Dahi puri is a crispy and saucy Indian street food snack. It's made by filling a crispy semolina ball with a chickpea and potato filling and drizzled with a combo of sweet dahi (yogurt) along with tamarind-date and cilantro mint chutneys.
Ingredients in dahi puri
Dahi puri is a street food snack that is very popular in India and is thought to have originated in Mumbai. The ingredients in this chaat are as follows...
- Puri - A small, crunchy, and hollow ball typically made with semolina also known as rava. Other variations of this puri can be made with rice flour or atta (Indian whole wheat flour).
- Potato and Chickpea Filling - Boiled potatoes and chickpeas are mixed with lip smacking spices tossed with chopped fresh red onions.
- Dahi Sauce - Dahi or yogurt is very popular when it comes to making papdi chaat. Checkout this dahi sauce for chaat recipe with cumin and lemon juice that really brightens up the yogurt and is the quintessential sauce for dahi puri.
- Cilantro-Mint Chutney - This cilantro and mint chutney provides heat and a bright herbaceousness to the chaat. Customize the dahi puri with little or more of this sauce for a spicier dahi puri.
- Tamarind Date Chutney - Tamarind date chutney also known as imli khajoor chutney is a sweet and sour sauce that adds another layer of flavor to this chaat.
- Chaat Masala - Chaat masala is a complex and tangy spice blend that makes chaat so lip smacking. This spice blend is not easy to be made at home but should rather be purchased at an Indian store or online. It has a complex mix of dried mango (amchur powder), dried pomegrante, dried mint, black salt, as well as other warm spices to flavor the potatoes and chickpeas.
Store bought vs homemade puri
Making homemade puri is absolutely not required for eating dahi puri at home. In fact, when growing up my amma (mom) never make this component at home but she would buy it from the grocery store.
My favorite store bought puris are the ones that are already fried and sold in large boxes. I prefer these to the ones that are sold as dried discs to be baked or fried at home. The dried discs are usually made with rice flour and remind me more of fryums rather than the street side puris I grew up eating which are made from semolina whereas the pre-fried puris almost always use semolina. Here are some of my favorite brands that you can also purchase online. If you buy the store bought variety, make sure to lightly toast them in the oven at 200F to crisp them back up.
However, if you are interested in making all the components from scratch, checkout my in depth blog post that goes over the best variety of semolina and the ideal rolling technique to craft this crunchy puri at home.
Other chaat recipes you'll love
If you love chaats as much as I do, here are other chaats that you will love!
Crispy Kale Chaat
Aloo Chana Papdi Chaat
Frequently Asked Questions
Puri for pani puri can be purchased at your local Indian store or online. My favorite puris to buy are the pre-fried puris as they are made with semolina vs. the discs that require frying/baking which are usually made with rice flour.
Yes! Dahi puri is naturally vegetarian. You can make it vegan by using a vegan yogurt.
You can create a DIY dahi puri or chaat-cuterie board for guests. Simply place the individual components of the dahi puri in charcuterie boards and allow guests to make the dahi puri for themselves.
Chaat masala is easily bought at local Indian grocery stores or online.
Crispy Dahi Puri Chaat
Ingredients
- ¾ cup russet potatoes boiled, skin removed, and crushed into small pieces
- ¾ cup canned chickpeas drained
- ¼ cup red onions finely diced
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala
- ¼ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder plus more for sprinkling
- ½ teaspoon sea salt plus more to taste
- 24 store bought or homemade puris
- 1 cup dahi sauce for chaat
- ½ cup store-bought or homemade tamarind-date chutney
- ¼ cup store-bought or homemade cilantro-mint chutney
- Optional Sev (Chickpea snack)
Instructions
Prep Ingredients
- Drain ¾ cup canned chickpeas
- Finely dice ¼ cup red onions
- Make dahi sauce
- Make tamarind date chutney and cilantro-mint chutney OR skip this step if using store-bought chutneys.
Main Steps
- In a medium bowl add potatoes and drained chickpeas. Use a spoon to incorporate potatoes and chickpeas while lightly mashing the chickpeas.
- Add diced onions, 1 teaspoon chaat masala, ¼ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder, and ½ teaspoon sea salt and mix until all the ingredients are distributed evenly. Taste filling for seasoning and add more salt to taste
- Lightly tap a small hole on the top of the puri with your index finger. Gently fill ~2-3 teaspoons of potato/chickpea filling in each puri.
- Place about 6 puris on a plate. Drizzle ~¼ cup of dahi per plate, along with ~2 tablespoons of tamarind-date chutney, and ~1 tablespoon of cilantro-mint chutney. Sprinkle the top with sev and eat immediately.
Notes and Tips
- Add the sauces to the dahi puri right before eating.
Shri Repp