Pani Puri
Make India's favorite street food - puffed, crispy, stuffed with flavored potatoes deep fried snack - at home. This spiced rice and gram flour batter fried and filled with tangy chutney make it so delicious and unforgetable experience.
To make Pani Puri you may need:
Ingredients:
Serves 2-4
Puris:
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1½ cup suji (semolina/rava)
- a pinch of baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- about ½ cup water
- oil for frying
Or you can use store bought puris (baked or fried)/papdi.
Pani:
- 1 cup coriander leaves, chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves
- 3-4 green chillies
- 2 tbsp ginger, chopped
- 1 tbsp jaggery
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- black salt or salt to taste
- about 2 cups of water (depends what consistency you like, but do not make to watery)
- 1 cup tamarind chutney or 2 tbsp tamarind extract (or 1 tbsp tamarind paste, store bought)
- 2 tbsp fresh crispy boondi (optional)
Stuffing:
- 1 cup sprouted moong or
- 1 cup channa dal (cooked)
- 1 boiled potato (optional)
- ½ cup red onion, finely chopped
- ½ cup sev
- salt to taste
- ½ cup yoghurt (optional)
- mint leaves (for decoration)
How to make Pani Puri:
Puris:
- In a big bowl combine flour, semolina, salt gradually adding a little water to make stiff dough. Knead for few minutes.
- Cover the dough with damp muslin cloth and keep aside for 25-30 minutes.
- Make small balls from the dough and again keep them under the damp cloth.
- Take the balls one by one and roll out each into thin roti. While rolling the roti you may use dried flour (maida) to dust. (Another way is you can make a very big roti and then make the small rounds from it with the help of round cookie cutter or use any small serving bowl or the lid of any container/jar)
- Heat 1-2 cups of oil in a pan/kadai.
- First time pour only 1 puri into hot oil to check whether the oil is ready to puff up the puri or not. If oil seems hot enough and the puri comes out puffy and crunchy then you may add few at a time. Fry puris evenly from both sides, stiring occasionally to avoid burning. Press the puris in the center and allow them to puff up.
- When crispy and puffed up take them out on oil absorbent paper or on a clean kitchen napkin. Allow the puris to cool completely and then store them in air tight container.
TIP: In order to get the puris to puff up right, the little discs of dough need to be perfectly flat. Roti Makers will make this easy for you. Then all you need to do is cut the puris out with a cookie cutter.
Pani:
- Grind all the ingredients together. While serving dilute it with water to required consistency. In another jar mix the tamarind paste with 1 cup of water, or use tamarind chutney.
Stuffing
- Wash the sprouted moong. Cook in 1 cup of water with ½ tsp salt. (approximeately two whistles in a pressure cooker). If you don't have a pressure cooker, it is good soak the beans for few hours. Then cook it in 3 cups of water on low-medium heat for about 40-45 minutues or till beans are tender. Add the coriander leaves, chopped onion, potatoes and mix it well.
How to eat
- Stuff the small puris with the stuffing (moong or chickpeas, potatoes, onions, sev, chopped corriander leaves), perhaps little yoghurt (optional) and fill it with green pani (water) and tamarind deluted with water.