Homemade Pani Puri

Ingredients

• 1 cup yellow peas (raw; soak overnight and drain)
• 1 potato (medium-sized)
• 0.5 tsp turmeric powder
• salt (to taste; used in the filling)
• 0.5 tsp cumin seeds
• 3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 red onion (medium-sized, finely chopped)
• 1 tomato (large)
• 1.5 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 0.25 cup oil (for cooking the filling)
• 0.5 cup fresh cilantro (for the pani concentrate; reserve extra for garnish if desired)
• 0.5 cup fresh mint leaves
• 5 Thai green chillies (adjust to taste)
• 0.75 cup water (for grinding the herbs and chillies)
• salt (to taste; used in the pani)
• 1 tsp black salt
• 1.5 tsp jaljeera powder (available at Indian grocery stores)
• 1 tsp black pepper powder
• 0.5 cup tamarind extract (or make it by soaking 1/4 cup tamarind in water and squeezing out the pulp; store-bought concentrate may be used sparingly)
• 0.25 cup tamarind (optional, only if preparing the tamarind extract from scratch)
• 1 cup water (chilled; mixed with the pani concentrate)
• puri (use puris made with all-purpose flour rather than semolina, according to the transcript)
• red onion (finely chopped; optional, for extra crunch)
• fresh cilantro (for garnish)

Steps

1. 1

   Soak the yellow peas overnight. Drain them the next day.

2. 2

   Pressure-cook the drained yellow peas with the potato, salt, and turmeric for 2 whistles. Then simmer for 5 minutes. The peas should be soft but not mushy.

3. 3

   Heat the oil in a pan.

4. 4

   Add the cumin seeds and finely chopped garlic, and sauté briefly.

5. 5

   Add the chopped onion, tomato, cumin powder, and red chilli powder. Cook until the vegetables soften into a gravy.

6. 6

   Add the cooked onion-and-tomato mixture to the peas and potato. Gently mash the mixture.

7. 7

   Add 1/2 cup of the prepared green spicy water to the filling. Garnish with fresh cilantro, adjust the salt, and add water if needed. The consistency should be balanced—not too thick or watery. Keep the filling warm.

8. 8

   For the pani concentrate, blend the cilantro, mint leaves, green chillies, and 3/4 cup water until smooth. Pour the mixture into a bowl.

9. 9

   Add the tamarind extract. If making it from scratch, prepare the extract by soaking 1/4 cup tamarind in water and squeezing out the pulp; alternatively, use store-bought concentrate sparingly.

10. 10

    Add salt, black salt, black pepper powder, and jaljeera powder to the herb-and-tamarind mixture. Mix well. This is the pani concentrate, which can be frozen and used as needed.

11. 11

    To make the serving pani, place 1/2 cup of the concentrate in another bowl and add 1 cup chilled water. Adjust the salt and spice to taste. The pani should be spicy, tangy, and balanced.

12. 12

    To assemble, make an opening in a puri and fill it with the warm pea-and-potato filling. Dunk the filled puri into the chilled pani and eat it in one bite. Add finely chopped onion for extra crunch if desired.

Notes

The source does not specify an exact yield or puri quantity. The transcript recommends yellow peas rather than chickpeas and all-purpose-flour puris rather than semolina puris. The pani concentrate can be frozen and used as needed.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• snack
• street food
• vegetarian
• South Asian
• Indian
• make-ahead
• no-bake