Pani puri

Pani puri is a popular street food also known as phuchka and golgappa. It has as many variations as there are regions across the Indian Subcontinent and it comprises a wafer-thin shell, usually made of semolina and flour or potato starch, a filling made from chickpea, potato, tangy spices like chaat masala and dried green mango powder and most notably the ‘pani’ (water) made with tamarind and fresh herbs like mint and coriander.

Credit: Chris Tran.

• serves

  6

• prep

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

Pani puri

• 2 cans chickpeas, drained
• 2 large potatoes, cut into 3cm cubes and boiled
• 1⁄2 bunch mint, chopped
• 1⁄2 bunch coriander, chopped
• 1 birdseye chilli, finely sliced (optional)
• 12 pani puri shells (see Notes)

Dressing

• 6 tbsp tamarind puree/paste
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chaat masala
• 1⁄2 lemon, juice only
• 150 ml cold water
• Salt, to taste

Chilling time: 1 hour

Instructions

1. Toss chickpeas, potato, chopped herbs and chilli into a medium bowl.
2. In a separate bowl or jug, mix the dressing ingredients thoroughly.
3. Pour half over the chickpea mixture in and continue to stir.
4. Mix the other half of the dressing with iced water, season and add more herbs. Leave in the fridge till ready to serve (at least one hour is good, to allow flavour to develop).
5. Make a small hole in the pani puri shell with your thumb or the back of a teaspoon.
6. Layer spoonfuls of chickpea filling and dressing into pani puri shells.

Notes

1. All elements can be pre-made and set aside. Assemble when ready to eat so your stuffed pani puris don't get soggy.
2. Pani puri shells can be found in Indian or South Asian grocery stores. They come pre-cooked as crisp, hollow fried balls or as flat pieces like a pappadum, which turn into perfect round balls when deep-fried. Either option works great here.

Photography by Christopher Tran. Styling by Kishwar Chowdhury. Food preparation by Kishwar Chowdhury.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.