Panipuri, popular street food in North India gobbled up by all with so much enthusiasm…
Panipuris are also called Golgappas and are quite popular in North India, these are sold by street vendors and you will see a huge line up before the food carts. While growing up in Kerala, I didn’t get a chance to taste panipuri as it’s not popular over there. I got to taste panipuri when I visited Chennai.
The puris or crispy puffed-up dough balls are stuffed with chickpeas, potatoes, and tomatoes, they are then dipped in tangy and spicy water or pani and then popped into the mouth and enjoyed. The crispy dough balls, the tangy spicy water, and the stuffing will make your tastebuds dance with joy and you will be seen enjoying panipuris non-stop.
The kind of fillings used to stuff the puris vary from region to region. The pani or water is made tangy, spicy, and slightly sweet. I love the addition of mint, cilantro, and green chilies to the tangy water. Honestly, I drink the water just as it is, it’s refreshing and tastes really good.
I had the joy of picking mint leaves from my veggie garden. This Summer, I planted mints on my veggie bed and they have been growing fantastically. I love the aroma and the flavor of mint.
Preparation Pictures
Cooking Video
- Fine Semolina or Sooji or Rava - 1 cup
- All purpose flour or Maida- 2 tbsp
- Oil- 3 tbsp
- Hot Water- ¼ cup + 1 tbsp
- Fresh tamarind- 4 inch slice
- Lukewarm water- 1 cup
- Jaggery- 3 tbsp
- Cumin powder- 1 tsp
- Chaat masala- 1 tsp
- Salt- ¾ tsp
- Water- 3 cups
- Cilantro, chopped- ½ cup
- Mint leaves- ¼ cup
- Green chilies- 1 or 2
- Ginger- 2 inch slice
- Fresh Tamarind- 1 inch slice
- Water- ¼ cup (to grind the paste)
- Cumin powder- 1 tsp
- Chaat masala- 1 tsp
- Ground black pepper- ¼ tsp
- Salt- ¾ tsp
- Water- 3½ cups
- Cooked chickpeas
- Cooked potatoes, chopped small
- Minced onions
- Chopped cilantro
- Oil- for deep frying the puris
- In a large bowl, combine together the fine semolina, flour & oil.
- Combine well, let the mixture resemble to a crumble & semolina turns moist.
- Slowly add hot water and knead well. The dough should not be too soft nor too hard, it should have a medium constituency. The dough must be kneaded really well for about 5 minutes.
- I've added ¼ cup + 1 tbsp hot water.
- Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel and let rest for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, knead the dough again.
- Divide the dough into small balls.
- Grease a clean surface or board with cooking spray, place one of the dough balls and roll it using a rolling pin to a thin round shape. The dough has to be rolled very thin.
- Make small round shapes on the rolled dough using a small round cookie cutter- 2½ inches diameter.
- Place a frying pan over medium heat, add enough oil for deep frying.
- When the oil turns medium hot, drop the small round dough into the oil.
- It will instantly puff up, using a slotted spoon gently press the puri this helps the puri to puff up well.
- Flip over and fry for a couple of minutes till it turns golden in color.
- Using a slotted spoon remove the puffed up puri from the oil; place on a kitchen paper towel.
- After they have cooled down, store the puris in an air tight container so that they stay crispy.
- In a bowl, soak tamarind in lukewarm water for 10 minutes.
- Squeeze the tamarind in water to extract the juice.
- Strain the tamarind extract into a bowl.
- Add jaggery, combine well.
- Add cumin powder, chaat masala, ground pepper & salt.
- Add 3 cups water.
- Combine well, let the spices dissolve well.
- Keep aside, this can be made ahead of time & stored in the refrigerator.
- In a food processor or blender, grind the cilantro, mint, ginger, green chilies & tamarind along with ¼ cup water to a smooth paste.
- Into a large bowl, add the paste.
- Add cumin powder, chaat masala & salt; combine well.
- Add 3½ cups water, combine well.
- Keep aside, this can be made ahead of time & stored in the refrigerator.
- While serving, have all the stuffings and water ready
- Make a small hole in the puri or puffed-up dough ball.
- Fill the hole with a few chickpeas, mashed potatoes, onion & cilantro.
- Dip the stuffed puris in the prepared sweet & sour tamarind water first followed by dunking in the spicy mint-cilantro water.
- Pop it in your mouth and let your taste buds enjoy the flavor explosion.
- Enjoy, don't try to count the number of pani puris you are having.
