Pani Puri

 

Pani puri is one of the most popular street food of India, where crisp fried dough balls(puri) are stuffed with boiled potatoes, sprouts, spicy tangy water and or sweet chutney. It's a favorite chaat snack of many folks and our too. With so many bursts of tastes and flavors in your mouth when you have pani puri you can't have just one. You will want to go on and on.

It's very easy if you have everything prepared before hand and when you want to have them just assemble all the elements and you can enjoy the pani puri.

The pani is a spicy tangy water which is basically made of mint leaves, coriander leaves, green chillies and some spices. This spicy pani is balanced with the addition of sweet chutney. The sweet chutney is made of dates and tamarind along with some spices. Puris are fried puffed crisp dough balls which are hollow.I haven't made the puris at home and have used store bought puris so I'm not sharing the recipe of making the puris here. These puris are stuffed with either boiled potatoes or moong sprouts or a thick dry curry made out of white peas which is called the ragda.

Prep time: 20 mins

Cooking time : 15 mins

Serves :  50

Ingredients :

For pani:

3/4 cup Mint leaves

1/2 cup Coriander leaves

1 inch Ginger

2 - 3 Green chillies

8 - 10 black pepper corns

1/2 teaspoon Cumin seeds

1 teaspoon Chaat masala powder

1/2 teaspoon Black salt

Juice of 1 lemon

Water

Salt

For Filling :

2 Potatoes, boiled and mashed

1 tablespoon Red chilli powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

1/4 teaspoon chaat masala powder

1 tablespoon Coriander leaves, finely chopped

Salt

Other ingredients:

Sweet Chutney

Chopped onion

Puris

Method :

For pani:

In a blender take all the ingredients of pani and grind them very well.  Sieve the paste and add almost a liter of water and dilute it according to the consistency you prefer. Check the seasoning and add salt or lime juice if needed according to your taste. Place the pani in the fridge for at least a minimum of one hour to chill. While serving you can add boondi if you wish to.

For the filling:

In a bowl take boiled and mashed potatoes and add salt, chilli powder, cumin powder and chaat masala powder, coriander leaves and mix well. 

To eat pani puri :

Take the puri in your hand and poke a hole in the middle using your thumb. Spoon some filling inside the puri through the hole. Add chopped onion, sweet chutney and dip the stuffed puri in the bowl of pani or pour some pani inside the puri using a ladle. Eat it immediately by taking it all in one bite. repeat this process with other puris.