A full Gujarati Thali Meal! Stay tuned for updated recipes every day this Diwali season.
A full course Gujarati Thali meal compiled of traditional Surat, Gujarat recipes such as Vermi/Puran Poli, vegetable side dishes such as stuffed eggplant (aubergine), and Pulao Rice using Royal Basmati Rice. Whether you are celebrating Diwali with friends, birthday, or any auspicious day, this is a go-to Surati Thali meal that can please the vegetarian Gujarati food lover in your life.
Gujarati Thali Dinner
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Be sure to visit this page often for updated recipes and step by step instructions. Want further help? Check out my Instagram page where I share detailed recipes everyday. I really hope you enjoy these Surat, Gujarat inspired recipes.
How these recipes came about?
I was born and raised in the US, but grew up in a household that made every traditional Gujarati meal from scratch with my grandparents most of the time. My family comes from a wide range of foodies who range from sweet shop operators, to farmers, and award winning restaurant owners. With that aside, there are many ways to make each of these dishes, but my family roots are from the Surat, Gujarat area which is where my cooking techniques and methods derive from.
Gujarati Thali Recipes!
Vermi/Pulan Poli
A mixture of toor daal, sugar, and spices topped with delicious ghee make this a very filling and satisfying dish. In all honesty, it’s my favorite sweet out of all of the things combined. Yes, it is a labor of love to compile but worth every bit of the time! This recipe is the exact measurement I use when. Please note, there will be some left over roti/atta dough in the end since it helps to compile each vermi during the process. Feel free to make plain roti with the leftovers or simply let the kids play with and practice making their own roti. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!
Tips/Tricks
- Freeze the stuffing if you have extra or make it ahead of time. It takes a quick warming in the microwave to be able to make fresh Vermi.
- I like to make my Vermi thick. Meaning, it is packed with extra stuffing! Go big or go home, right?
- Enjoy this recipe with Kadi, Pulao, and a variation of vegetable sides.
Step-By-Step Directions
A sweet stuffing made of toor daal that is pan cooked and eaten with a generous portion of ghee. This dish has many other names throughout India including Puran Poli, but I grew up calling it Vermi.
- 1 cup toor daal
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- ½ tsp nutmeg powder
- 2 cups 24 Mantra whole wheat flour (desi atta)
- 1 ¼ cup water
- 2 tbsp oil or ghee
- all purpose flour for dusting
- ghee
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Rinse the 1 cup of toor daal really well and place it in in an Instant Pot.
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Pour the 2 cups of water into the Instant Pot with the daal, close the lid and set the valve to sealed (no air should escape during the cooking process), and set it to 15 minutes.
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Allow the Instant Pot to cool naturally. Once the valve drops open the Instant Pot.
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Blend the daal using a hand blender until no lumps remain.
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Place the mixture in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high heat at 5 minute intervals mixing each time until it thickens to a point where it forms a ball. This process can take about 15-20 minutes.
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Once the mixture has thickened add the sugar and spices. This will make the mixture runny again. Mix it well and continue to cook in the microwave until the mixture is able to form a ball again.
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Once it has thickened. Let it cool until you are able to touch it with your hands.
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Knead the mixture for a brief 30 seconds/1 minute and then form 8-10 balls (this number can vary based on how thick you want the Vermi to be).
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Combine the ingredients until the dough has formed a soft ball. Feel free to use a kitchen mixture or use your hands to knead the dough.
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Divide the dough into 8-10 rounds (this depends on how big/thick you want your Vermi to be).
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Take a roti dough ball and roll it into a small circle keeping the middle thicker then the outer round (it doesn't have to be a perfect round).
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Place a stuffing ball in the middle of the roti.
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Combine the edges together to make a tight stuffed ball and remove the excess dough from the top (trust me, you don't want to keep the extra dough on the Vermi).
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Dust the Vermi ball with some all purpose flour and gently roll it into a circle. I prefer my Vermi to be thick, but this is all a personal preference.
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Heat a pan on the stove top to medium high heat.
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Add the rolled Vermi to the pan and cook for about 1 minute.
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Flip over and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
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Flip the Vermi back over and add some oil to the pan to cook it through while flipping it multiple times. The Vermi will inflate, you can gently tap the bubble to get it to be a complete inflated Vermi.
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Enjoy hot with a generous serving of ghee.
- These can be made ahead of time and heated through on a stove top pan right before serving.
- The stuffing can be placed in the freezer for a few months at a time. I roll them into portioned balls and place them in a freezer safe bag.
- Fresh ghee takes this dish to another level!
COMING SOON! GUJARATI THALI RECIPES!
