Homemade Pani Puri / Gol Gappe / Puchka

Mumbai is well known for its street food - Pav Bhaji, Vada Pav, Samosa, Pani Poori and the list goes on. Of all these mouthwatering spicy delicacies, I miss Mumbai Pani Puri the most. Till date, I haven't found any Indian restaurant here serving good Pani Poori. Here is my homemade recipe for all Pani Poori lovers.  In Delhi, it is popularly known as Gol Gappe and in Bengal as Puchka.

Ingredients:

Dry Yellow Peas/Vatana or Mung Beans - 2 cups
Boiled Potato - 1 medium

Turmeric/Haldi - 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida/Hing - 1/4 tsp

Maida/All purpose flour - 1 cup

Rava/Sooji/Semolina - 1/4 cup

Cilantro/Coriander/Dhania Leaves - 2 bunches

Mint/Pudina Leaves - a bunch

Green Chillies - 10

Dates/Khajur - 1 cup

Jaggery/Gud or Brown Sugar - 1/4 cup

Tamarind Paste - 1/2 cup

Pani Puri Masala

Salt
Oil

How to make Mumbai Pani Poori:

• Soak yellow/white peas overnight. Wash the soaked peas and cook them till very soft. Add turmeric, asafetida, salt and bring to a boil. 
• As a healthier alternative, I have used cooked mung bean sprouts here. Some like spicy boondi in their pani poori.

Homemade Puris:

• In a mixing bowl, add all purpose flour, semolina, salt and knead into a firm dough using water. You will need about 1/2 cup water. Cover the dough with plastic food wrap and let the dough rest for 20 - 30 minutes.
• Make balls of this dough and roll each one very thin. Use a cookie cutter to cut out small puris. Deep fry these in medium hot oil, until golden brown.

Teekhi Hari Chutney:

• Grind 2:1 cilantro and mint, green chilies into a fine paste. Strain the chutney if you want it too smooth.
• I prefer the 2:1 proportion for cilantro and mint. Add more or less pudina leaves to suit your taste.

Khatti Meethi Chutney:

• Grind dates, jaggery, tamarind to a fine paste. Soaking the dates in hot water for about 30 minutes will make grinding easy.
• This chutney imparts the sweet sour taste to the pani poori water. Add more jaggery or brown sugar if required.

Preparing Pani/Water for Pani Pooris:

• Mix the green chutney, sweet sour chutney, salt, Pani puri masala (about 1/4 tsp per cup) and dilute it with water as per your taste. Refrigerate this water for about an hour, in case you like chilled Pani Pooris.
• Crack the puris in the center. Add cooked peas or sprouts and/or boiled potato. Dip these stuffed puris in diluted chutney water and enjoy homemade Pani Poori.

Freeze the leftover chutneys in freezer safe containers and enjoy another round of Pani Pooris whenever you like.