Gol gappa if you are in Delhi or Pani poori elsewhere. That’s what it was (previous post). Nothing to do with the diwali treats as many of you guessed. I was trying to make my own pooris. At first, I decided to call amma, who BTW makes amazing pani pooris, but it was 3 a.m in India and it has been ages since I called amma at that hour (yes, have done this numerous times during my school days). Did’nt want to scare her this time. I found all these recipes online, but was not sure which one would work best. So, I just decided to try all of them and made dough enough for 3-4 pooris for each recipe. Having tried all these recipes, the winner was…..actually none. Most of them did not puff up. If they did, they did’nt stay crisp. I was disappointed and finally had to call 911(U-Know-who). This is what was instructed to me:
Soak 1 cup sooji in water just enough to wet all the grains well. Let it soak up for 10 minutes. Once the grains turn soft, knead the sooji well by rubbing the dough to the vessel with your palm. It turns to a creamy while color. Add 1 cup maida, 2 tbsp atta and 1 tbsp rice pwd and salt. Add enough water to make a stiff dough. Roll into small round bite-sized pooris and deep fry them in medium – low heat for about 7-8 minutes, 3-4 minutes on each side. If none of the poories in the 1st batch puff up, add little more water to the dough and soften it up. Most of my poories puffed up and stayed crisp. Needless to say – I was elated!
Pani:
Mint leaves – 2 bunches
Cilantro – 1/2 bunch
Green chillies – about 6 (reduce the amount if needed. I like it spicccccy)
Dry ginger powder - 1 tsp
Black pepper powder – 1 tsp
Hing – A pinch
Salt – 1 tsp
Black salt to taste
Cold Water - 4-5 cups
lime juice – 2 tbsp
Grind the leaves and chillis in a blender with water. Strain out and add the dry ingredients. Add about 5 cups of water, salt it up with kala namak / black salt and add lime juice. Taste it and add water or salt as required. Intead of the dry ingredients, you could also add a couple spoons of pani poori masala. Pani should be served cold. Refrigerate before-hand or add ice for immediate use.
Khatta meetha chutney: There are two ways of making this:
Method 1:
Tamarind- 1/4 cup
Jaggery – 1/2 cup
Chilli pwd – 2 tsp (again, reduce heat if you cant take spice)
salt – 1 tsp
black salt – 1 tsp
jeera pwd – 2 tsp
Boil Tamarind and Jaggery in water till the raw smell goes. Add the dry spices and strain it. I like the chutney a little thick. Add more salt or water if needed. I like to make extra chutney and store it in an empty ketchup bottle for later use. This goes well with samosas, puffs, bread rolls, cutlets etc.
Method 2: This is healthier and tastes just as good
Dates – 1/2 cup
Tamarind – 1/2 lime sized ball
Aamchur pwd – 2 tbsp
Chilli pwd – 2 tsp
salt – 1 tsp
black salt – 1 tsp
jeera pwd – 2 tsp
Boil the Dates and tamarind. Add the dry ingredients and strain.
Potato-chickpea filling:
Potatoes – 2
Chickpea soaked and boiled in salted water - 1/4 cup
Cut potatoes to small pieces and boil in salted water till done. Drain and mix it with the chick-pea. Add salt and chilli pwd to taste.
To assemble: Break the thinner side of the poori with your thumb. Fill 3-4 pieces of the potato mixture. Pour a little khatta-meetha chutney. Dip it into the pani and fill it up to the brim. Put it into your mouth as it is without biting. Enjoy!
So? what is the curd is doing in the photograph? It is an answer to another question. What do we do with the poories that did not puff up? First, we start by changing their name to papdi and then make a quick papdi chat. Dip 5-6 papdis into the pani and arrange it on a plate. On each papdi place some of the potatoes. then pour some salted, churned curd. Drizzle the khatta-meetha chutney on top. Garnish with little chilli pwd, jeera pwd and chopped cilantro (Sorry, no photographs here).
