Melange Filled Crispy Shells / Dahi Puri

If you relish making pani puris at home, you will barely rue in trying these crispy bites of complete flavors. There are countless ways of making dahi puri, but I’m going to impart the most authentic Mumbai style recipe of dahi puri. Pani puris are mostly liquid filled goodies, which are supposed to be gulped down in one go whereas dahi puri is a thick yogurt based salpicon that gives you a chance to delay those bites. Whenever, we are done with our conventional menu, we try to blow away the cobwebs by simply inviting this light, tasty and pleasant bubbles of goodness. I tend to make this recipe without any second thought as it holds a pinch of sour, well balanced sweetness, restrained spice taste and above all it is crunchy delight.

For a push of extra crunch, I have replaced the sev with papdi – sev is a thin noodles look alike fried titbit made from chickpea flour batter, you can use either or neither as per your likings, or else you can crush some puris instead of these two options. Puri is basically a golf ball shaped delicate edible which is totally hollow from inside, Dahi puri is put together by breaking the shell and giving way from the top to pass different items in particular lentils, yogurt, diced onions, boiled potatoes and sauces that burst into an awesome bite. Sauces used are mainly of mild and strong variants - tamarind sauce and spicy sauce which is gently dribble inside and on the top of stuffed puris. I usually cut down the time count by preparing and refrigerating sauces, boiled chickpeas and boiled potatoes in advance, it turns the recipe into 10 minutes’ hassle-free dish. Lastly, put finishing touch by sprinkling some fragrant seasonings, finely chopped onions and crispy sev or papdi which is easily available at any grocery stores or online. The overall process makes this recipe not so soggy, soothing, healthy and mouth-watering.

You can also check out my pani puri recipe.

Dahi Puri

Preparation Time: 60 minutes

Cooking Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 3 hours

Serves: 2 persons

Tamarind Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup tamarind, unseeded

1 teaspoon cooking oil

½ cup chopped jaggery, adjust as per the sweetness you prefer

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

½ teaspoon ginger powder

¼ teaspoon red chili powder

2 cups water

Black salt or regular salt, as per the taste

Method:

• For Tamarind pulp: In a bowl, soak tamarind in 1 cup water for about 6 hours or overnight. For quick results, you can soak it in hot water for ½ hour or so. Make the pulp out of the soaked tamarind using a spoon or a masher, discarding its seeds and leave the pulp aside.
• In a sauce pan, heat 1 teaspoon cooking oil on the low flame, add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and allow it to splutter. Immediately, add ½ teaspoon ground ginger powder, ¼ teaspoon red chili powder and stir for a few seconds.
• Add the tamarind pulp and allow it to simmer for 3-4 minutes on a medium heat. Add ½ cup jaggery and salt.
• Jaggery lightens the thickness making the sauce thin in texture. Hence, allow it to simmer on a low flame for about 5 minutes. If you prefer thin consistency of sauce, simply adjust by adding little water. As soon as the consistency thickens, allow it to fall under room temperature.
• When cooled, refrigerate it in an air-tight container.

Green Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup fresh cilantro

½ cup fresh mint leaves

2 green chilies, add more if you like more heat

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Salt as per the taste

4 tablespoons water, during blending

Directions:

• In a blender, grind ½ cup fresh mint leaves, 1 cup fresh cilantro, green chilies, 1 teaspoon cumin powder to a smooth paste using 3 to 4 tablespoons water, if required.
• Into the paste, mix 1 teaspoon lemon juice and salt, adjust the seasonings and store in the refrigerator. Serve chilled with any fried item or use as a spread on sandwiches.

Assembling Step:

Stuffing Ingredients:

12-15 puris, readily available at market or online

1 cup boiled and chopped potatoes

1 cup boiled chickpeas

2 cups, whisk yogurt, shouldn’t be watery and sour in taste

1 cup chopped onions

2 cups tamarind sauce, for sweet & sour taste

1 cup green chili sauce, for spice

1 tablespoon chaat masala powder

1 tablespoon salt

• On a serving plate, arrange 6-8 puris, crack the puris from the top-center to create space for stuffing the remaining ingredients.
• In each puri, stuff few amount of chopped boiled potatoes, boiled chickpeas, chopped onions, spoonful of yogurt, drizzle green sauce and tamarind sauce on the top of stuffing. If you like sweet, add more tamarind sauce and for spice, add more green sauce.
• Now, again add a good amount of whisk yogurt, drizzle two sauces all over the puris, garnish with chopped onions, sprinkle chaat masala powder, a pinch of salt, top with generous amount of crushed papdi.
• Serve immediately, otherwise you will totally lose its crunch factor. Enjoy!