Pani Puri

More often than not my undergrad classes in India culminated with a grand visit to the chaat shop. Adding to this weekly privilege, any festivity at college be it big or small, accommodated pani puri stalls as "must be-s" and "must have-s". Sadly though, over the past year or so my thirst for "pani" remained un-quenched, as even in the hugely Indian populated state of New Jersey I couldn't find a store that served something close to authentic. Of course, that's all the motivation I needed to make my own and all thanks to the Chaat Gods, it turned out better than what I wanted it to be! I bought the puris from the Indian store - got more than 30 pieces for about 2 bucks. Not a bad deal at all! Well someday when I master making the puris at home, it's gonna come up on thechickeneggstory.

Ingredients for the Pani(s):


Green Pani:
Mint Leaves - A handful
Coriander Leaves - A handful
Green Chillies - 2
Lemon juice - 1 tablespoon (or as preferred)
Garlic - 2 cloves (A teaspoon of garlic paste is a good alternative)
Dates - 1-2 (Totally Optional)
Pepper Powder - 1 teaspoom (optional)
Amchur Powder - 1 teaspoon
Chaat Masala - 1 teaspoon
Jaggery - 1 tablespoon
Tamarind - lemon sized ball soaked in 1 cup of hot water
Salt - Add as per your requirement

Red Pani:

Tamarind - lemon sized ball soaked in hot water
Jaggery - 4 tablespoons (or 4 pieces if you get them as cubes/cuboids)
Chili Powder - 1 teaspoon
Cumin Powder - 1 teaspoon
Chaat Masala - 1 teaspoon
Salt - As per your requirement

The Recipe
Green Pani:
Soak the tamarind in hot water for about 10 minutes. Mash the tamarind to squeeze out the juice completely and dispose the remains. Add all the ingredients under 'green pani' into a blender, blending it into a fine mixture. The juice of the tamarind is often adequate for the purpose of blending, but you can add water if needed. Mix about 3 cups of water to this mixture and set it in a vessel to the stove to boil. This is just about the time to play around with the masalas/powders and the salt till you hit the "wow" tang. Get the vessel off the stove once the mixture comes to a quick boil. Strain it through a tea strainer and dispose the remains. That's the green pani for you - Go ahead and refrigerate it if you like it chilled.

Red Pani:
Just as for the green pani, squeeze the juice out of the tamarind and set it to boil with 3 cups of water. Add the jaggery and mix it in till it breaks and dissolves. Add the chili powder, cumin powder, chaat masala and salt to the mixture once the jaggery dissolves. Keep tasting it occasionally and make masala alterations till you're satisfied. Once the mixture comes to a boil, bring it off the stove and strain it through a tea strainer. If you allow the mixture to simmer for long, the pani will thicken up to what's called the tamarind chutney. I prefer taking it off at the "pani" stage, but the option is yours.

For the Stuffing:
Boil 1-2 potatoes or take some boiled/canned chickpea, mash it up and add chili powder, chaat masala and salt according to your taste. Additionally, you could finely cut up an onion and also bring in a dash of plain yogurt (I use the fat free version) - though this adds to the crunch of the puri, it's completely optional, the potatoes/chickpea will do just fine.

Serving:
Crunch a small hole down the lighter portion of the puri with your thumb. Add a teaspoon of potatoes/chickpea, throw in some onions and sprinkle a pinch of chaat masala on top of the stuffing. Now either dip the stuffed puri into the green and red pani or add in a little of each inside the puri with a spoon. Bite in and... Heaven!

This recipe is good for about 50 puris.