Pani Puri | Gol Gappa

Pani puri is one of the most popular street foods of India. It is known by different names in different parts of India, like in North India it is known as gol gappa, phucka in Eastern Indian and bataasha in the Western region. Pani puri literally translates to deep fried dough balls in water. Crispy and deep fried small puris are filled with a single or a combination of fillings like potato, chickpeas, ragda, moong sprouts, onion, coriander which are then dunked in a sweet, sour and spicy water made of mint, coriander, tamarind and some spices.

For this month’s South Vs North Challenge, Prachi of Prachi’s Veg Kitchen suggested pani puri with 4 kinds of water. Since raw mangoes are not in season here, I decided to make just the sour and spicy pani. Pani puri is my favorite street food and one of the things I miss being away from India. Though I do enjoy them at  local chaat shops here, I loved these home made pani puri much more. Now let’s see how to make pani puri at home from scratch.

Pani Puri

Deep fried, hollow and crispy puris filled with spiced potato, chickpeas and onion dunked in a tangy and spicy mint-coriander-tamarind water

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Servings 4

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Ingredients

For the puri

• 1 cup semolina / rava
• ¼ cup all purpose flour / maida
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• Salt to taste
• Oil for frying

For the pani

• ½ cup mint leaves
• ¼ cup coriander leaves
• 2 tbsp tamarind paste
• 1 tsp red chilly powder
• 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
• 1 tsp chaat powder
• Black salt to taste
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 cup water
• ½ cup boondi / fried gram balls

For the stuffing

• 1 large potato boiled and cubed
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• ½ cup cooked white chickpeas
• ½ tsp roasted cumin powder
• 1 tsp chaat masala
• 1 tsp red chilly powder
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
• Salt to taste

Instructions

To make puri

• In a bowl, mix semolina, maida, baking soda, salt and mix well. Add water little by little and knead to stiff dough. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.
• Knead the dough again and divide the dough into lemon sized balls. Take a ball and roll out into a thin circle. Cut out round discs using a round cookie cutter or small bowl .
• Cover the cut out pooris with a cloth and proceed making round discs from the remaining dough. Keep the cut out puris covered with cloth until frying.
• Heat oil in a kadai and fry 4-5 puris at a time . Once it puffs and turns golden brown, flip over and cook other side to golden brown.
• Remove and drain the excess oil on a tissue paper. Cool and store the puris in an airtight container.

To make pani

• Grind mint leaves, coriander leaves, tamarind adding little water to a smooth paste.
• Transfer the paste to a large bowl and add water. Add red chilly powder, cumin powder, chaat powder, black salt and mix well.
• Chill the pani for 30 minutes. Then add the boondi. If serving later, add boondi at the time of serving.

To make stuffing

• In a bowl, mix the potatoes with cumin powder, ½ tsp red chilly powder, chaat masala, salt and coriander leaves.
• In another bowl, mix chickpeas with ½ tsp red chilly powder and salt.

To assemble pani puri

• Crack the center of the puri with your thumb or a spoon. Stuff with potato, chickpeas and onion. Dip in the pani and serve immediately.

Notes

• Keep the puris covered all the time with a cloth to prevent them from drying out.
• Refrigerating the pani helps in blending the flavors.
• Other stuffing that we can add are boiled moong sprouts and ragda. You can also add some sweet chutney to the stuffing.

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Indian