Pani Puri / Gol Gappa / Phuchka

Ingredients: 

For Puris

• 1 cup rava/ sooji/ semolina
• 1 tbsp all purpose flour/ maida
• Salt to taste
• Oil for Frying

For Spicy Mint Water

• 1 bunch cilantro/ coriander leaves
• 1 cup mint/ pudina leaves
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 inch piece ginger
• 4 green chillies/ to taste
• 1 tbsp black salt/ kala namak
• 1/2 tsp freshly roasted cumin powder
• 1 pinch salt
• juice of 1 lime
• 6 cups water

FOR FILLING

• For Potato Filling
• Boiled potatoes - finely chopped/ mashed and mixed with a pinch each of salt, red chilli powder and cumin powder

For Lentil Filling

• White peas/ vatana
• Green gram/ whole moong
• Soak the lentils in water overnight and cook in pressure cooker. Drain any excess water and add a pinch each of salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and cumin powder

For Red Tamarind Chutney

• 1 cup brown tamarind
• 1/2 cup jaggery
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp dry roasted cumin powder
• 1 tsp dry roasted coriander powder
• 2 cloves
• 2 cups warm water
• Salt to taste

Method:

For Puris

1. In a bowl take semolina, salt and add some water and mix together. The semolina will absorb all the water
2. Now add all purpose flour and knead well to form a stiff dough like regular puri dough.
3. Add a tsp of oil and knead some more. Cover the dough either with a wet muslin cloth or cling wrap and let it rest for 15-20 mins.
4. Then take a medium sized ball, apply some oil on the rolling surface and roll into a very thin chapati. Using some round cutter (I used small pickle katori)cut into several small round puris.
5. In the meantime, heat oil in a deep pan for deep frying the puris. Once oil is hot, deep fry puris until crisp and golden brown color. Remove the puris with the help of a slotted spoon on a plate lined with paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
6. Allow the puris to completely cool and store them in an airtight container.

For Spicy Mint Water

1. Clean the cilantro by discarding all the large stems and only using the tender leaves and stem.
2. Grind the cilantro, mint leaves, garlic, ginger and green chillies into a fine paste adding some water.
3. Transfer this to a bowl and add 6 cups for water to this. Also add lime juice, salt, cumin powder, black salt and mix well.
4. Refrigerate the water for few hours and strain the water through a fine siever before use.

For Red Tamarind Chutney

1. Extract the pulp from tamarind.
2. Dry roast the cumin seeds and the cloves in a pan and pound them into coarse powder.
3. Add jaggery, sugar, red chilli powder, black pepper powder, roasted cumin powder, roasted coriander powder, cloves and salt to the tamarind pulp. Also add some water.
4. Heat this mixture for a few minutes and let it cool down. Add some more warm water if the chutney thickens up.

Assembling the Pani Puri / Gol Gappa

1. Assemble few puris in a plate. Poke a small hole in the center of the puris
2. Add some potato filling and lentil filling inside the puri.
3. Add some red tamarind Chutney and pour some spicy mint water in the puri. Stuff the whole puri in your mouth.