Pani Puri Recipe

Pani poori

Pani pooris are known as "Golgappas" in North India.
The crisp puris are stuffed with potatoes, moong sprouts/chickpeas and then filled with spicy chilled masala water and served. Making pani puri at home is hygienic and economical. Today we will learn a very easy method to make pani poori at home following our simple recipe. 

Ingredients needed for the pani

Ice cold water - 3 cups
Green chutney - Green chutney is a very easy and quick chutney made with coriander and mint leaves. It is added in chaat varieties, used as a spread for sandwich, enjoyed with parathas, dhoklas, samosas, cutlet etc.Today we will learn how to make green chutney (hari chutney) following this easy chutney recipe.

How to prepare Green Chutney 

Prep time - under 15 mins
Cook time - Nil

Ingredients needed

Coriander leaves - 2 cups (tightly packed)
Mint leaves - 1 cup (tightly packed)
Ginger - a small bit
Green chillies -2-3
Lemons juice - Juice of half a lemon
Sugar - 1/4 -1/2 tsp
Salt 

Preparation

Wash coriander and mint leaves nicely under running water.Drain and keep it aside.

Method

Grind coriander leaves, mint leaves, ginger, green chillies, salt and sugar together adding very less water.

Squeeze juice of half a lemon and mix well.This is added to retain the green color.

Enjoy this versatile chutney with parathas, bread, samosas etc. 

Sweet chutney -This is a very popular sweet and sour chutney made with dates, tamarind and jaggery. It is served with many chaat items and can also be used as a dip for samosas.Today we will learn how to make sweet chutney (khatta meeta chutney) for chaat following this easy recipe.

Date Tamarind Chutney

Ingredients needed

Jaggery - 1/4 cup
Tamarind - 1/4 cup (50 grams)
Dates - 8-10
Red chilli powder -1/2
Roasted Cumin/ jeera powder -1/4 tsp
Dry ginger powder -1/4 tsp
Salt to taste

Preparation

Soak tamarind in warm water for 20 minutes.

Dissolve jaggery in little water and filter it to remove its impurities.

Remove the seed from the dates or use seedless variety.

Method

In a pan boil together jaggery, tamarind and dates with just enough water.

Add salt, chilli powder, jeera powder and dry ginger powder.Simmer and cook till it reaches a saucy consistency. Mash it well with a potato masher.

Allow it to cool, strain it  using a soup strainer, pressing it well with a ladle to extract as much pulp as you can. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This chutney can also be freezed for 15-20 days.

Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Chaat masala powder- 1 1/2 tsp
Roasted Cumin/jeera powder -1 tsp (dry roast cumins seeds and powder it)
Boondi - fistful


Method for preparing Pani 

Take ice cold water in a bowl and mix all the ingredients mentioned above from green chutney to jeera powder. There are no hard and fast rules regarding the measurement. You can taste the pani and add more or less of chutney or spice powder according to your personal preferences. Chill for an hour for the flavors to get blended well with the pani. Add a fistful of boondi to the pani.

So now our pani/spiced water for pani poori is ready.

Pooris - 15 pooris - These pooris are easily available in supermarkets, so you do not have to strain yourself making these pooris. After all, we are not going to have pani puri everyday. You can get it ready made. I got it ready made from Nilgiris. Anyway I will post the poori recipe later.

Ingredients needed for the filling

Potatoes - 3-4 medium sized ones
Green chilli - 1 finely chopped
Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Cumin/jeera powder -1 tsp
Chaat masala - a pinch
Salt

Green gram dal /whole moong dal - 3/4 cup

Sev
Onion - 1 finely chopped
Coriander leaves - as needed (finely chopped)

Preparation

Pressure cook potatoes, peel the skin and mash it well. Add finely chopped green chillies, red chilli powder, cumin powder, chaat masala, salt needed and mix well. Keep it aside.

Soak green gram dal/ moong dal overnight and sprout it. Learn how to sprout moong dal. Steam the moong sprouts with salt needed and a pinch of turmeric powder. Instead of moong dal, you can use cooked chick peas also. 

Assembling and how to serve

If you have everything ready, making pani poori is a breeze.

Take a poori, make a hole in the center big enough to fill the stuffing.(see picture below - just tap the thin side of the puri with your index finger)

Now fill the poori with a little potato mix.

Top it with moong sprouts or cooked chickpeas.

Add finely chopped onions, sprinkle just a pinch of chilli powder, chaat masala and roasted jeera powder.

Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and sev.

Immerse it in chilled pani and eat the whole poori with the stuffing and pani right away.

Enjoy homemade pani puri!!