Pani Puri is an immensely popular food of crispy, hollow, fried dough balls (Puri) stuffed with boiled potatoes or steamed moong sprouts, boiled chickpeas or white peas curry. Generally, the Pani is sour, tangy and spicy.
This dish is one of the popular street foods in India. In Mumbai, it is called pani puri, while in the northern states, it is called Golgappa. In Bengal, it is called as Puchka, and in Bihar and Jharkand its known as gupchup.
Ingredients | Pani Puri Stuffing
2 to 3 potatoes – medium-sized
1 onion – small to medium-sized, optional
1 to 1.5 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
1 teaspoon chaat masala powder
¼ teaspoon red chili powder – optional
black salt or regular salt or pink salt, as required
Pani
½ cup chopped mint leaves – tightly packed,
1 cup chopped coriander leaves – tightly packed (cilantro)
1 inch ginger – chopped
2 to 3 green chilies – chopped (for a less spicy pani, add about 1 green chili)
1 tablespoon tamarind – tightly packed
3.5 to 4 tablespoons jaggery powder or grated/chopped jaggery or sugar, add as required
1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
1 teaspoon chaat masala powder
⅓ cup water for blending
1 to 1.25 cups water to be added later, add water as per the consistency you want
1 to 1.5 tablespoons boondi (fried tiny gram flour balls), optional
black salt or regular salt, add as required
Directions | Pani Puri Stuffing
Boil the potatoes till they are cooked completely.
Peel them and then chop them.
Finely chop the onion if using it.
In a small bowl, mix the potatoes, onions, coriander leaves, cumin powder, chaat masala powder and black salt or regular salt. Mix well and keep aside.
Directions | Pani
In a blender add all the ingredients mentioned above for the pani.
Add water and grind to a fine chutney.
Remove the green chutney in a large bowl. Rinse the mixer jar with ½ cup water first and then add this water in the bowl. Then add ½ to ¾ cup more water.
Mix well. Check the seasoning. Add more salt or jeera powder or chaat masala or jaggery if required. If you want a thin pani, you could add some water. But keep on checking the seasoning, as per your taste.
Add the boondi to the pani.
Chill the pani in the fridge or add some ice cubes to it.
Assembling
Crack the top of the puri with a spoon.
Add 2 to 3 teaspoons of the boiled potato-onion filling in the poori.
Stir the green pani first and then add it in the poori. Optionally you can add some sweet chutney in the puri.
Serve the pani puri immediately otherwise the prepared puri with stuffing and water will become soggy.
You can also make individual portions with the puris, potato-onion mixture and the pani. Let the individual assemble the pani puri for himself/herself as per his/her taste.
