Pala Munjalu Recipe -One of the easy and traditional Andhra sweet made with semolina, milk, lentils, jaggery and coconut.

What are Paala Munjalu?

Pala Munjalu is a classic Andhra festive sweet dish. It is basically a fried semolina dumpling stuffed with a sweet lentil filling. The outer layer is made with milk and semolina that's why it is called Pala Munjalu, Paalu means milk in Telugu. Paala Munjalu are traditionally made during festivals such as Varalakshmi Vratham, Sankranti, Dasara and Ugadi.

There are two variations of making this Andhra sweet, one is with semolina and another one is with rice flour. I will post the rice flour version sometime in the future.

These Pala Munjalu are very similar to the classic Poornam Boorelu where the outer is made with black gram and rice batter and a great alternative when one finds it difficult to make the poornalu / poornam boorelu.

Tips to Make the Best Pala Munjalu:

Make sure the chana dal is just cooked and hold shape. You can also cook them without a pressure cooker.
Always cover the semolina dough and stuffed dumplings to prevent from drying.
Make sure the dough is smooth, soft and lump-free.

Few More Andhra Recipes / Andhra Vantalu:

Step by Step Preparation:

Poornam or Stuffing Preparation:

Rinse and drain the lentils well.
Transfer them to a pressure cooker and pressure cook with just enough water to cover the dal. The dal should be just cooked and hold shape. Do not add a lot of water.

Drain all the excess water completely. Make sure that there is no water and let it cool down completely.
Transfer the cooked and cooled chana dal/lentils to a blender or mixie and grind into a powder.

Take the measured jaggery powder to a pan and add a little water.
Keep mixing and let the jaggery dissolve completely.
Bring it to a boil.

Now add the ground chana dal, grated coconut and cardamom powder the jaggery syrup and mix until well combined.

Keep mixing and cook until the mixture thickens. When the mixture becomes like dough, turn off the flame.

Let it cool completely and divide it into 15 round balls. Now the stuffing is ready. Cover them and set aside.

Outer layer dough preparation:

To make the outer layer dough, bring 3 cups of milk to a rolling boil.
Slowly add the semolina to the boiling milk and stir continuously without any lumps.
Reduce the flame to low and let the mixture cook for a couple of minutes or until it thickens.
When the mixture thickens, remove it from the flame and let it cool down a bit.
When the mixture is warm enough to handle, knead it well to make a smooth dough.
The semolina dough should be smooth and very soft.
Grease your hands with little oil/ghee and divide the dough into 15 round shape balls. The outer layer dough is now ready.

Shaping the Pala Munjalu:

Flatten the dough ball and keep pressing with your finger to form a disc or cup. (refer the below image)

Place the prepared chana dal stuffing in the middle of the semolina dough disc. Bring the edges together and seal them properly. Shape it into a smooth ball.
Make sure there are no leaks.
Keep them covered.

Frying the dumplings:

Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. Deep fry the stuffed balls/dumplings in hot oil until golden brown color.
Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. Serve!

How to Make Pala Munjal Recipe below: