip again and roast the second side of the flatbread till golden.

roasting other side of bobbatlu recipe.

34. Spread some ghee or oil on this top side too that is facing you.

spreading ghee again on the other side.

35. Fold and serve Bobbatlu with milk or ghee by the side, or have them plain. Or you can just lift and place them in a roti basket, so that they remain warm. 

bobbatlu recipe folded and served on a white plate.

Expert Tips

  1. Make sure you are kneading a soft, smooth and elastic dough for this recipe. You have to spend some time kneading the dough very well. Do not be in a hurry.
  2. For the stuffing in this recipe, you can either use chana dal or tuvar dal (arhar dal). Basically use whatever lentils you prefer.
  3. Drain the water very well from the cooked lentils. Waterlogged lentils will make the filling mixture mushy and moist.
  4. You can even add some freshly and finely grated coconut in the stuffing.
  5. Sugar can also be used as a sweetener for the stuffing, instead of jaggery. Other alternatives are palm jaggery and coconut sugar.
  6. While rolling, you can either use rice flour or all-purpose flour.
  7. To roast these flatbreads, you can either use oil or ghee (clarified butter), or just roast without any fat too.

More Festive Sweet Recipes To Try!

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puran poli recipe

Bobbatlu Recipe | Obbattu Recipe | Holige Recipe

Bobbatlu also called Holige or Obbattu is a South Indian festive treat of sweetened flat breads. These flat breads are stuffed with cooked and finely ground mixture of chana dal, jaggery, cardamom powder and ground nutmeg. This Bobbatlu Recipe makes for one of the best Bobbatlu made with a sweet chana dal stuffing. 
5 from 9 votes
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cuisine Indian
Course Sweets
Diet Vegetarian
Difficulty Level Moderate
Servings 10 Bobbatlu
Units

Ingredients

For the dough

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour (atta)
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour (maida)
  • 4 to 5 tablespoons oil or ¼ cup oil or ghee
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
  • cup water or add as required
  • ghee or oil for roasting, as required

For the stuffing

  • 1 cup chana dal – 195 grams (split and husked bengal gram)
  • 2.5 cups water – for pressure cooking
  • 1 cup jaggery – 160 to 165 grams
  • ½ teaspoon green cardamom powder
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg powder or grated nutmeg – optional

Instructions
 

Making dough

  • In a sieve, take the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, turmeric powder and salt.
  • Sift and set aside.
  • Add about ⅓ cup water and knead lightly. Do add water as required.
  • Then add 5 tablespoons oil and continue to knead.
  • Knead till all the oil is absorbed. Basically you will have to knead for about 7 to 8 minutes till all the oil is absorbed and the dough becomes very soft and pliable. Do add more water if needed.
  • The obbattu dough should be kneaded very well to get a smooth, soft and elastic texture.
  • Cover and keep aside. Let dough rest for 30 minutes.

Making obbattu stuffing

  • Rinse a few times in water and then take the chana dal in a 3 litre stovetop pressure cooker. If you want you can even soak chana dal in water for 1 hour.
  • Next add 2.5 cups water. Pressure cook for 6 to 7 whistles on medium heat.
  • When the pressure drops naturally in the cooker, then only open the lid of the cooker and check if the chana dal is cooked well.
  • Take a few lentils and mash it with your fingers. They should get mashed easily. Do take care as the lentils will be very hot.
  • Strain the chana dal very well and let the lentils cool or become warm.
  • Then add the chana dal in a blender or grinder jar.
  • Add the chopped jaggery, green cardamon powder and nutmeg powder or grated nutmeg.
  • Grind or blend to a smooth and fine consistency. If you are unable to grind, then you can add 2 to 3 tablespoons or more water. Grind at intervals.
  • Grind, then scrape the jar and grind again. The entire chana dal mixture should have a fine and smooth texture.
    No chana dal should be visible in the stuffing. Otherwise while rolling, the obbattu breaks. So do make sure to cook the chana dal well.
  • Next heat 1 tablespoon ghee in a pan.
  • Add the ground chana dal and jaggery mixture.
  • On a low heat stirring non-stop cook the mixture till it starts to leave the edges of the pan.
  • Then turn off the heat and keep aside. Let the stuffing mixture cool down.
  • Make medium sized balls from the mixture and set aside. Cover them so that they do not dry out.

Stuffing and rolling obbattu or bobbatlu

  • Pinch a medium sized ball from the dough. Gently flatten it with your fingers. You can also use the rolling pin and flatten it.
  • Place the chana dal stuffing ball in the flattened dough.
  • Bring together the edges and press them at the center.
  • Then flatten the center and gently roll the stuffed dough ball between your palms. To see the method of stuffing and sealing, do check the video embedded above at the top of the page.
    Stuff the dough balls this way and keep covered with a kitchen napkin, so that they do not dry out.
  • Place the stuffed dough ball on rolling board and sprinkle some rice flour. Instead of rice flour you can also use all purpose flour for dusting.
  • Gently roll to a large obbattu. Add flour as required while rolling.

Cooking obbattu or bobbatlu or holige

  • Heat a flat skillet or tawa. Sprinkle some flour on the tawa and it should get golden (wipe off this flour). Then gently place the obbattu on the tawa.
  • Roast till one side is golden and then flip.
  • Spread some ghee or oil on this roasted side. You can skip adding ghee or oil if you like.
  • Flip again and roast the second side till golden.
  • Spread some ghee or oil on this second side too.
  • If needed for even roasting and cooking, you can flip a few times.
  • Fold and then serve obbattu. Or you can just lift them and place them in a roti basket, so that the obbattu remain warm.
  • Serve Bobbatlu or Obbattu with milk or ghee by side. Or you can just have them as is.

Video

Notes

  • You can use oil instead of ghee while roasting. 
  • Instead of chana dal, you can use tuvar dal (arhar dal). 
  • Some finely grated fresh coconut can also be added in the stuffing. 
  • Instead of jaggery you can use sugar, palm jaggery (or palm sugar) and coconut sugar. 
  • Use the lentil strained water for making rasam or soups. You can also knead your roti or chapathi dough with this water or add it to curries or lentil or rice based dishes.

Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)

Nutrition Facts
Bobbatlu Recipe | Obbattu Recipe | Holige Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 320 Calories from Fat 99
% Daily Value*
Fat 11g17%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 6g
Cholesterol 12mg4%
Sodium 120mg5%
Potassium 60mg2%
Carbohydrates 50g17%
Fiber 6g25%
Sugar 21g23%
Protein 6g12%
Vitamin A 1IU0%
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) 1mg67%
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 1mg59%
Vitamin B3 (Niacin) 1mg5%
Vitamin B6 1mg50%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Vitamin E 2mg13%
Vitamin K 1µg1%
Calcium 47mg5%
Vitamin B9 (Folate) 28µg7%
Iron 2mg11%
Magnesium 20mg5%
Phosphorus 57mg6%
Zinc 1mg7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This Bobbatlu recipe from the archives was first published on March 2017. It has been updated and republished on March 2023.

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Welcome to Dassana's Veg Recipes. I share vegetarian recipes from India & around the World. Having been cooking for decades and with a professional background in cooking & baking, I help you to make your cooking journey easier with my tried and tested recipes showcased with step by step photos & plenty of tips & suggestions.

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