← Nouns Cooking · Indian

Ingredients

• 170 g fine semolina (sooji)
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 70 ml hot water, as needed
• oil, for deep-frying
• 30 g mint leaves
• 30 g coriander leaves
• 2 Green chilli
• 2 cm piece Ginger
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste
• 1 tsp Black salt (kala namak)
• 1½ tsp ground roasted cumin
• 1 tsp Chaat masala
• ½ tsp salt, to taste
• 1 l chilled water
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)
• 3 tbsp tamarind paste
• 50 g jaggery or brown sugar
• 100 ml Water
• 3 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed
• 100 g cooked or tinned chickpeas, drained
• ½ Red onion, finely chopped
• ½ tsp Chaat masala
• ½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 2 tbsp Coriander (cilantro), chopped

Method

1. For the pani, blend the mint, coriander, chillies, ginger and tamarind with a little of the water to a smooth paste. Stir into the rest of the chilled water with the black salt, cumin, chaat masala, salt and lemon juice (if using), and taste: it should be sharp, salty and hot. Chill for at least 1 hour.
2. For the sweet chutney, simmer the tamarind, jaggery and water for 5 min until syrupy. Cool. Mix all the filling ingredients with a pinch of salt.
3. For the puris, mix the semolina, flour and oil, then add hot water bit by bit and knead into a stiff, smooth dough. Cover with a damp cloth and rest for 20 min.
4. Knead again for 2 min, then roll out very thin, about 1–2 mm, and cut into 5 cm rounds. Keep them covered with a damp cloth so they don’t dry out.
5. Heat the oil to 180°C (350°F). Fry 5–6 puris at a time, pressing each gently with a slotted spoon so it puffs, for 30–40 seconds per side until crisp and pale golden. Drain and cool; they crisp up further.
6. To serve, poke a hole in the top of each puri with your thumb, add a little filling and a few drops of sweet chutney, dunk in the pani and eat at once.

Tips

• Contains wheat. Puris that don’t puff were rolled too thick or the oil wasn’t hot enough; flat ones still make good papdi chaat.
• Stored airtight, homemade puris keep crisp for about a week.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Hebbar's Kitchen Tarla Dalal