Churmur

After the Jhaal Muri and the Phuchka / Pani puri / Golgappa, the next favourite Calcutta street food is the Churmur.

A wonderful combination of salty, spicy and a dash of tang thrown in with the soft of boiled potatoes and the crunch of the crispy puris in every mouthful ... along with the heat of chilles and sharp of onion bits ... it is like tasting a whole gamut of experiences in every spoonful.

My blog friend Aparna, who has a great blog and is a wonderful writer had requested some recipes long back. Among them was one for the Churmur. So here is the Churmur .. for her ... and all of you. Thanks for your patience A. :-)

You don't need too many things to make this at home. You can make the preparations in advance too ... like boiling the potatoes and the dried peas ( running them in the MW oven with a little water and salt is the quickest way ) , roasting and powdering the jeera / cumin, getting the puris, etc. All you have to do is put everything together and serve.

And if you are planning to have this for guests ... you can mix them all up ... just add the onions and the broken puris just before serving ( else the onions tend to smell ... and the puris will turn soggy ... and won't go chur mur chur mur when eating).

Need :

Dried White Peas - soaked for half an hour and pressure cooked with salt and water on low heat for 4 whistles

Roasted Jeera / Cumin powder - dry roast on a tawa or pan stirring constantly till you get an aroma ... cool ... and crush it in a mortar and pestle

Chilli powder - not Kashmiri mirch powder ... you need the spicy one ... either you dry roast some whole dry red chillies and crush them or use the chilli flakes with pizza takeouts

A little tamarind water ( add if you find the mix getting too dry )

Rock salt - a must

Black pepper powder

A little Mustard oil

Amchur / Dried mango powder 

A little tamarind water - just soak some tamarind and squeeze out after a little while

Fresh coriander leaves chopped ( I did not use as I don't eat them )

Fresh green chillies - give a thwack first to release the juices and then chop

How to : 

Put the diced potatoes, the boiled peas, chopped onions, green chillies together in a bowl.

Add the dry masalas with salt ( adjust the spice, sour and salt according to your taste ).

Add a dash of mustard oil and the tamarind water and stir very well.

Crush the papdis or the puris and add it to the mixture. 

Many like the mixture soggy ... I don't.
And I like the crispness of the papdis in a biteful, so have not crushed them completely.

Give another good stir to mix everything properly.


And your Churmur is ready!

Serve immediately.

I had some of my wonderful Saunth / Sonth that I usually make whenever I have left over Chaashni / sugar syrup from Rosogollas or Gulab Jamuns.
So served with it along too. Tasted great ... as always.



If you do not have chashni and still want to make the saunth, just boil equal amounts of water and sugar and add the other ingredients mentioned here.

Enjoy this spicy tangy plateful with friends or just indulge yourself while it is pouring outside! :-)