Mumbai Pani Puri – Devour, Eat, Repeat.
The word chaat conjures up everlasting memories for pretty much any Indian and I am no different. Till date I fondly remember the time spent with friends at a roadside stall munching away on a variety of chaat delicacies and completely oblivious to the rest of the world. Living in the US it is definitely hard to relive those days. So I did the next best thing i.e. make chaat myself at home and have it on this rainy evening. Among the innumerable variety of recipes I chose to make the wickedly delicious, sweet, tangy palate-tingling “Pani-Puri”. It is famous by other names like Puchka, Golgappa, Gup Chup as well.
The word chaat in Hindi literally means to lick and that is exactly what happens with pretty much any recipe that can even be remotely called as chaat. These recipes usually mean an explosion of flavors in your mouth. Some of the elements included in a typical recipe are the SWEET yogurt, CRISPY Sev, the TANGY dry mango powder and the SPICY chutneys. This typically means pleasing all of your senses with a single recipe. DON’T Y”ALL AGREE???
Chaat Party !!
After all that I don’t think I need to tell y’all why we Indians love this style of street food so much. So when Wifey and I inevitably start having “CHAAT CRAVINGS” our life gets thrown into turmoil (LAUGHS!!!!). Things tend to go in a downward spiral until the cravings are satisfied…. The original idea which wifey dear came up with was for us to have a chaat party for a few close friends.
So I went to the Indian store and got everything I needed to make multiple recipes. However, due to unavoidable circumstances, I couldn’t settle on a date for the party. That meant all the food was just sitting in our kitchen literally screaming my name (CHUCKLES!!!). Honestly, I am an absolute sucker for this style of food!!! (As if I haven’t said it enough… RIGHT!!!!). There was only so much I could do… There was just so long that I could wait.. (LAUGHS!!!).
What is Pani Puri???
Eventually, my resistance crumbled to pieces and I GAVE UP!!!! I didn’t make any thing elaborate because the chaat party is still on my mind. But that doesn’t mean I couldn’t make something tasty and I had the perfect recipe in mind i.e. PANI-PURI.
Puri is basically a crispy, puffed and fried bread. It is then filled with either a potato or a lentil topping as well as Pani which is basically spiced, flavored water. The fun part is that these puris are not supposed to be broken up but swallowed whole. So as y’all can imagine there are some funny faces/ reactions while eating them (CHUCKLES)..
I already bought a whole bag of pre-made puris from the Indian stores so half my job was done. I have also posted a recipe to make Puri’s for pani puri at home.
The other and easier half of the job was to make the toppings. This time I chose to go with the lentils instead of the potatoes. At least I could tell myself that my cravings are healthy… RIGHT!!!.
Spicy Tangy Pani/Water!!
Last but not the least was the PANI or the spiced water i.e. take water and add spices to it (DUH!!! It is indeed that simple). I flavored the water with mint powder, amchoor (dry mango powder) and store bought pani puri masala.
Assembly!!
Lightly tap the top of puri with tip of spoon or index finger to make a small hole. Spoon some green gram mixture and dates- tamarind chutney inside. Top it with boondi. Dip it in the water and pop in your mouth immediately.
As of now I honestly don’t want to talk any more because I am going to busy wolfing down these one bite goodies (LAUGHS HARD!!!!).
Did you make this Pani puri? Share a photo on INSTAGRAM at #samosastreet
Other Similar Chaat Recipes you may Enjoy !!
- Avocado Papdi Chaat – Delicious Indian Mexican Fusion
- Shrikhand Golgappe
- Mexican Pani Puri
- Black Bean Sev Puri
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Pani Puri
Ingredients
- 1 cup Green Gram/ Moong Dal
- 1 tsp Cumin Powder
- 1 tsp Red chili powder
- 1 tsp Mint Powder
- 2 tsp Amchur Powder/Dry mango Powder
- 2 tsp Pani Puri Masala
- Black Salt
- Salt
- 4 cup water
Toppings
- Dates & Tamarind chutney
- Boondi
- Packet of readymade Puris
Instructions
- Soak Green Gram in water overnight.
- Heat a pot over medium heat, add rinsed green gram and 2 cup of water. Cover and simmer until cooked. Drain the water.
- Let it cool. Sprinkle cumin powder, red chili powder and salt
- In a bowl add 4 cups of water, mint powder, dry mango powder, pain puri masala and black salt. Add ice to it
Assembly
- Lightly tap the top of puri with tip of spoon or index finger to make a small hole.
- Spoon some Green garam mixture and dates- tamarind chutney inside. Top it with boondi
- Dip it in the water
- Pop in your mouth immediately.
Rahul, as usually, my mouth is watering by time I’m halfway through your post! These look beautiful and sound so so tasty! Now,,,to find a grocery that sells some of these ingredients…
They are indeed a terrific little snack. Making them from scratch takes a little effort. But you can get all premade ingredients at your local indian grocer and still have the same taste…
Rahul,
Definitely 5 stars and more! What is not to love about these eat Nd repeat affair with pani puris. Temptingly delicious. Loved the clicks!
Thank you so much Hasin. For me nothing beats standing at a roadside stall and gobbling up these bite-sized goodies..
I have heard stories of pani puri from my Indian friends here in Atlanta, but never got a chance to taste it. Your picture looks very tempting and rich in flavor. Could you please suggest from where do I get all the ingredients and what’s black salt..
It is definitely a very addictive dish and you should definitely try it.. Most of the ingredients are very common in Indian cooking. If you are in Atlanta then getting them shouldn’t be a problem. All of them can be found at Patel Brothers or Cherians. Also black salt just adds a nice tanginess to the recipe but you can skip it if you like. Add a little extra dry mango powder instead..
What a fun dish! I’ve never had these, but they certainly look dellish. Neat recipe — thanks.
You should have these John.. They are crazy addictive..
Heaven indeed ! Thank you so much !
It sure is.. Food heaven that is..
I’ve never had these! And many of the ingredients are mysteries to me. That kind of thing always make me curious. I’ll have to keep an eye out for something like this on a restaurant menu.
Ohh if you haven’t had these Jeff then you are definitely missing something.. We Indians absolutely adore this kind of street food.. 🙂