Pani Puri is one of the most loved Indian street foods or “chaat”. The puri (small, round, crispy puffed shells made from semolina) is stuffed with potatoes, chickpeas, tamarind chutney and a spicy, tangy water, or pani. Eat it in one big bite and experience the explosion of flavor. They go fast so be sure to make plenty with this easy pani puri recipe.
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins plus 20 mins bake time
Ingredients: (For approx 40 puris)
Fine Sooji – 1/2 cup
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Baking Powder – 1/8 tsp
Warm Water – 1/4 cup
All-Purpose Flour (Maida) – 1 Tbsp
Oil – 1 tsp
Oil – for deep frying
Method:
1. In a shallow mixing bowl, add Sooji, Salt and Baking Powder. Mix well.
2. Add warm water and soak the sooji.
3. Sprinkle All-Purpose Flour and knead the sooji for 3-4 minutes until smooth and firm.
4. Drizzle 1 tsp Oil and knead again for 3-4 minutes.
5. Wrap dough in a plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes. With 5 minutes left, start to heat oil for deep frying.
6. Divide dough in small bits and roll out each puri or roll a big round and use a cookie cutter or other cutting device to cut round puris. Oiling rolling surface will make rolling easier.
7. Deep fry puris until light golden brown and crisp and remove them onto a paper towel lined baking sheet.
8. Once all puris are fried, remove the paper towel and place baking tray into a preheated (200 degrees F) oven for 25-30 minutes or until all the moisture from the puris is gone.
9. Bring to room temp before storing in an airtight container.
Be sure to check out our videos for the Pani for Pani Puri and Tamarind Chutney
I just tried the puris. They are so crisp and have puffed up very well. You both are doing a marvellous job. I try ur recipes all the time. Thank you very much.
I just tried the puris…. They puffed up so well. I am so happy. You both have a marvellous job. I love all your recipes. Thank you so much.
Hi Hetal and Anuja
I made these puris yesterday. They came out sooo good … puffed up … I can’t believe myself 🙂 … Just a few came flat .. but that’s Ok … probably that wasn’t evenly rolled … am so so so happy …. and today have to make the pani … yippyyyyyyyy …. Thanks a ton for all those measurements and tips … wow … THUMBS UP .. to SMTC …
Awesome Bindu! We’re always so happy to hear success stories :).
I tried to make the puris but they turned out soft. Please can you tell me why this happened.
Anonymous …
the puris should be fried at the minimum temperature possible … takes a lot of time .. but they turn out very crisp .. I did it yesterday and so I thought of telling u this … hope that helps … and then of course to make it even crispier .. bake it in the oven … check out the video …
You have to fry at a low temperature and definitely put them in the oven to crisp them up.
hi diba
To make puff potato pakora . Take required amount of besan and spices whatever you like . Put water to make a paste . and leave it at room temperature for an hour and beat it with egg beater for 5 minutes and put dry slices of potato ( no extra water ) and fry it . you will get Soft and puffy pakoras .
thanks alot dear shamima,i will try it and let you know. thanks alooooooooot.
hi,i really like the recipes wich you have done.i need your help,i have been trying puffed up potato pakora,but mine does not puff,i really want to know the ingrediends,plz,plz. thank you so much in advance.
hi! how should i make crispy poori
we made the puris according to your recipes, however, after a while the puris turned soft and chewy. They were crispy, when we first removed from the oil pan, but after that, it turned soft…
what’s the issue and what are we missing
Hi Leena,
Did you put them in the oven? That part just crisps them up. If you did that and they still did not crisp up…usually means that the oil temp. was not correct 🙁
hi hetal & anuja…
must appreciate what u both have been doing so far…especially for people like us who are staying overseas and miss all the indian chaats/sweets (to name a few!!!)…
all ur recipes have worked wonders for me…
thanks a lot!!
u both r lovely!
damini
I have a suggestion here….if u donot put salt in the dough puri’s will be crispy and there won’t be any need to put them in oven try it out puri without salt will taste good too 🙂
Hi Yogita,
Will surely try it out 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Ladies, Great Work, Keep It Up!
hey anuja and hetal
tried your panipuri recipe it came out great, i got them crisp without the over part 🙂 we loved the puris they were exactly like store brought…
btw can you pls tell, what does wraping in cling film does to the dough
thanks a lot for you recipe
syr.. it is “oven part”
Hi Arc,
We’re so glad you liked the pani puri. The plastic wrap just keeps the moisture in while the dough is resting. You can even use a dabba with a tight fitting lid.
thank you soo much! i love your recipes ..you guys rock!
Hi Hetal and Anuja,
Really want to thank you. i made puri y’day and it was sooo
yummyyyyyyyyy….Now, I’ll never go out for pani-poori. once again, thank you so much for the gr8 recipe.. may god bless you girls !!!!!!!!
Hi sd,
Thank YOU for the blessing 🙂
Enjoy the pani-puris 🙂
love your recipes..
make puri in tortila maker. you’ll get in kitchen stores. i made it in it and it was delicious!!!
thank you for yummy receipe.
hi this was a great recpie thanks so much for sharing it.
