Pani Puri Recipe with step by step photo – Call it Pani Puri, Golgappa, or Fuchka this is India’s favorite street food. It’s truly unique, and if I have to describe it, then it’s a crispy and hollow “puri” that is stuffed with tasteful mashed potato, together with spices, coriander, chickpeas, gram, tamarind pulp, lemon juice and chaat masala. The stuffed puri is then swiftly dipped in tamarind water, the pani, filling the hollow; finally, the whole thing is to be eaten in one gulp, or guppa. You can get different sizes of the puri to fit different for bite sizes.
Some other snack recipes you may love Suji Kachori, Kalmi Vada, vegetable Poha Cutlet, Bread Idli, Macaroni Cheese Balls, Veg paneer cheesy bites, Bread Dhokla Sandwich
Pani Puri Recipe with step by step photo – Call it Pani Puri, Golgappa, or Fuchka this is India’s favorite street food. It’s truly unique, and if I have to describe it, then it’s a crispy and hollow “puri” that is stuffed with tasteful mashed potato, together with spices, coriander, chickpeas, gram, tamarind pulp, lemon juice and chaat masala. The stuffed puri is then swiftly dipped in tamarind water, the pani, filling the hollow; finally, the whole thing is to be eaten in one gulp, or guppa. You can get different sizes of the puri to fit different for bite sizes.
Now that is the theoretical description of the recipe I am going to show you today. It’s amazing that it is so simple to make at home, yet most of us never try it at home. Stuffing the readymade pani puri is easy like anything; I am also showing you how to make the perfect crispy and rigid puri. As with regular puri, it fluffs up and acquires the ball shape while frying, but as the temperature falls, the fluff reduces into flat bread, whose texture is soft, not crispy. While one or two crispy puris are accidental, making it incidentally crispy at also rigidly fluffy, is the real challenge. That’s why most people don’t make the puris at home, and buy it from the market. Trust me, it is not rocket science, you can do it easily.
Contrary to popular belief, pani puri can be a very healthy snack. Even though it’s fried the oil there is minimal saturated fat it as the oil is dried up. It is the hygiene quotient that is the main concern, as it uses the hand as a primary mixing tool. I have seen vendors dip in their entire palm into the mashed potato.
These are very simple joys of life, and it is unfair to restrict from it, especially children. So if you too restrict your children from having pani puri outside, make it at home, and serve it authentically. It will really make them happy, I am sure.
I have great respect for pani puri vendors. It’s very funny, and amazing at the same time, that a regular pani puri vendor would prepare a separate taste of mashed potato for each of his customer, and remember that too, throughout the swift serving in each round. It takes an extraordinary skill based on calculation.
When I was a kid, we used to have 5 gol gappas in Rs. 2; it was the most inexpensive treat ever. Now in Kolkata the price is 5 for Rs. 10, in some places it’s 4 for 10. Surely time has changed.
Pani Puri
Ingredients
- 1 cup semolina Suji
- 1/2 cup wheat flour
- water Lukewarm as required
For Pani:
- 30 grams Tamarind
- 50 grams coriander leaves chopped
- 50 grams mint leaves
- 11/2 tsp black salt
- 2 piece green chilly
- 1 tsp chaat masala
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cumin powder
For Aloo Masala:
- 3 medium sized potatoes boiled and mashed
- 1/2 tsp black salt
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp red chilly powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/4 cup sprouts mixed boiled
- 2 tsp coriander mint paste
Instructions
- First of all soak tamarind with sufficient water for 30 minutes and keep aside.
- Put suji, wheat flour in a mixing bowl and mix it well.
- Gradually add lukewarm water and knead medium soft or stiff dough. The stiffness of the dough should be just like puri dough.
- Once kneaded cover it with the lid or damp cloth to avoid dryness and keep it for 15 to 20 minutes aside to get set.
- Meanwhile let’s prepare Pani and aloo masala (potato mixture)
To make Pani:
- Put chopped coriander leaves, mint leaves, green chilly in a jar and grind it into smooth paste by adding water.
- Take out the coriander mint paste from the jar and keep aside.
- Take soaked tamarind and Mash it entirely with the help of hands or spoon and strain, pressing the tamarind into the strainer with the help of spoon so that all the pulps get removed. Discard the seeds
- Put the coriander mint paste in the same strainer and strain the liquid/ juice of coriander mint paste by pressing it with the help of spoon. Do not discard the left over rough bits; use it while making potato stuffing.
