Boli is the dessert of Thiruvanantha- puram. The golden coloured delicacy with hot payasam can make any true blue native of the city go into raptures about its mouth-watering flavours. Zealous foodies jealously safeguard the names of the cooks who make this ambrosial sweet. So, there must be many celebrating the arrival of an outlet dedicated to the sweet and soft boli, that too when you can get the boli hot off the tawa?
Welcome to Maha Boli, a newly opened counter of Maha Chips at Pazhavangadi, which is well-known to foodies and patrons of ethnic eats.
It is a treat for the senses at Maha Boli, with the yellow colour, flavour and aroma making your taste buds go on an overdrive. According to V. Sivakumar, owner of the shop, “Though you get bolis in shops and from some households, Maha Boli would perhaps be the first of its kind in the city. We were pleasantly surprised by the response on the first day, all thanks to the steady clientele that Maha Chips has,” says Sivakumar, who started out as a banana chips vendor and, later, opened Maha Chips nine years ago.
At Maha Boli, customers can watch bolis being made. Rameshan, who has over three decades of experience, rolls the dough soaking in gingelly oil into perfectly round bolis and simultaneously fries them on the tawa kept next to him.
Chana dal (kadalaparippu), the stuffing inside the boli, is being ground into a fine paste after it has been cooked well and then sautéed with sugar. “To this we add, cardamom powder and nutmeg. Meanwhile we keep the maida dough ready. It should be soft and smooth. Keep it soaked in gingelly oil,” Rameshan explains as another employee makes balls of the maida dough. Rameshan skilfully puts balls of the ground mixture into the maida rounds, covers it, rolls it out and fries it on the tawa. . “It shouldn’t be overcooked,” says Rameshan as he turns the boli over using a thin stick. Then he sprinkles generous helpings of ghee on the boli. The process is repeated with such amazing speed that the tray kept near him is stacked with bolis in no time. “Ghee gives that extra taste to a boli,” says Sivakumar, as people troop in to buy the sweet.
A boli is priced at Rs. 9 and according to Sivakumar it will remain fresh for four days. Maha Boli also stocks elayappam (which has a jackfruit filling), athirasam, therali, unniyappam and neyyappam. “We are planning to introduce jaggery boli, coconut boli and chakkavaratti boli. We might introduce payasams after some time,” he says.
Maha Boli, located opposite Maha Chips, is open on all days from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.