Pani Puri Recipe (Golgappa)
Pani puri is a very popular street food of India. It is also commonly known as 'Golgappa' or 'Puchka', in different regions. It is a very unique, tempting, spicy, and mouth watering snack that can serve as an excellent appetizer.
Ingredients
- For the puris
- Fine Semolina (Fine Rawa/ Sooji) - 1 cup
- All purpose flour (Maida) - 3 tbsp
- Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
- Salt - 1/2 tsp
- Oil - For frying
- For pani:
- Mint leaves - 2 & 1/2 cups
- Coriander / Cilantro leaves - A small bunch about a handful
- Ginger - 1 inch big piece
- Green chilies - 2 or by taste
- Chat masala or pani puri masala - 2 tbsp
- Black salt powder (Kala namak) - 1 & 1/2 tsp
- Sweet tamarind chutney - 3 tbsp
- For the filling or masala
- Potatoes - 3, boiled and peeled
- Chick peas or Green gram (whole moong) - Softly cooked
- Salt - To taste
- Red chili powder - To taste
- Chat masala - Optional
- For serving
- Boondi or sev (gram flour fritters) - As needed
Instructions
For the puris:
- Take 1 cup semolina in a kneading bowl.
- Add 3 tbsp all purpose flour, 1/4 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt to it.
- Use warm water to knead into a semi soft dough (just like for regular puris), and cover with a damp kitchen towel or muslin cloth. Keep aside for 30 minutes. (After 30 minutes, if you think the dough has become hard and dry, knead again with some water.)
- Divide the dough into small balls about an inch big.
- Take one ball at a time and roll it into a thin circle. Use some all purpose flour to dust when rolling.
- With a bottle cap or a cookie cutter (about 2 to 2 & 1/2" in diameter), cut out circular puris from this circle. Remember to keep the rest of the dough covered with damp cloth at all times.
- Repeat with the rest of the dough balls.
- Heat oil in a pan. Keep on medium heat and fry all puris in batches of 3 or 4 each, till they are golden brown in color. The temperature of the oil should be just enough to allow the puris to puff up but also not too high to give a dark color to the puris.
- Remove on a kitchen towel and allow to cool completely. Then store in an air tight container.
For the Pani:
- Finely grind the mint leaves, coriander leaves, ginger, and green chilies, with 1 cup water, using a grinder.
- Add 5 more cups of water, chat masala or pani puri masala, black salt powder, and tamarind chutney, and mix well. Add common salt if needed.
- If the mint and coriander leaves have been nicely ground and have blended nicely with water, there is no need to sieve this pani. Otherwise you may sieve it to get more clearer pani. (I did not sieve it.)
- Keep in the refrigerator to cool.
For the filling or masala:
- Gently mash the boiled potatoes, and the chick peas or the green gram (whole moong). Mix them together.
- Add salt and red chili powder to taste. You may also add some chat masala to it.
- Keep this filling aside.
To serve:
- Arrange 7-8 puris in a plate.
- Gently tap the thinner side of each puri with one finger to make a hole.
- Place about 1/2 tsp filling, 1/4 tsp tamarind chutney, and some boondi or sev, inside the pocket of the puri.
- Serve with the pani and some more tamarind chutney on the side.
- When eating, add little more tamarind chutney to each puri pocket, fill completely with the pani and pop as a whole into the mouth.
- Enjoy the awesome taste to the fullest!!
