Bhel Puri

With green chutney & tamarind chutney as my previous posts, can you guess what this post is going to be?! Alright, chaat item it is!

Bhel puri, a classic north Indian street snack that is low-fat, nutritious & delicious too! What more can you ask for in a snack? Crispy puffed rice, crunchy namkeen, soft potatoes, refreshing mix of cucumbers & tomatoes combined with spicy-tangy-sweet chutneys and garnished with cilantro - whoa, what a lovely mix of colors, flavors & textures! Bhel puri is a pure treat for both eyes & tummy!

Bhel puri has to be served immediately as soon as it is mixed. Otherwise, juices from the veggies and the chutneys makes it really soggy & unappetizing. Fill your plate with a big mound of bhel puri, garnish with sev poori / cilantro / chaat masala on top and what else? Just dig in!

Basic Info

Complexity - Simple

Prep time - 25 mins

Cook time - 10 mins

Serves - 3-4

Ingredients

Puffed rice - 3 cups 

Papdi / Sev / any kind of namkeen that you like - 2 cups (I used Surati Bhel mix)

Cucumber - 2 nos (small, chopped into small pieces)

Tomatoes - 2 nos (small, deseeded, chopped into small pieces)

Potatoes - 2 nos (small, boiled & peeled, chopped into small pieces)

Cilantro - 2-3 tbsp (finely chopped)

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Green Chutney - 1.5 tbsp (adjust to your spice level)

Tamarind Chutney - 1.5 tbsp (adjust to your taste)

Fine Sev - as required (for garnish)

Chaat masala/amchur powder - as required (for garnish)

Method

Dry roast puffed rice for couple of mins until crisp (helps in bringing back crispiness & freshness).

Mix puffed rice and namkeen together. Set it aside until ready to serve. Mix cucumber, tomatoes, boiled potatoes, salt and set aside.

When ready to serve, mix dry ingredients & veggie mix together along with green chutney & tamarind chutney. Adjust chutneys to your taste while making sure that it coats the entire bhel puri.

Garnish on top with sev puri, sprinkle of chaat masala/amchur, cilantro and serve immediately.

Notes

• In addition to other vegetables, you can also add finely chopped onion. I skipped it.
• Add about 1/2 cup of mixed sprouted lentils to make it a protein-rich snack.
• Add about 1/2 cup of roasted peanuts for that extra crunch in texture.
• Too much of chutneys will make the bhel puri soggy.
• Do not mix dry & wet ingredients together until ready to serve.

Tamarind chutney

Popularly, called as sweet chutney, adds a sweet & sour flavor to chaat varieties. Tamarind, being the main ingredient of this chutney gives a nice tangy taste. Chutney gets it sweetness from one of these - jaggery/dates/raisins/sugar. I have used jaggery in this recipe. This sweet & sour chutney can also be served alongside samosas, cutlets etc.

Basic Info

Complexity - Simple

Prep time - 20 mins

Cook time - 5 mins

Serves - about 3/4 cup

Ingredients

Tamarind - 1/4 cup (packed)
Powdered jaggery - 1/4 cup
Water - 1 cup
Roasted ground cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp or to taste
Red chili powder - 1/4 tsp
Ground black pepper - 1/4 tsp
Ginger powder - 1/4 tsp

Method

Bring 1 cup of water to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and soak tamarind in the boiling water for atleast 15 mins.

Let it cool and use your hands to squeeze and extract as much pulp as you can from the tamarind (do not add water). Use a sieve to strain just the pulp. Discard seed & membranes.

To this filtered tamarind pulp, add rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Green Chutney

This vibrantly green, cilantro & mint based chutney is easy to make and very flavorful. Chaat varieties are considered to be incomplete without this chutney. Perfect accompaniment for crispy Indian snacks.

Basic Info

Complexity - Simple

Prep time - 5 mins

Cook time - 5 mins

Serves - about 3/4 cup

Ingredients
Cilantro - 1/2 cup (packed)
Mint - 1/2 cup (packed)
Green chillies - 2 nos
Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
Ginger - 1/4 inch
Salt - 1/2 tsp (or to taste)
Hing - a pinch

Method

Use a mixer and grind everything together into a fine paste (without adding water).

Panipuri

Many years ago (when I was in my seventh grade or so), I visited my aunt (my mom's younger sis) & her family in Kolkata (the then Calcutta). One of the most favorite and unforgettable experiences whilst our stay was, when my uncle got us introduced to a 'puchka-stand' where puchka-wala (street vendor) sells puchka a.k.a panipuri in a cycle at the corner of their street!

Initially, the concept of puchkas and more so, the puchka-wala was not well conceived by my dad as he is totally against street food. Thanks to my uncle who insisted us to give it a try and my dad instantly fell in love with it. Interestingly, the very first time when I was offered puchkas, I refused to try them! Can you ever imagine somebody saying 'no' to this mouth-watering snacks? Well, I did! It took me a couple of days to make up my mind & try it and honestly, I was blown away by the taste!

The experience itself is something that you have to yearn for! What is being served in restaurant these days in the name of "Panipuri" cannot even come closer to it! You will be handed a cute 'n small cup (rolled out with some kind of a leaf) and you have to patiently wait for the puchka-wala to serve you crispy puchkas - one at a time - stuffed with mashed potato filling, dipped into a large pot of tangy tamarind water. Larger the group, longer the wait for your next puchka to be served - but, its worth all the wait! Hmmmmm .. thinking about it, I am hungry all again!

