Thursday 19 February 2009

Phuchka / Golgappa / Panipuri


Phuchka

 Call it by any name .... everybody loves it.
India's most loved street food ... the panipuri needs no introduction. No matter which part of the country you belong to .... you will have to be somebody reaaaally different not to love this thing.
I believe there isn't one person , Bengali or otherwise, whose childhood memories do not hold a place for the Phuchka.
Known as the Pani puri in the west, Phuchka or Gup chup in the east and Pani ke Batashe in the north, our country has this street food ranking the highest in popularity. 

Back home, nobody made phuchkas like Panchu does.
This guy would stand outside our junior college from morning till late afternoon .... almost always surrounded by a bunch of giggling and jostling girls .... each one shouting out her preference through mouthfuls .... all demanding at the same time to make it a little more spicy / mild / more water etc. etc.
And my visits home were never complete till I have had Panchu's phuchkas at least a couple of times ... accompanied by a bemused B.

For that matter I have a hobby .... I always try out phuchkas at any new place I visit. :-)

Pani puri

After coming to live in this city I have almost given up eating phuchkas  from the vendors.
For the simple reason that I do not like the taste here.
And I hate mint.
So the pudina flavoured water is a big no no.
I miss that tangy freshness of tamarind , spiked with a good dose of black salt and chilli powder and other spices, in the water.
Here, the water is too plain. And the bland, half heartedly mashed potatoes with just a pinch of salt is a far cry from the beautifully smooth mash of potatoes and green chillies and other spices.
One piece in the mouth and it is enough to turn you off from Phuchkas for a long time.

So I settled on making them at home. Most times, I would buy a packet of the puris and make the potato filling and the water myself.But not this time.

I had been wanting to make the puris at home for sometime ... but somehow never got around to do it.
Finally did try my hand at them last weekend .... and found it surprisingly easy and not at all time taking.
I prefer to mashing the potatoes to cutting them .... this version soaks up the flavours better.

Chopped fresh coriander leaves give a beautiful flavour too .... but since I am raw leafy vegetables intolerant ... you won't find any in my recipe.
Do add them to get that perfect taste of phuchkas.

Fuchka

Need :

For the puris :

 Fine sooji/rawa - 1 cup
Maida / APF - 5 tbsp
Rice flour - 5 tbsp
Cooking oil - 4 tbsp
Water - just enough to make a tough dough

* If you use more maida your puris will fall flat.

For the filling :

Boiled potatoes - 2, medium
Boiled white peas - 1 cup
Onion - 1 medium, chopped
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Roasted jeera/cumin powder - 1 tbsp
Rock salt - to taste
Amchur powder - 1 tsp
Black pepper powder - 1 tsp
Green chillies , chopped or paste - 1 tsp
Fresh coriander leaves - chopped 

For the water :

Tamarind water - (soaked the tamarind in water and strain it )
Rock salt - to taste
Red chilli powder
Black pepper powder
Roasted jeera/cumin powder
Fresh coriander leaves - chopped (optional) 

Gol gappa

How to :

The puris :

Knead everything  into a tough dough.
Take a medium sized ball from the dough and roll out a roti as thin as possible.
With a very small round cookie cutter cut out small puris.


Heat oil and deep fry the puris till golden brown on both sides.


The filling :

Mash the potatoes with everything else. 


The water :

Add enough water to the strained tamarind pulp.
Add the rest of the ingredients.

How to arrange

Do I need explain this too? ;-) 

Ok ... take a puri and carefully make a small hole in the centre.

Stuff in some filling.


Dip into the water and immediately put it into your mouth.

Gup chup


Enjoy the burst of spicy and sour water with the crispiness of the puri and the softness of the filling .... all in one mouthful. :-) 






31 comments:

  1. My fave too but I can't do without the mint:) I never make the puris at home though. Yours looks great and next time I will try adding onions. I have never done that before:)

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  2. Urrriiiiiiibas!!!!! This is amazing! Phuchka tao abar barite banano??? Mone hochce top kore mukhe pure feli :) Jonogon-er jibhe jol ashar moto photos~!!

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  3. These are Mouthwatering..I love pani puri..

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  4. Craving for some of these to gulp down. They look delish!

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  5. He he Panchu'r heavvy fan dekchi :D Kota fau dito ?

    Me too never liked the mint in the water, and so never enjoyed gol-gappas as much as phuchkas

    You made the puri's too, that is simply awesome, pyaj ki thakto pur e ?

    Sandeepa

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  6. My fave too, and your fantastic pictures remind me that I have not had these for a long time :-( Great job, I am impressed that you made the puris from scratch !

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  7. hi,
    i would also like to have some...mouthwatering.I just loveeee pani puri.i usually buy this ready made.But now seeing your recipe atleast i will try to do pani at home itself.

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  8. Tumi barite phuchka baniyecho...wow...just perfect like outside..gr8 job..me too, whenever I visit kolkata, next day I have to go to my fav phuchka place..I miss only this thing living outside of India

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  9. Lovely puris... all filled and ready to be popped in.
    I too have a post on panipuri in my draft .

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  10. Faataafaati! Ami kintu ek shaathe 20 phuchkas khete paari! Three cheers for all phuchka lovers!

