Pani Puri

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Pani Puri

Serves 6 as Appetizer.

One of the most popular examples of street food from India, pani puri offers an interesting contrast of textures and flavors that literally burst in your mouth in every bite!

• 1/2 c mung beans
  
• 1 Medium-Sized Potato
  
• 6 Dates
  
• 1/2 T tamarind
  
• 1/8 tsp black salt
  
• 1-1/2 bunch cilantro
  
• 4 Green Chillies
  
• 1 bunch mint leaves
  
• 1-1/2 T Pani Puri Masala
  
• Salt to Taste
  
• 1 l ice cold water
  
• 24 Crispy Puris for Pani Puri
  

1. Soak the moong beans overnight and steam till they are cooked but retain some crunch. Boil the potatoes whole and peel and dice.

2. Deseed the dates and cook them with a little water till they're soft. Boil 1/2 a cup of water and dissolve the tamarind in the same. Strain to remove seeds and fibre from the tamarind. You won't need to strain if you're using the tamarind paste available at Indian grocery stores. However the raw tamarind available in blocks offer better flavor than the tamarind paste. Grind the dates with some water to form a thick sauce and mix the tamarind paste. The sourness-sweetness ration is a matter of taste.. so you may have to add more or less tamarind depending on how you like the sauce.

3. Grind one bunch of cilantro with 3-4 green chillies and a little water to form a green chutney. Ideally, this shouldn't be too watery but add enough water to ensure smooth grinding.

4. Grind the remaining cilantro with the bunch of mint leaves and a couple of green chillies and a little water. Add this mixture to one litre of cold water in a pitcher and mix well. Add the pani puri masala and stir well.

5. Make a small depression in each of the puris and fill with a small qty of moong, a couple of pieces of potato, a dab of the cilantro chutney and a drop of the date-tamarind chutney and arrange on a plate. Each diner also gets a cup with some of the spiced cold water in it.

6. Before eating, dip the filled puris into the spicy water and put the entire puri into your mouth to consume!

7. Optionally, one can substitute the mung beans with boondi (small pearls of fried chick pea flour batter also available ready to eat in Indian grocery stores).

8. One can also make the puris at home. Use 1 cup all purpose flour, 1 tbsp of semolina and salt. Add water and knead into a smooth dough. Keep aside for about 1/2 an hour. Form the dough into small balls and roll into little puris about 1/8" thick. Deep Fry in hot oil till golden brown and allow to cool.

Keywords: Appetizer, Vegetarian, Indian

( RG1795 )