Pani puri or the gol gappa is my all time favorite snack and I just cannot have enough of it. The minute I hear pani puri, it brings back memories from my childhood days. When Prachi had challenged the South Indian team from SNC to make these amazing pani puris, I was more than thrilled. I make pani at home and buy puris from store. The real thrill here was to make the puris from scratch. I was really looking forward to make the puris and I am so glad I did.
When talking to one of my friends, I casually mentioned that I am thinking about making homemade puris for pani puri. She immediately told me to use the roti press to make the puris since they yielded puris of same size and thickness. I do not have one and she let me borrow hers. If any of you own a roti press, I would highly suggest that you use it to roll out the puri. It was a time saver as well as yielded perfect puffed up puris.
Prachi had made 4 different panis and a potato filling to go inside the puri. Pani puri is what I would call a perfect flavor bomb. Once you get the puri inside your mouth and one bite of it lets you taste this different flavors ranging from sweetness to sour to tangy.
Puri for Pani puri –
Ingredients to make Pani Puri – makes about 40 puris
- Fine rawa/fine sooji – 1 cup
- Wheat flour – ½ cup
- Water – needed to make dough
- Salt – ½ tsp
- Oil – to deep fry the puris plus 1 tsp
Procedure –
- Make soft dough from the sooji and wheat flour adding enough water. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it becomes soft and then add the oil. Now again knead the dough for 2-3 minutes and keep it aside for about 30 minutes to rest.
- Now make very small balls out of the dough.
- Use the roti press to roll out the puris. If you are rolling by hand, roll out even sized puris.
- Keep the rolled puris covered under a wet kitchen cloth.
- Heat oil in the pan and deep fry the puris until they are light brown and crispy. Drain on a paper towel lined baking sheet.
- To further remove any moisture from the puris and make them extra crispy, I kept the tray of puris in a preheated 200 F oven (lowest setting) for about 15 minutes. This ensured that the puris are very crispy.
- Once the puris cool down, store them in an airtight container.
Khatta Pani – Sour water
Ingredients to make Khatta Pani -
- Mint leaves – ½ cup
- Cilantro – ½ cup
- Green chili – 2
- Green mango – ½ cup (grated)
- Black salt – ½ tsp
- Salt – ¼ tsp
- Water – 1 cup
Procedure –
- In a blender, add all the ingredients except the water and grind it into smooth paste. Add the water and mix well. Refrigerate the water for at least 3-4 hours or add ice cubes before serving.
Meetha Pani – Sweet Water
Ingredients to make Meetha Pani –
- Tamarind paste – 1 tsp mixed in half a cup of water
- Brown sugar or sugar – 3 tbsp
- Black salt – ½ tsp
- Roasted cumin powder – ¾ tsp
- Black pepper powder – ½ tsp
- Water – 1 cup
Procedure –
- In a small pan add the tamarind water, sugar and black salt and bring it to a boil. Let it boil for about 5 minutes and then add the water and cumin powder. Mix well and refrigerate.
Khatta Meetha Pani – Sweet and Sour water
Ingredients to make Khatta Meetha Pani -
- Green mango – ½ cup (sliced)
- Mint powder – ½ tsp
- Cumin powder – ¾ tsp
- Black pepper powder – ¼ tsp
- Black salt – ½ tsp
- Salt – ¼ tsp
- Sugar – 3 tbsp
- Water – 1 cup
Procedure –
- In a small pan, add the mangoes and about ½ cup of water and boil well. Let the mangoes cook until soft and mushy.
- Grind the cooked mango pulp in a blender and then add the rest of the ingredients to it. Mix well and refrigerate.
Tikha Pani – Spicy water
Ingredients to make Tikha Pani –
- Tamarind – 1 tsp mixed in ½ cup of water
- Sugar – 3 tsp
- Roasted cumin powder -½ tsp
- Black salt - ½ tsp
- Black salt - ¼ tsp
- Chaat masala - ½ tsp
- Red chili powder - 1 tsp
- Dry mint powder - ½ tsp
- Cumin seeds - ½ tsp
- Asafetida – a pinch
- Oil - ½ tsp
- Water – 1 cup
Procedure –
- In a small pan, boil the tamarind water, sugar and salt for about 5 minutes.
- Add the rest of the ingredients (except oil and cumin seeds) and mix well.
- Heat a small pan with oil and add the cumin seeds. Fry for about 30 seconds and then add it to the water. Mix well and refrigerate.
Potato Stuffing –
Ingredients to make Potato Stuffing –
- Potatoes - 2 (boiled)
- Dry mint powder – ½ tsp
- Red chili powder – ½ tsp
- Chaat masala - ½ tsp
- Salt – ½ tsp
- Cilantro – 1 tbsp (chopped)
Procedure –
- Mash the boiled potatoes and then add the rest of the ingredients to it. Mix well and the stuffing is ready.
To serve –
- Make a hole in the puri with your thumb and then place some stuffing inside. Now dip it in water of your choice or mix and match two or more different water and then gobble it down.
- Be ready to have some mess around, but the flavors make it all worth it.
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