– thanks
I only use 2 kinds of flour self raising or plain. Please state if plain flour is ok for pani puris. Thankyou for amazing receipes.
Hi Liza,
Plain Flour (All-Purpose Flour) is what you need to make the Puris.
Hello Ladies,
I love your website. My Nani is a great cook as well as my mother. With that being said there is more pressure for me to cook at that level. My family comments on how well my cooking is. My little secret is YOU! I have learned a lot by viewing your videos. I refer my friends to your website for help. I wanted to share a little trick with the puri. We use Club Soda instead of water and baking powder.
Can’t wait to see what you will cook up next…
Your student from Canada,
Salimah
Hi Salimah,
What pressure? We are sure you are a great daughter! And we love your secret (we won’t tell anyone)!
We have heard of folks using club soda but it did not work for us 🙁 . Send us your exact recipe and we would love to give it a shot.
plzzz tell me how m making the pani…..
Here is the link for the Pani for the Pani-Puri:
https://34.233.61.50/appetizers/pani-for-pani-puri-indian-chat-recipe.html
Thxxxxxxx 4 tell me anuja g…
hi can u please post a video on eggless cake.
– thanks
hi i was wondering if you can please post a video on how to make eggless brownies.
– thanks
hi i was wondering of you can do a video on Badana- indian sweet.
– thanks
It is on our list, please be patient! Thank you 🙂
ok thanks so muck you guys are great.
hi hetal,
tried recepie as u showed its really fantastic i jst wana share my experiencethat aftr frying puries may not b crispy n may b soft bt nothing to worry baking part takes all care n makes puri crispy n here aftr i m nt going to buy from market n jst going to make at home a very fresh,pure n hygenic.three cheers for hetal thankssss
Hi Deepa,
Thank you! Hip hip Hooray!
🙂
i m pani puri lover and i am very careful of hygiene. i rather like to make it at home by myself. i did try the way you showed here. but it didn’t get pop properly. unlike yours
mine didn’t get big enough to pour water in it. more stays
flat and some popped up but not big like yours. your puris
look big and nice here. please let me know what could have gone wrong in my case? Me and my wife are big fan of your website and we always try different food from your website.
it really tastes amazing. thanks ladies.
Dhaval Jani & Hetal Jani
Hi Dhaval,
Rolling the puri properly is important for it to puff up. If you made a big round and used a round cutter, make sure that you roll it very thin. The all purpose flour tends to shrink back. This may be the reason your puris were too small. Or…maybe your cutter diameter was too small. If you rolled by hand, it is important to roll evenly.
Some puris surely dn’t puff up …I crushed and used them in bhel ..or for sev puri …
Hi
Hetal and Anuja
I wanted to know the substitute for Mawa(khoya) for any recipe to use.
Thanks.
ricotta cheese would wrk better
Hi Surekha,
We have not tried it, but have heard of mixing milk powder (Instant non-fat dry milk) with a little heavy whipping cream.
Whats the substitute for baking, if I do not have or microwave also.
I tried it came well without baking but next day puri doesnt stay crispy.
Give some tips.
Thank u.
hi i just wanted to say thanks to you guys because this recipe was great.
thanks
Hello Hetal and Anuja,
do I have to knead the dough with my bare hands or can I use an electric maschine for that?
thanks in advance
Hi Alex,
This dough needs to be kneaded by hand because it becomes very firm.
I would like to know where can I get the kadhai you use to fry the puris.
Thanks in advance.
Hi Leena,
It was purchased at an Indian store some 15 years back. We’re not sure if it is still available.
Perfect.I was waiting to get a real and tested pani-pure recipe.Looks yummy will try it very soon.Thanks for sharing.
try salsa water instead of water
How can we try salsa water . PLZ explain
Oh my god ladies!!! These are my favourite food, and i couldn’t stop smiling when i made them. Thank you both so much, they turned out perfect and me, hubby and the kids all stuffed ourselves stupid!!!! They were absolutely delicious.
Lol! Parul, your family sounds like mine :).
Baking powder and salt not required.
Wheat flour works very well, instead of plain flour.
I do not even have to use the oven- they turn out crisp while frying itself
You can use microwave instead of oven….
any other alternative for the oven?
hi hetal and anuja,
great reciepe.
I also have heard that this puris can be made with only suji and add club soda to make the dough. it works perfactly same. you dont put anything else in it. only suji and club soda water make the dough.
you can try this it works.
thank you
Hi Yogita,
We did try the club soda method but it did not work for us.
hi,
I try the club soda, it works for me but now I am using just water and salt and it works perfect too.
Instead of rolling I am using tortilla maker, such a time saver.
HELLO LADIES:
WOW……YUMMM…….WILL MAKE IT SOOOOOONNNNNNNN…..:)
YOU BOTH ARE GREAT….
THANKS
RIZWANA
Hi Hetal and Anuja
Wonderful …. specially the oven part is such a great tip …
Am going to try this in a couple of days.
