Authentic Pani Puri Recipe

What is Pani Puri?

Pani puri is a delicious Indian street snack. They are delightful, little, round, and hollow crispy puris. The puris are stuffed with a mashed potato mixture and then filled with spiced pani.

This pani puri recipe is my favorite snack and I enjoy making them at home with my family. Mastering the art of making perfect puri takes time. We prepare the puris in batches and store them in an airtight container to be used as and when required.

Pani is the Hindi term for water. Panipuri is also referred to as gol gappa, fuchka and gup chup in various parts of India.

Masala is the Hindi word for spice. Pani Puri Masala is simply adding the correct mixture of spices to the recipe. These spices are difficult to make and would require a whole new article but this one on amazon is pretty good.

The Basic Process

Puri is prepared from dough made of semolina and all-purpose flour. The dough is then rolled into small size puris which when deep fried in oil puff up into round hollow crispy puris. The potato stuffing is a mixture of coarsely mashed boiled potatoes mixed with dry spices, chopped coriander leaves, and onions.

Boiled chickpeas and sprouts are also sometimes added to the pani puri recipe stuffing mixture. Ground herbs and powdered spices are mixed with water to prepare pani.

Pani Puri Recipe Ingredients

The Pani part

½ cup of fine semolina

3 tbsp baking soda

½ tbsp all purpose flour

Salt to taste

For potato stuffing

3 medium size boiled potatoes, peeled and roughly mashed with a fork

½ cup coriander leaves

1 tsp chaat masala powder

1 tsp roasted cumin powder

½ tsp coriander powder

½ cup finely chopped onions

Salt to taste

For pani puri water recipe

1 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves

¾ cup chopped fresh mint leaves

2 tbsp tamarind pulp

1 inch ginger, peeled

1 to 2 green chilies

2-3 cups water

1 tsp Himalayan pink salt

1 tbsp chaat masala powder

1 tsp roasted cumin powder

Salt to taste

Other ingredients

Oil for frying puri

Method

• In a bowl combine the ingredients mentioned under puri. Pour enough water and gently knead the ingredients to make a semi-stiff pliable dough. Cover the dough with a damp muslin cloth and allow to rest for 15 minutes
• Roll the dough into 1 1/2 inch thickness. Use a 3-inch diameter cookie cutter to shape out small size puris from the rolled dough. Cover the puris with a damp muslin cloth to rest for 5 minutes
• Pour oil in a skillet over medium heat. Fry single puri at a time by gently pressing the puri with a spoon till it puffs up. Store the fried puris in an air tight container
• To make potato stuffing mixture, combine mashed potatoes with the dry spices and season with salt
• To make pani, blend coriander leaves, mint leaves, tamarind pulp, ginger and green chilies in a blender. Transfer the prepared paste in a bowl and pour 2 cups of water. Stir in the dry spices and season with salt. Feel free to add more water if required, adjust the spices and seasoning as per taste
• To enjoy panipuri, gently crack the top portion of a puri with your thumb to make a small hole for stuffing. Stuff in potatoes, dip puri in spiced water to fill it with water and enjoy pani poori immediately

Useful tips

• Puris can be made in advance and stored in an air tight container.
• Feel free to add tomato ketchup or hot sauce to stuffed puri based on your personal taste.
• Puris stuffed and filled with spiced water are to be consumed immediately, else the puris turn soggy.

You can use store-bought or homemade tamarind pulp. To make tamarind pulp, place ¼ cup tamarind with ¼ cup water in a bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Allow the mixture to stand for 5 minutes. Place a sieve on a bowl and pass the mixture through the sieve to collect tamarind pulp in the bowl.