- Now put 1 ½ glass of water and all the spices (black salt, chaat masala, salt, cumin powder). Mix all the spices very well.
- Adjust the spices as per your taste.
- You can also keep the prepared pani in a refrigerator to make it chill or you can also add some ice cubes.
To make potato stuffing:
- Put boiled and mashed potatoes in a mixing bowl and add boiled sprouts, black salt, salt, red chilly powder, cumin powder and rough bits of coriander mint. Mix it until well combined. You can also add freshly chopped coriander mint leaves.
- After 20 minutes uncovered the dough, knead it again for few seconds to make smooth dough.
- Divide the dough into two to three portions.
- For rolling take one portion of the dough and roll out big thin rotis with the help of rolling pin. Roti should be evenly rolled thinly from all sides. Do not make thick roti otherwise puri will not become crisp and very thin roti will not puff up while frying. Instead of making big thin roti you can also divide the dough into many small portions and rolls each puris individually.
- Take a cookie cutter or any lid of small container or small katori and cut into round shape discs from the rolled dough to make small round puris. Take out the extra dough and use it again to make puris.
- Repeat the same process for rest of the dough.
- Heat oil in a pan, once the oil becomes medium hot drop one by one rolled puris and press it little with spatula and allow them to puff up. Do not overcrowd the pan otherwise puris will not puff up.
- Flip them over and cook till it becomes light brown in colour and crisp.
- Once fried take out from the pan and put it on an absorbent paper to remove excess oil.
- Once cooled, store it in an airtight container.
To serve Pani puri:
- Take one puri and make small hole on the crisp side by tapping slowly.
- Fill some potato stuffing in the puri.
- Stir the prepared pani before using to mix masala and fill the puris with prepared water and serve immediately.
See Recipe Video
Nutrition
How to make Pani Puri:
- First of all soak tamarind with sufficient water for 30 minutes and keep aside.
- Put suji, wheat flour in a mixing bowl and mix it well.
- Gradually add lukewarm water and knead medium soft or stiff dough. The stiffness of the dough should be just like puri dough.
- Once kneaded cover it with the lid or damp cloth to avoid dryness and keep it for 15 to 20 minutes aside to get set.
- Meanwhile let’s prepare Pani and aloo masala (potato mixture)
To make Pani:
- Put chopped coriander leaves, mint leaves, green chilly in a jar and grind it into smooth paste by adding water.
- Take out the coriander mint paste from the jar and keep aside.
- Take soaked tamarind and Mash it entirely with the help of hands or spoon and strain, pressing the tamarind into the strainer with the help of spoon so that all the pulps get removed. Discard the seeds
- Put the coriander mint paste in the same strainer and strain the liquid/ juice of coriander mint paste by pressing it with the help of spoon. Do not discard the left over rough bits; use it while making potato stuffing.
- Now put 1 ½ glass of water and all the spices (black salt, chaat masala, salt, cumin powder). Mix all the spices very well.
- Adjust the spices as per your taste.
- You can also keep the prepared pani in a refrigerator to make it chill or you can also add some ice cubes.
To make potato stuffing:
- Put boiled and mashed potatoes in a mixing bowl and add boiled sprouts, black salt, salt, red chilly powder, cumin powder and rough bits of coriander mint. Mix it until well combined. You can also add freshly chopped coriander mint leaves.
- After 20 minutes uncovered the dough, knead it again for few seconds to make smooth dough.
- Divide the dough into two to three portions.
- For rolling take one portion of the dough and roll out big thin rotis with the help of rolling pin. Roti should be evenly rolled thinly from all sides. Do not make thick roti otherwise puri will not become crisp and very thin roti will not puff up while frying. Instead of making big thin roti you can also divide the dough into many small portions and rolls each puris individually.
- Take a cookie cutter or any lid of small container or small katori and cut into round shape discs from the rolled dough to make small round puris. Take out the extra dough and use it again to make puris.
- Repeat the same process for rest of the dough.
- Heat oil in a pan, once the oil becomes medium hot drop one by one rolled puris and press it little with spatula and allow them to puff up. Do not overcrowd the pan otherwise puris will not puff up.
- Flip them over and cook till it becomes light brown in colour and crisp.
- Once fried take out from the pan and put it on an absorbent paper to remove excess oil.
- Once cooled, store it in an airtight container.
To serve Pani puri:
- Take one puri and make small hole on the crisp side by tapping slowly.
- Fill some potato stuffing in the puri.
- Stir the prepared pani before using to mix masala and fill the puris with prepared water and serve immediately.
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