How to Make Panipuri at Home

About Panipuri:

Panipuri is a very popular and famous street food in India.  Pani puri consists of a round, ball-shaped, hollow puri filled with a mixture of spicy, tangy flavoured pani, sweet chutney, potato and onion mixture.  Pani puri is a favorite chaat snack of almost everyone in India.

Ingredients:

For Puri:

• 1 cup of fine sooji/semolina/rava.
• 2-tablespoons of all-purpose flour/maida or whole wheat flour.
• Salt to taste.
• 1 tablespoon of cooking oil.
• A pinch of baking soda.
• Water as required to knead the dough.

For Pani:

• 1 cup chopped coriander leaves.
• 1/2 cup chopped mint leaves.
• 1 inch ginger chopped.
• 2-3 green chilies or to taste.
• 3-4 tablespoons of tamarind pulp or to taste, adjust accordingly your taste.
• 1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder.
• 1 teaspoon chaat masala powder.
• Water as required for grinding and making pani for panipuri.
• 1/2 teaspoon black salt.
• Normal salt as required or to taste.
• 1-2 tablespoons boondi (fried gram flour balls), optional.

For Panipuri Stuffing:

• 3-4 medium sized boiled potatoes.
• Salt to taste.
• Some finely chopped coriander leaves.
• Some boiled kala channa (black chickpeas).
• 1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder.
• 1 teaspoon chaat msala.
• Black salt and regular salt as required or to taste.
• Red chilli powder to taste.
• 1 medium sized onion finely chopped.

Other Ingredients:

Sweet tamarind or dates chutney (optional).

Note:  You may increase or decrease the quantity of ingredients depending on your taste and for how many people you are making for.  Here, I am using homemade puries for panipur, you can use readymade puries.

Making Dough for Puri:

1.  Take a mixing bowl and sooji/rava/semolina and wheat flour, and salt and mix well.
2.  Then, add cooking oil and baking soda and mix all ingredients well.
3.  Then, add water little by little and start kneading the dough.
4.  Keep adding the water until you get an elastic dough that is neither too soft nor too stiff.
5.  Then, knead the dough for 5-7 minutes and then cover the dough with a damp cloth and keep aside for 15-20 minutes.

Rolling and Deep Frying the Puries:

1.  After resting the dough for 15-20 minutes, knead the dough again for 2-3 minutes more.
2.  Then, make medium size balls out of the dough and then cover with a damp cloth so that the dough balls does not dry out.
3.  Then, take one medium sized dough ball and roll it into thin and evenly round roti with the help of a rolling board and pin.  If the dough ball is not evenly rolled, then the puries will not puff up.
4.  Then, with the help of a cookie cutter, cut out the circles.
5.  Then, transfer them on to plate and cover them with a damp cloth.
6.  Repeat the same process with the remaining dough balls.
7.  Once you have done rolling puries, then take a kadia and add enough oil to deep fry the puries for panipuri.
8. Then, turn on the flame and heat the oil on a medium to high heat.
9.  To check if the oil is hot or not, add one puri to the hot oil and if the puri float and puffed up immediately, then oil is ready to fry the puries for panipuri.
10.  Then, carefully add 6-7 puries into the hot oil, nudge the puries with a spoon to help them puff up, and keep flipping them on both sides until it reaches a light golden brown colour and pureis are crisp.  Fry the puries on a medium flame and do not overcrowd the kadaia.  Depending on the kadai size, you can add more or less puries to fry at a time.
11.  Then, take out the puries and place them on an absorbent paper.
12.  Repeat the same process with the remaining puris and keep aside for later use.

Making Pani for Panipuri:

1.  Take a blending jar and add on all the ingredients mentioned above for pani.
2.  Then, add water as required to make a smooth chutney.
3.  Then, transfer the chutney into big mix bowl and add water as required and mix well.  Check for the seasoning and adjust accordingly.
4.  Then, keep the pani in the fridge for 1-2 hours to chill.

Stuffing for Panipuri:

1.  Peel the boiled potatoes and add them into a mixing bowl.
2.  Then, mash the potatoes with your hand or with help of a potato masher.
3.  Then, add boiled kala chana, chopped onions, red chilli powder to taste, roasted cumin powder, chaat masala, black salt and normal salt to taste, and chopped coriander leaves and mix all the ingredients well and keep aside for later use.

Making Panipuri:

1.  Take puri and crack the top with help of a spoon.
2.  Then, add potato filling in the poori.
3.  Then, first stir the green pani and then add it in the poori.
4.  Then, add some sweet chutney in the puri (optional) and serve immediately.