paani puri
Probably one of the most popular street food in India. It has many many variations and goes by different names across the country. I believe it’s the leader of the chaat world. Serve with other chaats - dahi puri, sev puri, ragda pattis etc.
* for about 50 puris*
Pani:
50g cilantro
15g mint
1 green chilli
Juice from an entire lime (more if needed)
½ tsp salt
⅛ tsp cumin powder (roasted seeds and grind)
⅛ tsp chaat masala
¼ tsp amchur powder (dry mango powder)
1¼ tsp black salt
Filling:
125g potatoes
¼ cup kala chana
½ cup sprouted moong
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp chilli powder
⅛ tsp cumin powder (roasted seeds and grind)
⅛ tsp chaat masala
⅛ tsp black salt
big squeeze of lemon
handful of finely chopped cilantro
Filling:
Soak the kala chana in water for atleast 4 hours or overnight. Then, transfer to a pressure cooker, submerge in plenty of water and cook for 5 whistles. Meanwhile, wash your potatoes and place in a separate pressure cooker and add a cup of water. Cook for 3 whistles. Alternatively, you can cube and boil the potatoes. When cool to handle, drain water and peel the potatoes. Reserve for later use. Lastly, wash and boil the sprouted moong for about 10-15 minutes until tender.
When all the three items from step 1 are cool enough to handle, bring them all together in a mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients - salt, chilli powder, cumin powder, chaat masala, black salt, lemon and cilantro. Time to get your hands dirty - mash!!! We don’t want to use a potato masher because it’ll break everything apart a bit too much. We want it mushy but quite chunky as well. Taste check for salt and acidity. Place in the fridge until ready to eat.
Pani:
In a food processor blitz cilantro, mint and green chilli as fine as possible. Then add 500ml of water and pass it all through a strainer collecting the water but discarding the stuff caught in the strainer. Now add rest of the ingredients - lime, salt, cumin powder, chaat masala, amchur powder and black salt. Give it all a good stir. Adjust for tanginess and sourness. Place in the fridge until ready to eat.
How to:
Puris are hollow from the inside. Poke a little hole in it carefully with your thumb or index finger. Fill it up with the filling, then pour pani with a spoon and quickly in one big bite have the entire pani puri! It can get messy so be sure to have tissues on hand. Some people like to add a tiny bit of mithi chutney for sweetness along with the water. I like to switch it up with one bite with pani and one dry with a sprinkle of chaat masala.