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  11. I too was surprised how easy and fast it was to make the puris Harini .. maybe coz you can fry a whole bunch at a time. :-)

    :-)) L. Beriye poro ekhuni ek round phuchkar jonne. ;-)

    Thanks Pavithra! :-)

    Thanks Mona! :-)

    :-p Sandeepa. Officially ekta dito .. amra chenchamenchi kore aro kota bagiye nitam. ;-)

    Hain .. pure pyaj thakto ... I think kata pyajer flavour tai moslar main flavour hoto bodhoye. :-)

    Thanks Usha! Have some today. :-)

    Thanks Thanu! Do try it. :-)

    Ami deshe thekei ei obostha ... ar tumi toh baire thako Indrani. Aj e ektu baniye nao nijer jonne ... beshi shomoy lage na. :-)

    Waiting for your post Jayashree. And thanks! :-)

    Hurray Rakhee! Amio kintu besh onekta khete pari ;-)
    Amra dujone onek shomoye brunch ba dinner e shudhu phuchka e khai .. barite janle boka o khai. ;-)

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  12. My fav Too... Looks great & perfect..Nice clicks dear..

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  13. eta defitiely bookmarked & making soon. becoz my dear hubby is going to do this with me:-) kolkata r phcuka chara ami kothayo kehte parina, oi pudina ar mishti somehow tastes pathetic with phuchka. we have phuchka for dinner:-) kintu shell ta kine antam... last week indian store giye we did not buy, decided that this time we will try our own:-) tetul jol ta baage enechi.. thik rasta r (tomar Panchu r:) ) moton hoye...
    Thank u Thank u Thank u!

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  14. just read Sandeepa s comment.. fau ta praye bhulei gechilam:-) extra pawar jonne almost pa dhora r obostha hoye jeto.. oi school college er pocket money diye..

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  15. uff! Sharmila tumi ki korcho , mokher kache eto bhalo jinish dakhacho aar aami khete parchi naa , not fair hain :))....
    pics look fabulous ..
    hugs and smiles

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  16. Thats so lovely...great tempting ones!

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  17. Aaah, this is the best entry!! :)
    Nothing can beat imli kaa pani and golgappas..i have never tasted phuchkas though!! Am a pure delhiite and love golgappas. I make my paani with lots of pudinaa but have never made the puris at home! I make the paapdis for paapdi chaat at home :-)
    mmmm...mukhe jol eshe gelo!

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  18. Gosh, Sharmila, my mouth is watering! Such lovely, lovely paani-puri! I have to make it soon.

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  19. J, this is a torture of the highest order!

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  20. wow those golgappas looks awesome..i tried so many times making at home but always ended up with soggy golgappas i am not sure what i was doing wrong but yours surely looks perfectly crisp

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  21. wow sharmila, you made it from scratch. That makes it even better!

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  22. Thanks Sk ! :-)

    Thanks Soma! Baniye felo .. ektuo beshi shomoye lage na. Luchi gulo to bhajte bhajtei ami kheye felechi.:-)

    Jaya .. tumi toh chailei beriye porte paro phuchka khete ... ar jhokhon e khabe amaar hoye extra 5ta kheo. :-) And thanks. :-)

    Thanks Sri! :-)

    Thanks Joyeeta! I have eaten golgappas in Delhi too ... but I can never like pudina. :-)

    Thanks Anusriram! :-)

    Thanks Vaishali! Go ahead and do make some soon. :-)

    Heheheh dear I ... the last snap is for you ... pick it up. ;-)

    Thanks Preety! I think you must have used more maida than rawa ... it is the rawa that keeps it crisp and puffed up ... use more rawa and just a little maida to bind it. Am sure you will get the perfect puris. :-)

    Thanks Mandira! It was indeed satisfying as I had been wanting to make the puris myself for a long time. :-)

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  23. Aachha Sharmila, Phuchchka banate gele Rawa lage? Rawa-ta thik ki? Kothae paowa jae ektu bolbe? I'm in llllllove with your phuchhkas!!! jottokkhon na banate parchi....ufff! barite shobaike proman korte hobe toh..Yes! I cud make it! :D
    So bolbe ektu?

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  24. L ... rawa hocche sooji ... amra ja usually upma bananor jonne use kori ... sei sooji.
    Du rokomer pawa jaye .. ekta ektu mota dhoroner ... onekta grainy ... fine postodanar moto.

    Ar ekta hocche ekdon fine ... ekkebare chotto chotto dana .. onekta free flowing table salter moton.
    Supermarket theke kinle dekhbe packet er opore lekha ache .. fine / coarse rawa ba sooji.

    Ar jodi onno kothao theke keno tobe bolbe choto danar sooji ... dekhbe thik peye jabe. :-)

    Hope this helps. Ar kono question thakle don't hesitate to ask .. ok?
    All the best for your phuchkas. :-)

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  25. Thank You Sharmila for the chotpot reply :) Oshongkho Oshongkho Oshongkho Dhonnobaaad !!!! Ami kal kei jabo Rawa kinte!! Btw, ki rokon Rawa kinbo...fine na coarse ones?

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  26. Fine rawa L. For any other questions you can write to me at kichukhonn[at]gmail[dot]com.

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  27. Oh my! Yummy..I rely on trips to Dubai for decent Pani puris. I haven't tasted a good one in the US yet. Your version looks yummy yummy!

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  28. Just PERRFECT !!!! Ami aage ei post ta dekhini, tahole hoyto anek agei try kortam. amar Ma-o barite oivabe korechilo, maane boro ruti theke choto choto piece kete niye. abar dekhe lobh lagche :( KOlkata hole doure giye kheye asha jeto. but i wont make this soon again, planning to make some other stuff :P ( aj ami bikele rosogolla banalam...jodio expect korini fulbe, folar porei chyapta hoye gechilo. but khete daarun hoyechilo :D )


    BTW, hope your hubby is doing good now. Hope he has a speedy recovery.
    Take care. Waiting for your recipes :)

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  29. Stumbled upon your blog looking for a Bengali recipe...after clicking through a few recipes, felt like I was suddenly transported back to the place and cuisine that I grew up in/with. Mint in phuchka water??! I couldn't tolerate that either :-) I will try out the phuchka shells with your recipe.

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  30. Hope you like whatever you try from my blog Anon. Why not leave a name?

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