Oval, hollow, and crispy puris, cracked open at the last minute and stuffed with potatoes, chickpeas, and onion. They are served with a sweet-and-sour tamarind chutney and an ice-cold, herbaceous, spicy, and tangy pani.
Ingredients
- 180 g extra-fine durum wheat semolina
- 20 g wheat flour
- 110 ml warm water
- 750 ml sunflower oil
- 500 g floury potatoes
- 320 g canned chickpeas
- 100 g yellow onion
- 70 g tamarind pulp
- 70 g jaggery sugar
- 220 ml water for the chutney
- 35 g fresh mint
- 25 g fresh cilantro
- 2 pieces fresh green chilies
- 15 g fresh ginger
- 1 piece lemon
- 700 ml very cold water
- 4 tsp chaat masala
- 3 tsp roasted ground cumin
- 2 tsp Indian black salt kala namak
- 1/2 tsp ground red chili
- 1 pinch ground asafoetida
- to taste fine salt
Method
- Mix the extra-fine semolina and flour. Gradually pour in the warm water while kneading until you have a firm, smooth dough that is significantly stiffer than bread dough. Continue kneading to develop the elasticity needed for puffing.
- Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rest. It must never dry out, otherwise the puris will crack during rolling or frying.
- During this resting time, cook the potatoes in their skins in a pot of simmering water. Drain them as soon as a blade pierces them without resistance, let them cool slightly, then peel and roughly mash them. Leave some chunks so the filling doesn't turn pasty.
- Rinse and drain the chickpeas thoroughly. Gently mix them into the potatoes with some of the chaat masala, roasted cumin, black salt, red chili, and fine salt. Reserve the onion separately after cutting it into very small dice.
- For the chutney, simmer the tamarind pulp with the designated water and jaggery. Stir until dissolved, then crush the pulp to extract all its flavor. Pass through a fine sieve and return to low heat until you have a coating but still fluid sauce. Season with a little roasted cumin, black salt, and red chili, then let cool.
- For the pani, very finely blend the mint, cilantro, green chilies, ginger, lemon juice, the remaining roasted cumin, the remaining black salt, the remaining chaat masala, and the asafoetida with a little cold water.
- Pass this herbaceous paste through a fine sieve, pressing it with the back of a spoon. Gradually add the remaining very cold water. Taste and adjust with fine salt or a little lemon: the pani should be boldly tangy, salty, minty, and spicy. Place it in the refrigerator.
- Briefly knead the rested dough, then roll it out evenly on a very lightly floured surface. Cut out regular ovals. Keep the cut pieces and scraps under a damp cloth throughout the entire process.
- Heat the oil in a deep pot. It is ready when a small fragment of dough rises quickly to the surface without browning immediately.
- Submerge the ovals in small batches. Hold them briefly under the surface with a skimmer to start them puffing, then flip them. The puris should form an entirely hollow shell, slightly blistered, dry, and golden blonde.
- Drain the puris on a wire rack rather than a plate so the steam can escape. Let them cool completely before serving; they will then become brittle and crispy.
- Present the puris, the potato and chickpea filling, the onion, the tamarind chutney, and the ice-cold pani separately.
- When ready to eat, delicately crack the top of a puri with your thumb. Spoon in a little filling, a few onion dice, and some tamarind chutney, then fill with pani. Eat the entire puri immediately in one bite.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 709.3 kcal
- Protein
- 17.33 g
- Carbohydrate
- 110.3 g
- Fat
- 23.13 g
- Fibre
- 14.06 g
- Calcium
- 161.46 mg
- Iron
- 8.97 mg
- Magnesium
- 136.42 mg
