Poori

Poori (Fried Indian flatbread) is a very popular dish in all parts of India and now, being enjoyed all over the world. Poori, deep-fried whole-wheat bread is invariably loved by all age groups - right from kids to adults. Poori means fun, poori means enjoyment - it brings out the kid in you and takes you back to your childhood days.

Poori remains to be one of my all time favorites. I still remember how I used to hog them when I was young, not caring about the extra calories & fat that it adds (it is deep-fried in oil, mind you!). Given a time machine, I would definitely like to go back to my "happy-go-lucky" childhood days where I have the freedom of mindless & carefree eating!!

Basic Info

Complexity - Medium

Prep time - 30 mins

Cook time - 30 mins

Serves - 7-8 nos

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour - 1 cup

Lukewarm water - as needed to make firm dough

Salt - to taste

Oil for deep frying

Method

Mix whole-wheat flour and salt. Add water and make a stiff dough. Knead dough until it becomes soft for 10-15 mins. Let the dough rest for about 15 mins.

Roll the dough into equal sized balls. Using rolling pins, press and roll the balls into circles.

Heat the oil in a frying pan (on medium heat).

When the oil is hot enough, gently slide the poori into the frying pan. Keep ladling the oil onto the poori until it puffs up completely. After it puffs on one side turn it over for the other side to be cooked.

When poori is golden brown on both the sides, strain it from oil and place on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

Enjoy hot poori with some spicy dish on the side.

Tips

- Poori dough should be harder than chapathi dough; should be soft and supple.

- Do not let the kneaded dough sit for too long (they soak up a lot of oil).

- You can roll upto 4 to 5 pooris before you start frying, but do not roll all the pooris at once or they will begin to dry and not puff. 

- Oil should be in perfect temperature while frying. To check if oil is hot enough, try a small piece of dough in oil and dough should float to the top right away. 

- While frying, pressing poori with a skimmer/ladle helps it to puff. 

- Most importantly, don't give up. You might not get it right on the first time, but with practice they come out perfect.