Learn the tips and tricks to make delicious and crispy puris for pani puri made at home!
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This post dives deep on making puris for pani puri at home. However, if you are looking for specific pani puri with chickpea and potato filling, dahi puri, sweet pani, or spicy pani recipes, check out those respective chaat recipes.
Why this recipe works
I've made 500+ puris and have a detailed blog post on the experiments I've done to test various flour types and rolling techniques which finally led me to this recipe. Check out the article for insights on what yields puffy and crunchy puris.
What is pani puri?
Pani puri is an Indian street food that consists of a hollow semolina ball called puri, a potato filling, and a spiced water called pani. To eat a pani puri, you poke a small little hole on the exterior of the crunchy puri, stuff it with a potato and chickpea filling, dunk it in the pani, and pop it whole in your mouth. There are so many variations on the dish from region to region, each with different names like golgappe or phucka.
Tips for getting a crispy puffed puri
- Use the cookie cutter method to cut out pani puris. Using the cookie cutter method is more likely to get puris that puff consistently.
- Measure ingredients for the dough in grams. I've included the gram measurement for making pani puri. Use that measurement to get precise measurements for your puri dough.
- Use semolina flour or fine sooji. American semolina is my first pick for pani puri dough even though this isn't traditionally used. My second pick is fine sooji. Both of these ingredients are fine in texture and yield a supple dough that is easy to work with. These doughs also roll easily and result in puris that puff consistently.
- Keep dough covered when not in use. When the puri dough is not in use, always cover it with a damp towel, as it can dry easily. Once the puris are rolled out, place them on a parchment paper-lined tray and keep them covered as well. This helps ensure that there is enough moisture in the dough, which will help create the steam that the puris need to puff.
- Place puris in oven once fried. For extra crispy puris that last a long time, place the puris in a low heat oven at 200F to rid them of any excess moisture that may remain.
Store-bought vs homemade puri
Making homemade puris is definitely not a beginner's recipe. When made at home, the puris are light, airy, and delicious. However, if you are to buy them, my favorite store-bought pani 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 instead of the street-side puris I grew up eating, which are made from semolina. The pre-fried puris almost always use semolina. If you go with the store-bought variety, make sure to lightly toast the puris in the oven at 200F to crisp them back up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Puris can last weeks if not months if stored properly. Make sure to store puris in an airtight container in a dry place. Make sure puris have completely cooled before storing.
It is important to get rid of excess moisture in puris to make them crispy. This can be done by frying the puris at a temperature of 375F-400F for 30 seconds on each side. In addition, placing the puris in the oven at 200F for ~20 mins also eliminates any excess water that may remain. Read more about making crispy puris in this ultimate guide to pani puris.
The best rolling technique to yield the puffiest puris is the cookie cutter method. Check out the ultimate guide to pani puris which goes over an experiment where 3 rolling methods are tested head to head.
Either semolina flour or fine sooji are the best flours to use for puris. You can check out the pros/cons of each flour which is written in ultimate guide to pani puris.
The best temperature to fry puris for pani puri is 400F. Try to keep the oil between 375F - 400F during the entire frying process.
Crispy and Puffy Puris for Pani Puri
Ingredients
- ½ cup (90 g) semolina flour or fine sooji
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup (50 g) water
- 1 teaspoon neutral oil plus more for frying
Instructions
- Mix ½ cup (90 g) semolina flour or fine sooji, ½ teaspoon baking powder, and ⅛ teaspoon sea salt in a medium bowl.
- Add ¼ cup (50 g) water, then mix and knead to form a dough that should start wet, but form a non-sticky dough after kneading. Drizzle the dough with 1 teaspoon neutral oil and coat to ensure that the dough doesn’t dry out.
- Cover the dough with a towel and allow it to rest for at least 30 minutes. This allows for the semolina to absorb the water and hydrate.
- On a clean working surface, roll the dough into a large rectangle that is roughly ⅛ inch thick, about 7 inches by 13 inches in dimensions. The dough should be firm enough that no excess flour should be needed. It helps to frequently pick up the dough and do quarter turns to ensure that the dough doesn't stick to the counter and is rolled evenly.
- Use a 2 inch diameter cookie cutter to cut out circles. The circles may contract slightly once cut so make sure to lightly roll over them to keep the 2 inch diameter. Transfer them to a parchment-lined sheet tray and keep covered until ready to fry.
- Heat a deep, heavy bottomed pot with at least 3 inches of oil to 400 F. The oil throughout the frying process should stay between 375 F and 400F.
- Carefully drop a few discs in the oil. The number of discs added depends on the width of your pot. Make sure not to overcrowd. The discs should drop and then float to the top of the oil. When they float, use the back of a slotted metal spoon to press down on the surface of the puris and submerge the tops in the oil. This is to help promote puffing. Continue to press and cook for 30 seconds on one side and 30 seconds on the other. The pani puri should have light tanning on the surface. Remove puris and place on a wire rack tray.
- If storing for later use, it is helpful to place puris in the oven at 200F heat for 10-15 minutes to remove any remaining moisture that may be left over. Allow the puris to completely cool before storing in an airtight container. Puris will last up to 2-3 weeks.
Notes and Tips
- Using American semolina flour or Indian fine sooji is important for this recipe. Using a coarse flour variety will decrease the chance that the puris will puff.
- Rolling the puri dough evenly is very important for this recipe to help the puris puff.
- If the puris are still soft after frying, you can place them in the oven at 200F for 10-12 to eliminate any excess moisture.
Sharif Mujawar
Good job.
I have also done sake kind of experiment with same objective.
I got one better method. Will make machine on the basis of understanding.
Bryce Mooney
hey! just throwing this out there.... an 1/8th of a teaspoon of salt is barely a gram let alone 50 grams... might want to edit that.
Shri Repp
Omg thank you so much for the catch. The 50g was for the water that is listed below the salt.
Aditi
Dying to try these! The link for the article is broken though, would love to read it sometime. And putting in my request for jalebi bc your gulab jambu are perfection!
Shri Repp
So sorry about that! I fixed the link to the experiment. Here it is just in case. https://moonrice.net/ultimate-guide-to-puffy-puris-for-pani-puri/
Tehehe - I will add jalebi to my recipe development list <3