Friday, April 16, 2010

Pani Puri.


Pani Puri.
Pani Puri is a popular street snack with small crisp poori stuffed and filled with spicy water. Fine sooji is kneaded into soft dough along with little maida. The dough is divided into small portions and each portion is rolled into small poori. Garbanzo and potato are cooked and mashed along with spices for spicy filling for pani puri. A spicy herb water is prepared to dip the pani puri just before serving.
Makes: around 50 Pani Puri.

Ingredients
Fine Sooji 1 Cup
Plain Flour 1 1/2 tbsp
Water 1/2 Cup
Salt to taste

Pani
Fresh Mint Leaves 1/2 Cup Packed
Fresh Coriander Leaves 1/2 Cup Packed
Green Chiles 1 – 2
Ginger 1 inch Piece
Tamarind Extract 2 tsps
Lemon Juice 1 1/2 tsps
Roasted Cumin Powder 1 tsp
Black Salt 1/4 tsp
Red Chile Powder 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste

Stuffing
Cooked Chickpeas 1/2 Cup
Potato 1 Medium
Onion 1/2 of Small One
Chaat Masala 1/4 tsp
Cumin Powder 1/2 tsp
Red Chile Powder 1/2 tsp (optional)
Salt to taste

Method 
Cook the potato in enough water till soft. Peel and mash the potato.
Peel and finely chop the onion.
For the pani puri filling, mix together mashed potato, cooked chickpeas, chopped onion, chaat masala, cumin powder and salt.

For pani, blend all the pani ingredients with little water into smooth paste.
Dilute the ground paste with enough water (around a cup).
Adjust any seasonings if required and keep refrigerated.

In a mixing bowl, add fine sooji, plain flour and salt.
Pour 80% of the water at a time and mix.
Add remaining water when necessary and knead into a somewhat soft dough.
Cover the pani puri dough with a damp kitchen towel and rest it for 10 – 15 minutes.

Then divide the dough into around 50 almost equal parts.
Roll out each divided portion into around 2 inch diameter circle.
If the dough sticks to the pin, apply little oil to the rolling pin to ease the rolling process.
Rolled out poori looks not too opaque but little transparent.
Place each rolled out small puri on a damp kitchen towel.
Don’t let the rolled out puris dry out.
Place another damp kitchen towel on top of rolled out puris if necessary to not let the air dry them.

Heat a deep frying pan on medium high heat, add oil and let it get hot.
Then slowly drop around 5 – 8 puri depending on the width of the frying pan.
Lightly press each puri to help it puff up.
Once puffed and light golden color on both sides, remove onto absorbent paper.
Repeat the same with remaining puri.
Store tight deep frying puri for a week or two.
The pani and the stuffing can also be stored in a refrigerator for about a week.

When ready to serve, tap one side of the puri to make a hole.
Stuff a tsp or more of the potato garbanzo filling into each puri.
Dip each stuffed puri into prepared pani and consume immediately.
Notes:Make sure to get the pani puri dough right.

Suggestions: If the puri of pani puri doesn’t puff up, these could be some possible reasons. First, the dough might have gone wrong. Dough has to be pliable and little soft. Or the puri is rolled out too thick for it to puff up. Or the oil is not hot enough for the puri to puff up. Or the puri has dried out in the open air for the puri didn’t puff up.
Variations: There are numerous versions for filling and stuffing for pani puri. Sprouted moong, garbanzo beans, onions, potato, boondi, dal moth etc can be used as a filling. Amchur, raw mango pulp, black pepper powder, sugar or jaggery (if pani has to be sweet), chaat masala, etc can be added to the pani.
Other Names:Gol Gappa, Phuchka, Phoochka, Bataashaa, Gup chup, Pani Poori.

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