You ladies ROCK !!!!! Keep going ….
hey thanks for the descriptive recipe. i’ve heard of people using wheat flour for the puris as well. however,i wanted to know if adding red chilli powder and ajwain will be fine? or does it get spoiled while frying?
if you add spices , the puris will not puff up,
well if you want these spices you can always add in the pani or the potato chickpea mixture.
Hi Ladies,
Great video…. Like your tip about oven. I will try it out very soon
Thanks a mil
hi
No need to add salt and baking powder.
Hi,
Love this recipe. Will try soon. Just wanted to inform u that since i don’t have a cocktail shaker i mean the top part, the one u mentioned in your video demo. I think i can use a round cookie cutter with the similar size.
But thanks for this recipe.
Hi Jayashree,
Yes, if you have a proper sized cookie cutter, it will work fine.
hi hetal,anuja im v bigfan of ur website u both rdoing a wonderful job keep it up!i need one suggestion regarding panipuri isit a good option for big parties of around 50 people?
Hi Veena,
We would not suggest pani puri for big parties. It would take a long time to make that many puris. Bhel might be a better option.
Great recipe.
I’ll definitely try this at home. But, i have one question. When rolling the dough, can we use extra flour to prevent sticking the dough from the rolling pan(in case if oil doesn’t work)?
Hi Mithila,
Oil will work. It’s not a good idea to use dry flour to roll when you fry things because it really messes up the oil. The flour gets loose from the puri, settles at the bottom of the pan and burns.
Hi Hetal and Anuja,
I have coarse sooji at home. Can I grind that to fine powder in grinder and use it for this recipe? I want to try these today evening and don’t want to go to stores for fine sooji.
Thanks for all your recipes 🙂
Amulya
Hi Amulya,
Yes, you can grind down coarse sooji to make it fine. We have a tip video coming out on that but you get the pre “sneak peek” 🙂
good one. i make puris at home with the same receipe.
if you are a pani puri lover, i hightly recommend an electric roti maker from an indian store. it costs about $35.. we use it and its awesome. we make 100-150 puris in less than 45 minutes. yeah seriously!!!
That’s a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
Yes! thats right i use the elecrtic roti maker. It works great !!! It can make (roll) 3 or 4 puri at once.
Thanks Hetal and Anuja for the puri recipe.
Bela
Can someone tell me the electric roti maker brand names? I dn’t get it at the indian store near my place, but I can ask my mom to inquire about it in India.
Hi,
I really like your recipes, have tried a few of them. I was also wondering where to find the electric roti maker? Do you live in the states, if so what do you call it here and what brands are best?
thanks
Hi Anita,
You may be able to find it at some of the larger Indian grocery stores. If not, you can search for “Electric Roti Maker” online. It is also called “Electric Tortilla Maker”. Revel is one of the brands available.
I dont add salt in it. salt absorb moisture .It turns out crispy. If you notice, the store bought puris are without salt.
Thanks
Kavita
Hi Kavita,
We’ve never tried it without salt, but the puris we get from the store do have salt (at least the brand that we get). Interesting point, though.
Wow, great! Can atta be used to substitute maida?
And can you show us recipe for Srikant dessert pleaseee?
Hi Alexa,
We have not tried it with atta, but you really want the binding and elasticity of all-purpose flour for this recipe.
What about Srikand?
Wow Ladies….You did it again….can’t wait to try this one…
Hey Hetal and Anuja,
Looks good. Nice website.
I have made pani puri at home. Followed a similar online recipe. What I read there was that the trick to getting puris to not-go-soft post-frying is to keep the oil on slightly lower heat so that the puri doesn’t brown too soon. If the oil is too hot the puri browns faster and then one has to remove it. The longer it stays in the oil the more likely that it will retain the hardness. So oil at lower heat allows it to be fried longer and still stay only golden brown.
In any case your oven tip is a good one, so thanks for that. I will keep that in mind for mishaps in future. 🙂
Why the baking powder?
SS
Hi SS,
Yes, you do have to fry the puris at a lower temperature, but sometimes it still is not enough to crisp them up. The oven works great!
Thanks Hetal. Hey, as a side note and a clarification.. there is some odd link showing up where I had written the word “recipe”. I have not posted any link there!! That’s strange and I can’t say I like it much. 🙁
Hi SS,
Sorry about the link. We have to use advertising to help support our free website. The links show up at random times and random places and we cannot control where they show up. Hope you understand.
No worries. I understand. Just had to clarify that it wasn’t me! 😀 Well good luck and thanks for your efforts!
why should i use baking powder in rava when i make dough?
Hi Lata,
Baking powder makes the puri crisp and not soggy.
Thank you so much for this recipe… Was looking for this from a quit a long time now and seems like I found it..
Thank you Hetal and Anuja…
hi hetal n anuja how long can be puri stored fresh?
Hi Veena,
The puris will stay fresh for a few weeks provided you keep them in an airtight container. If they get a little hard, you can always arrange them on a baking sheet and reheat them in the oven (200F) until crisp.
hi i dont know how to make pani for pani puri plz tell me
Hi Maha,
Here is the link:
https://34.233.61.50/appetizers/pani-for-pani-puri-indian-chat-recipe.html
Enjoy 🙂
I loved your recipe
Enjoy