Puri Recipe (Poori Recipe)

a plate full of puffed puris, served with elaichi shrikhand and pineapple shrikhand on the side

step by step recipe to make puris (pooris) that are crispy, yet, soft, fluffy and puffed

Course Beginner Recipes, Breakfast, Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Total Time 30

Servings puris

Calories 57kcal

Author Shantala Shenoy Nayak

Ingredients

1 cup wheat flour (chapati atta)
1 cup all purpose flour (maida)
2 teaspoon semolina (sada rava)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1½-2 tablespoon oil
¾ cup water

Instructions

For making puri dough

In a wide bottomed utensil (paraat), add wheat flour, all purpose flour, semolina, salt & sugar, and give all the dry ingredients a quick mix.
To this, add half of the oil, and start adding water, little by little, and knead till a hard dough is formed. Add rest of the oil towards the end to make a smooth dough.
However do not over-knead this dough like for chapati. Only knead till you get a hard and smooth dough.
Also dough should be hard (harder than regular chapati dough), but not dry and crumbly. If it is dry and crumbly, add a few spoons of water / oil to make a smooth dough.
Cover & rest the dough for about 20 minutes, and then make even sized dough balls from the dough, and start to roll out the puris.

For rolling out puris

Drizzle a few drops of oil in the rolling area, and spread out the oil on the surface, so that it is well greased.
Start rolling out the puri, by flattening the dough ball from the center to the sides, to make an even round.
You can use oil or flour to roll out puris. I prefer to use neither, but if required, I only use oil, and that too very little, since the surface is already greased. If you prefer to use flour, be sure to dust out excess flour before frying puris in oil.
The flattened puri should not be too thick or too thin. If it is too thick, it will not be soft & light, and if it is too thin, it will be crispy like papad. If puri dough is flattened to moderate thickness, it will be soft & light, and puff up very well. See step images / video for reference.

For frying puris

In a pot, heat up oil really well for frying puris. For testing if the oil is hot, drop a small roundel of dough into hot oil. If it comes up immediately, without browning - oil is at the correct temperature.
Slide the flattened puri carefully into the hot oil. Let it rise up a little from the bottom, and when it is almost halfway up, start pressing down on the top quickly, but gently, till the puri puffs evenly.
When the puri has puffed, flip it to the other side, and fry till puri is light golden & crispy.
When done right, you don't need to flip the puri in oil again, about 10 seconds each side is more than enough.
Then remove the puri from the oil, and place it in a big steel colander, lined with paper towel.
Fry the rest of the puris the same way.
Crispy, yet soft & fluffy, puffed puris are ready to serve.

Video

Notes

Wheat flour puris / atta puris - As you see in the recipe, I make puris using a mix of wheat flour and all purpose flour. You can make it using only wheat flour too.
Semolina / rava - This is considered optional, but I always add it, because it helps give puri the perfect crispy texture.
Salt & sugar - These are also considered optional, but I always add them, because they add to the flavor, and sugar also helps give puris the deep golden hue. Adjust quantity based on your preferences.
Resting time for dough - It's important to rest the dough before frying the puris. I have tested out the resting time, and feel a minimum of 5, and a maximum of 20 minutes is ideal resting time. But I personally prefer resting for 20 minutes over 5 minutes.
Keeping dough & rolled out puris covered - Always keep the puri dough covered while resting. And try to fry it immediately after rolling out. I usually roll out 3-4 puris, fry them, and then roll out the next batch. Best to even try & keep the rolled out puris covered, if possible. So that they don't dry out, and get fried immediately.
Oil vs flour for rolling out puris - Ideally, it's best to only grease the surface, and not use oil or flour to roll out puris. But between the two I prefer oil over flour, because I don't like the excess flour getting into the oil while deep frying. But like I said, I prefer to not even use oil so as to not introduce excess moisture in the dough.

Please note: The nutrition values are best estimates provided as a courtesy. The exact values can vary depending on the exact ingredients or brands used. If you rely on them for your specific diet and/or health issues, please consult a registered dietician or nutritionist.

Nutrition