Pani Puri

Evening on a Mumbai footpath, and the bhaiya has six puris lined up on his palm. He cracks the top of each with his thumb, drops in ragda and potato, then plunges them one at a time into a steel drum of green pani that has whole green chillies and mint stalks floating in it. He hands you one and you have to put the whole thing in your mouth at once or lose it. It cracks, then floods, cold and sharp with pudina and black salt, and the sweet chutney arrives at the very end.

Puris are the hard part, and they are all about the fry. Wooden cold pressed groundnut oil holds 180C well for the first plunge, when you press each puri down with the slotted spoon to make it balloon, and then keeps steady while they fry on to a hard pale gold. It is unrefined, so keep the flame at medium and let it come up slowly. It does not leave a heavy taste on something as delicate as a puri. The sweet chutney is built on organic jaggery, which is what gives it that dark, almost smoky depth behind the tamarind rather than a plain sugary sweetness.

The puris puff or they do not, and the dough decides it. It must be stiff, kneaded hard for eight to ten minutes until it is smooth and springy, then rested thirty minutes under a damp cloth. Roll it thin and even, about a millimetre, because any thick patch will stay flat and soft. And keep every cut disc under a damp cloth until it goes into the oil. A dried-out puri will never puff.

How to make it

1. For the puris, mix the rava, maida, salt and soda. Add warm water a little at a time and knead hard for 8 to 10 minutes into a stiff, smooth, springy dough. It will feel tight at first and soften as you work it. Cover with a damp cloth and rest 30 minutes.
2. Knead again for 2 minutes, then divide in two. Roll each half into one very large thin sheet, about 1 mm thick, keeping the thickness even across the whole sheet. Cut out 5 cm rounds with a small steel bowl or a cutter.
3. Lay the discs on a tray and keep them covered with a damp cloth. Gather and re-roll the scraps once. Do not let any disc sit uncovered, even for a few minutes.
4. Heat the oil on medium to about 180C. A scrap of dough should rise to the surface in about 2 seconds with a brisk sizzle.
5. Slide in 5 or 6 discs. As they rise, press each one down gently under the oil with the back of a slotted spoon and hold for 2 seconds. They will balloon. Flip them over.
6. Now lower the flame slightly and fry on for 2 to 3 minutes, turning, until they are pale gold and rattle hard against the spoon. Undercooked puris go soft within the hour, so fry past the point where the sizzling quietens.
7. Lift onto paper, cool completely, and store in an airtight jar straight away. Do this a day ahead if you like.
8. For the pani, grind the mint, coriander, green chillies, ginger and tamarind pulp with a splash of water into a fine dark green paste. Whisk it into the chilled water with the cumin powder, black salt, chaat masala and salt. Strain if you prefer it clear. Chill for at least an hour, and taste again before serving, it should be sharp enough to make you blink.
9. For the sweet chutney, simmer the tamarind, dates and jaggery with 2 cups water for 15 minutes until the dates are soft. Cool, blend and pass through a sieve. Return to the pan with the chilli powder and cumin powder and cook 5 minutes until it coats a spoon. Cool completely, it thickens as it cools.
10. To serve, crack a hole in the top of each puri with your thumb, spoon in a little potato and ragda, add a few drops of sweet chutney, dunk it in the cold pani until it fills, and eat it whole immediately. Set out the onion and sev for anyone who wants them.

Tips

• If the puris did not puff, the dough was too soft or rolled unevenly. Knead a stiffer dough next time and press each puri under the oil as it rises. A few flat ones in every batch is normal, keep them for chaat.
• Fry them hard. A puri that is still slightly soft when it comes out will collapse in the pani. It should sound like a shell when tapped.
• Make the pani a day ahead. It gets sharper overnight in the fridge. Add a spoon of boondi and 2 tbsp finely chopped raw onion to the jug just before serving.
• Organic jaggery makes the chutney darker and rounder than white sugar does, with a faint smokiness behind the tamarind. Grate it before it goes in so it dissolves evenly.
• Assemble one at a time, at the table. A filled puri has about fifteen seconds before it turns soggy. This is not a dish you can plate up in advance.
• Strain and reuse the oil. Cool it, pass it through muslin into a clean jar and keep it away from light.