When I first went to India, I had pani puri, one type of Indian street food, at a wedding for appetizers.  I was addicted!  These deep fried, crispy hollow semolina flour balls were filled with mashed potato, some chopped onions, cilantro and a tasty, savory refreshing sauce.  When I came back to the States, I asked one of my Indian friends to demo how to make pani puri to our supper club.  I realized that making these delicious nibbles were easier to make than I thought. Everyone at the supper club thought they were absolutely amazing!

One of my daughters visited Washington DC and saw an authentic Indian street food stall.  She said that she knew it was authentic by the mis-spellings of the menu descriptions! She decided to order their pani puri to see if it reminded her of her trip to India.  To her surprise, this pani puri was even better!  She immediately called me and was so excited about her discovery.

We recently made pani puri with Jocelyn's additions of a yoghurt dip (raita),  sweet-tangy chutney, crispy Indian crunchies and spices. It was a symphony in the mouth with every ingredient playing its part and together, making this wonderful experience in taste and texture, just like good sushi!

Tips for making pani puri - Indian street food.

Pani puri appeasl to everyone, even those who are not adventurous with food.  My family has made pani puri with mashed potato, chopped onions, bacon bits and the pani puri water.  It was different and very western, but still super delicious.  So, think outside the box and provide any tasty fixins that everyone will like. The key is to have some savory crunchies and the refreshing pani puri water!

This recipe is not making the puri from scratch, because it is time consuming and no better than the dried, uncooked ones that just require frying and is readily available.

Serving pani puri - Indian street food.

Pani puri - Indian street food

Purchase uncooked pani puri from an Indian supermarket or on Amazon. I prefer to buy the uncooked pani puri and fry it up in a small saucepan, because you end up with less broken puris than buying the already fried puris.  Frying the uncooked pani puri is very quick.  Some pani puri brands, like the one below, come with the masala spices so you don't have to buy the spices.

Pani puri water.

The pani puri water is made with a pani puri spice mix or masala.  Sometimes this is included in the bag of uncooked pani puris.  If not, you can purchase a pani puri masala spice mix.

This masala is mixed with ice cold water plus fresh chopped chili (for spiciness), lime, cilantro and mint (for freshness), tamarind paste (for tanginess) and brown sugar (to balance the sour).

To maintain a vibrant green for the pani puri water, chop the cilantro and mint with the fresh lime juice.  The acid in the lime juice retards the oxidation (turning brown) of the chopped mint.

On really hot days, iced cold pani puri water hits the spot!  Use water with ice.  Add crushed ice to the measuring cup first and then fill with water until the required level.

Potato.

Mashed potato is a major component for pani puri.  The easiest way to make the mash potato is to cut the potato into cubes and boil it in salted water.  When the potato is cooked, transfer the potatoes directly into a thick freezer bag with a few extra tablespoons of the potato water. Using your hands, mash the potato directly in the bag.  When ready, cut the corner of the bag.  It is a lot easier to pipe the mashed potato into the pani puri than using a teaspoon .

Chick peas or garbanzo beans.

Adding chick peas or garbanzo beans to the pani puri adds protein to the snack, reduces the carb slightly and increases the amount of fiber.

Yoghurt dip. (raita)

The yoghurt dip provides the creaminess and crunch to the pani puri.  I suggest using thick Greek yoghurt that has more body.

Crunchies.

I like to use Indian snacks which not only provide the crunch but also the additional flavor.  You can be as creative as you want here.  Try crispy bacon bits, crushed cheetos?

To provide additional tang to the pani puri, you could either use a "chaat masala" which literally translates to "street food spices"  which is a combination of hot and sour spices or amchur powder which is a tangy dried mango powder.  Both are delicious.

If you try these pani puri, let me know what you think and what interesting toppings you've come up with!