Indian · Free recipe
Pani Puri
Hollow semolina puris are cracked open, stuffed with spiced potatoes and chickpeas, and flooded with icy, tangy pani made from mint, cilantro, green chile, tamarind, and roasted cumin. Eaten in a single bite before they soften, they burst with cold, sour, spicy, and sweet flavors all at once.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 1 hr
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Medium
Method
-
Blend the mint, cilantro, chiles, ginger, 2 tablespoons tamarind paste, 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin, and 1 teaspoon black salt with 1 cup of the water until very smooth.
-
Strain through a fine sieve into a pitcher, stir in the remaining ice-cold water, taste for sourness and salt, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
-
Mix the potatoes and chickpeas with the onion, chaat masala, remaining tamarind paste, remaining cumin, and remaining black salt, crushing a few potato pieces to bind the filling.
-
If the puris feel less than crisp, warm them in a 300F oven for 5 minutes and let cool; they should crackle when pressed.
-
Just before eating, tap a small hole in the top of each puri with your thumb and spoon in a little potato filling and a drop of sweet chutney.
-
Dunk or pour the chilled pani into each shell until nearly full, and eat each one whole immediately.
Zest note from the test kitchen
Make the pani a few hours ahead; the flavors deepen as it chills, and ice-cold water is what makes each burst so refreshing.
