Pani Puri/Gol Gappe-ICC for May

For May's ICC, the popular Indian Chaat Pani Puri/Gol Gappe is the challenge. When I first tried the recipe, the puris turned out to be like papris. My husband teased me if I was making papri chaat or pani puri. Then I told him that I was following the recipe exactly as given. He said, "Don't add baking soda or baking powder. Instead, increase the measurement of maida." Then I checked my recipe collection for reference, only to find that no baking soda or powder was added. Then I took maida's and sooji's/rava's ratio as 1:1 (equal amount). I didn't add salt also. It was a huge success. For accompaniments, nothing was changed; we loved the red tamarind chutney especially. Now onto the recipe.

Puri
Ingredients:
Sooji/Rava - 1/2 cup
Maida/APF - 1/2 cup
Water (to knead)

Required Items:
Damp cloth or towel - 3

Method:
In a bowl, add rava and maida.
Add water and make a stiff dough out of the flours.
Cover with a damp cloth and keep it aside for 15-20 minutes.
After the given time above, make small balls like seedais and cover it with a damp cloth.
Roll them into small circles.
Place the circles on another damp cloth and cover it with the other.
Heat oil in a thick-bottom pan, slide one puri and lightly press it with a ladle (should puff at this stage).
Continue the same process with a batch of 4 puris.
Fry them till they turn golden color.
Place them on a paper towel.

Note:
Allow the puris to cool and store them in an air-tight container.

Pani/Spicy Water
Ingredients:
Mint leaves - 1 1/2 cup (chopped)
Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp. (chopped)
Tamarind - 1/3 cup
Ginger - 1 inch
Green chillies - 4-5
Ground cumin- 1 tsp.
Black salt - 1 1/2 tsp.
Salt (to taste)

Method:
Soak the tamarind with 3/4 cup of water.
Extract the pulp from the tamarind.
In a blender jar, add mint leaves, coriander leaves, ginger, dry roasted ground cumin, chillies, tamarind pulp, salt and black salt and blend into a smooth paste.
Keep in the refrigerator.
While assembling, add required amount (maybe 4 cups) of water to this paste and run through the strainer.

Red Tamarind Chutney
Ingredients:
Tamarind - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 2 tbsp.
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp.
Dry roasted ground cumin - 1 tsp.
Ground black pepper - 1/4 tsp.
Cloves -2
Warm water - 2 cups
Salt (to taste)

Method:
Soak the tamarind with 2 cups of water.
Extract the pulp from tamarind.
In a pan, dry roast the cloves and pound them into a coarse powder.
In another pan, add tamarind pulp, jaggery, sugar, red chilli powder, black pepper powder, roasted cumin powder, cloves and salt.
Heat for 5 minutes on medium heat.
After 5 minutes, remove and cool the mixture.
Run through the strainer and keep the chutney aside.


Potato Filling
Boil 4 small potatoes.
Peel and chop them.
Sprinkle little salt and red chilli.
Keep it aside.


Lentil Fillings
Ingredients:
Chana (cooked) - 1 cup
Salt (to taste)
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp.
Tumeric powder - 1/4 tsp.
Garam masala - 1/4 tsp.
Oil - 1 1/2 tsp.

Method:
Heat the oil in a pan, And add the cooked chana and masalas and saute for few minutes.
Remove from heat and keep aside.

To assemble:
Make a hole in the centre of a puri.
You can stuff in whatever you want with the fillings.
Open your mouth extremely wide "AAAH!" and pop it in.

Posted in: ICC, Snacks