AboutSojourner Expertise Indian main dishes, vegetarian and non-vegetarian, especially S. Indian, and breads (puri, chappati, nan). I had roti on here before but I can only make plain roti on the stove top - not tandoori roti or any of the fancy roti. I'm not so knowledgeable about snacks, pickles, desserts/sweets, or chutney.
I can find recipes for just about anything, though. Since I know the ingredients and the different measuring styles, I can "translate" recipes into a format more easily understood by an American audience.
I can also help you find sources for ingredients, explain what the staples used in Indian cuisine are, and explain what the different spices used in North and South Indian cuisine are and where to find them affordably.
Experience Was married to a man from Vijayawada and have been cooking Indian food for 30 years
Education/Credentials BS, currently working on doctorate
Question Hi - sorry I have no idea what this dish is called but while in Surat (Gujarat,India) a few years back i bought from a street stall a snack which was a small bread (like a semi-hard puree) which had some tomato/bean type of sauce (a bit like a salsa) poured in it (the bread was puffed up and broken one side). I have no idea what it is, but would like to find out and the recipe. Sorry this may be difficult to answer.
Answer OK, this is going to be a bit complicated, so let me say from the outset that if you can find an Indian Grocery in your area, you can buy these pre-made. They are called Pani Puri or Gol Gappa or puchka. I have not made these myself, but I have a couple of recipes for them that I can share.
First for the PANI (this is the dipping sauce)
2 c water
2 T jaggery, or substitute raw turbinado sugar (health food store)
1 T tamarind paste (find this at an Indian food store)
OR substitute 1 1/2 T of lemon juice
1 C fresh cilantro (coriander) leaves
1 C fresh mint leaves
3-4 fresh green chili peppers
1" piece of peeled ginger, chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garam masala or chaat masala (see below)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black salt (a mineral salt you would have to get from an Indian food store)
Boil the water and add the jaggery and tamarind paste - simmer until both are thoroughly dissolved. If you are substituting lemon juice for tamarind, don't add it yet.
Set aside to cool.
In a blender, blend together the cilantro, mint, chiles, ginger, and spices til you have a fine paste. You may add the lemon juice to this (if you are using it) or some of the tamarind water from above (cooled) if you need a little more moisture to get this stuff to grind up finely.
Add to the cooled tamarind water and mix thoroughly. Let sit in the refrigerator AT LEAST overnight.
OK, now for the stuffing. Again, there are many, many different ways to make stuffing for pani puri, but here are a couple that I though sounded fairly simple and fairly easy to find the ingredients.
FILLING #1
1 c cooked or canned chickpeas (chana dahl) WELL DRAINED
2 T oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground chile powder (cayenne)
(NOT American style chili powder)
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp garam masala (I'll put a simple recipe for garam masala at the bottom, you could also buy this in an Indian grocery but frankly the quality of the premixes is pretty low)
Heat the oil. Add the spices and fry for just a minute or two until they begin to release an aroma. Add the WELL-DRAINED chickpeas and the salt and stir until heated through. Set aside.
FILLING #2
1/2 c bean sprouts, steamed or canned and WELL DRAINED
FILLING #3
2 med. potatoes, peeled, boiled until just soft, diced or slightly mashed.
Put these aside. You could sprinkle the potatoes with a little salt and garam masala if you think it's too plain. But remember you'll be dipping this in the sauce which is the savory part of pani puri. They should be fairly warm when served but not necessarily piping hot.
Now to make the tiny little puris. These are different from regular puris, which are a fried bread that puffs up like a balloon and are supposed to be soft. These puff up, but they are suppposed to be crunchy, so the recipe is a bit different.
For the Puris, you will need:
1 c of cream of wheat (semolina at the Indian grocery store)
1/2 c chappati flour or substitute whole wheat PASTRY flour
1/2 c besan flour (urad flour)
1/2 c regular white all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 T oil
3/4 c lukewarm water (may take less or more, you just have to experiment - the amount could change even with the amount of humidity in the air)
If you can't find besan, substitute all-purpose flour (for a total of 1 c of all-purpose flour). This is different from "regular" puri recipes which only use chappati flour. You want a crunchy snack, not a pliable bread. There are other recipes for the puri to go in pani puri calling for nearly all cream of wheat and very little flour, or even all semolina (cream of wheat), and using club soda instead of water. This is a VERY varied dish.
Mix the dry ingredients together thoroughly. Begin adding a little water at a time in - you want to end up with a fairly stiff dough. For normal puris, I would normally use about 3/4c of lukewarm water. But with the cream of wheat in this recipe that amount may be different. Put the water aside and add it about 1 T at a time until you have a very stiff but very thoroughly kneaded dough. Add about 1/2 T of oil as you knead - when the dough starts sticking to your hands, oil your palms lightly and continue to knead until the cream of wheat appears to be almost dissolved. Then cover with a damp cloth and let rest about 15 to 30 minutes.
After the dough has rested, divide into 1/2" balls and roll out as close to round as you can manage and rather thin. You may need to experiment a little with this as well, it's difficult to convey what "rather thin" means over the internet. Cover the rolled out puris with the dampened cloth to keep them from drying out.
Heat oil in a wok or a dutch oven - you need some space, and enough depth that the oil doesn't splash over the sides. I used to have it written down just exactly how hot the oil needs to be for regular puris but it may be different for this type of dough - again, you'll have to experiment. I suggest using a deep frying thermometer as you cook so that when you hit on the "perfect" temperature, you can write it down. (don't let the bottom of the sensor touch the pan, just the oil)
The puris should puff up very quickly as you slide them into the oil. They should brown up a little, you should press them down lightly as they float to the top to help them puff up. I usually use tongs with regular puris, but these will be smaller and you should get a deep-fry spoon - looks like a shovel woven of wire. Drain the cooked puris and set aside.
If you made the puris in advance, or if you bought them pre-made, you can freshen them in the oven by preheating to 300 F and then spread them out on a cookie sheet and cook for about 5 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes before serving.
Crumble a small hole in the thin side of the puri, stuff with one of your stuffings, dip in the sauce, and pop into your mouth. Savor.
Mix together and store in an airtight container in a cool dry place. Usually garam masala is made by roasting whole spices and grinding, but this is a quick and easy substitute that's not too far off.
Chaat masala:
1 scant T ground coriander
1/2 T ground red chile (cayenne) (NOT American CHILI POWDER)
1 scant T ground cumin
1 T amchur powder (powdered dry mango, Indian Grocery)
2 T ground black pepper
2 T salt
Again, normally this is made with mostly whole, toasted spices and then ground. The Amchur powder would have to come from an Indian grocery; and normally Chaat masala would use black salt, which, again, you can only get from an Indian grocery.
If you have a good health food store that sells in bulk, most of these spices should be available much more cheaply there than in the tiny little jars at the grocery store. If there is no indian grocery near you, and no health food store, you can also buy online.