This recipe might not be the same as that of the traditional ones that they serve on the streets of Calcutta, but definitely tasty, healthy and worth a try! After all, you can't imitate the pioneers!

Ingredients

Home-made (or) store-bought mini puri - as required

For pani/water

Mint leaves - 1 bunch (medium sized)

Coriander leaves - 1 bunch (medium sized)

Ginger - 1 inch

Green chillies - 2 nos (adjust to your spice level but remember that the pani will get less spicier as you add water)

Lime juice -  from 2 limes (medium sized)

Salt - to taste

Cold water - 2 cups

For stuffing

Boiled and mashed potatoes - 3-4 nos (medium sized)

Onion - 1 no (small sized, chopped into tiny pieces)
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Boondi/Sev - 1/4 cup (Homemade / store-bought)

Method

For pani/water

Refrigerate 2 cups of water for 30 mins until cold and set aside. Using a mixer, grind all the ingredients under 'For Pani/water' into a fine paste. Then, add cold water to the paste and dilute it. Taste & adjust salt.

For stuffing
Give mashed potatoes, onion, salt, garam masala a good mix. Keep it aside. 

To serve

Gently tap on top of the puris and break it to make a small hole. Fill the puri with little stuffing/boondi/sev. Dunk the stuffed puri into the cup of mint water and pop it into your mouth in one go before pani soaks up the entire puri. Close your eyes and enjoy all the taste & textures that these cute li 'l snacks has to offer!

Note

• For stuffing, you can also use cooked chickpeas / chopped cilantro / freshly chopped onion / fried moong dal. Go for your favorite ones!
• Traditional pani is made of tamarind water. I still remember how pani that they served us in Calcutta looked brown in color.
• You can also add sweet / hot chutney on top of the filling. My family likes spicy panipuri's. I make sure that the pani is spicy enough from the chillies and so, I skipped both the chutneys.

Pav Bhaji

I vividly remember - it was one of the first few times when I had pav bhaji at one of the Saravana Bhavan restaurants in Chennai, I had this wonderful opportunity of seeing how bhaji is being prepared. They had a huge tawa, where bhaji was constantly getting heated. Every now & then, the chef adds butter (or should I say loads of butter !!!! yummmm !!), mixes & mashes the bhaji. He also adds boiled potatoes and other spices at equal intervals, and gives bhaji a good mix & mash again. It was quite a sight to watch! I was so amazed to see how he was able to handle such huge quantity of bhaji with such an ease. But, what needs to be applauded is the taste of the bhaji - it remains just the same - no matter how much ever potatoes/butter/spices he adds to the bhaji base!

That experience truly inspired me to try pav-bhaji for the first time at home! We all loved it and I was thrilled! After all, who could resist spiced potatoes that too with loads of butter!! After that, making pav bhaji became a regular (almost) affair.

Pav Bhaji makes a wonderful evening snack for kids (adults too!). Pav bhaji is a sure winner as an appetizer in parties.

Basic Info
Complexity - Medium
Prep time - 30 mins (includes boiling and peeling outer layer of the potatoes)
Cook time - 30 mins
Serves - 4

Ingredients
Potatoes - 3-4 nos (Medium sized, boiled & mashed)
Onion - 2 nos (Medium sized, finely chopped)
Tomato - 2 nos (Medium sized, finely chopped)
Ginger - 1 inch (Grated)
Garlic - 2 cloves (Grated)
Cilantro - a handful (finely chopped)
Butter - 2 tbsp ( + 1 tbsp for toasting pav buns)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Pav Bhaji masala - 1 tsp (I used MTR brand)
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp (I used home-made tandoori masala)
Salt - to taste
Lime juice - 1 no
Pav buns - as needed (I used store-bought ones)

Method

Heat butter in a broad pan, and as it melts add onions, ginger, garlic and saute until onion turns soft & translucent. Then, add tomatoes and saute until soft. Now, add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, pav bhaji masala, garam masala, salt and saute until tomato is completely cooked and butter oozes out from the sides. Then, add mashed potatoes and mix well. Adjust salt and let it cook for about 5-6 mins. Turn off heat, add lime juice, cilantro and mix well.

Spicy bhaji is ready!

In a broad pan (which can hold upto 6-8 pav buns), heat 1/2 tbsp of butter. As soon as it melts, carefully rotate the pan so that the butter coats the entire pan. Now, cut pav buns into 2 halves and arrange them with their bases flat on the pan. Toast until the base turns brown and remove from the pan.

Serve pav and bhaji with some fresh garnish on the side (lime wedges/cilantro). Enjoy!

Notes

• I have seen recipes adding peas/carrots and other veggies to the bhaji. If you like the idea, just boil/pressure cook all the vegetables, mash them nicely and mix with potatoes.
• You can also add freshly chopped onions as garnish. I totally skipped it, as I am not a fan of the taste & smell of raw onions.
• I strongly recommend using butter as it elevates the taste of bhaji.
• Add water towards the end (right before removing the pan from heat) to adjust bhaji to the required consistency.