Pani puri is a loud explosion of flavor and objectively, the best Indian street food. Pani puri brings people together with its tangy, refreshing water, spicy fillings, and fun assembly process.
Jump to RecipeI don’t think anything makes me prouder to be Indian than pani puri. No matter what you call this quintessential street food (gol gappe, gupchup, phuchka, and many more), we can all agree that there’s nothing else like it. Hollow puris made of semolina are cracked and stuffed with a potato-pea filling and refreshing, tangy pani (water). However, there are lots of variations of pani puri! This is just how my family does it. The important instruction is to throw measurements out the window and add everything to taste. It’s all about being selfish! Serve your taste buds!
When you eat pani puri, you have to be totally present and sometimes messy, as the refreshing, flavorful water inevitably dribbles down your chin. I’ve loved pani puri long before it could comfortably fit in my little mouth because of how excited it gets everyone. We crack puris together, stuff them with the ratios we desire, and eat until our hearts are full. Sometimes there are cracks in puris from the store so I like turning them into dahi puris with plant-based yogurt, tamarind chutney, and sev. The next day, I drink the leftover pani from a wine glass and it’s pure bliss all over again. I’d love to have some pani puri at street sides in India, but making it at home is the second best option.
How to Make Pani Puri at Home
Get the puris from an Indian grocery store
You could also make the puris at home if you’re up for a project, but if you’re tired after school/work and want this to be a calming experience, please buy store-bought puris.
Make the homemade spice blend
My aunt always adds this coriander and dry red chili spice blend to her chaats. You could probably get away with using ground spices instead, but this adds an extra dimension of flavor.
Simply toast coriander seeds and dry red chilis in a pan for a few minutes. Process until it is coarsely ground. Save the leftovers for other chaats!
You can skip this if you want, but make sure to compensate with other ingredients to suit your taste buds.
Make the green chutney
Most of this spicy and herby chutney will go in the water and you may have some leftovers for making dahi puris (see below). Process cilantro, mint, green chilis, ginger, salt, and lime juice.
Potatoes and white peas
My family is from Bihar, so my parents say we use matar (white peas) in Bihari-style chaats. Chickpeas would also work well and other regional variations may use moong (mung bean) sprouts and kala chana (black chickpeas), among others.
Once the potatoes and matar are soft, mash them and add ground spices to taste. Add your homemade spice blend, roasted cumin powder, kala namak (black salt), and chaat masala to taste.
The magic is in the pani (water)
Add pani puri masala, which usually comes with the store-bought puris. You could also substitute with chaat masala. Add some of the homemade spice blend, green chutney, roasted cumin powder, kala namak (black salt), and chaat masala. Use a large ladle to swirl it after adding each ingredient.
Taste frequently! I provided measurements in the recipe below, but your tongue will serve you better than my guessed measurements can. It’s hard to measure everything for this water because there are so many subtleties involved in the flavor.
Assemble pani puris (and dahi puris!)
Lightly tap on the surface to create a hole. Stuff it with the potato-pea filling. Pour the pani to the top. Gobble it up in one bite! Keep a bowl underneath to catch any pani escaping your tongue.
When you buy your puris from the store, some of them might have cracks so the pani would slip right through. It’s not a problem though because dahi puris are so refreshing and so good. Add some potato pea filling, dahi (yogurt), tamarind chutney, green chutney, and sev (crispy chickpea snack).
Pani Puri
Ingredients
- 140 g puris *homemade or store bought (I use store-bought)
Homemade coriander-chili spice blend
- 2 tbsp coriander seeds
- 2 dry red chilis
Potato Pea Filling
- 3 white potatoes, boiled
- 1 cup cooked white peas *sub cooked chickpeas or canned chickpeas
- salt to taste
- ½ tsp kala namak (black salt)
- 1 tsp spice blend (see above)
- 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
- 1 tsp chaat masala
Pani
- 1 cup cilantro
- ½ cup mint leaves
- pinch of salt
- 1-2 green chilis
- 1 inch ginger
- 1 lime
- 6 cups water *you will have extra with this recipe
- ~ 3 tbsp pani puri masala *this usually comes with the puris. sub chaat masala
- ½ tbsp spice blend (see above)
- 1 tsp roasted cumin powder *sub ground cumin
- 1 tsp kala namak (black salt) + more to taste
- 1 tsp chaat masala + more to taste
For dahi (yogurt) puris (optional)
- unsweetened plant-based yogurt *if making dahi puris as well
- tamarind chutney
- sev (crispy chickpea snack)
- roasted cumin powder
Instructions
- Toast coriander seeds and dry red chilis on a pan until they release their aromas, so about 5 minutes. Process in a spice grinder or small food processor until coarsely ground.
- Mash the potatoes and white peas together, so they are mostly smooth but still have some small chunks. Add salt and all the spices. Taste and adjust.
- For the pani, process cilantro, mint, green chilis, ginger, salt, and juice from ½ a lime in a small food processor until smooth.
- In a large bowl, add 6 cups of water. Add pani puri masala and stir with a large ladle. Add the homemade spice blend, roasted cumin powder, kala namak, chaat masala. Taste and add more kala namak, chaat masala, and lime juice as needed.
- When you're satisfied with the pani, add some ice cubes or refrigerate it to keep it cold until eating the pani puris.
- To assemble, lightly tap on the surface of a puri to create a small hole. Stuff with some of the potato pea filling. Add pani to reach the top. Put the entire puri in your mouth and enjoy!
Notes
For more of the summer chaat series, check out…
