Pooris: The magical balloon like Indian bread

This magical version of the humble chapati is an eternal favourite of the home cook as well as restaurants. Because these are fried, pooris have a longer shelf life than chapatis. This is why pooris are popular for picnics, outings and as prasadam (blessings) in many Hindu temples. Their balloon like appearance make them an instant hit with kids anywhere in the world.

Ingredients

Whole Wheat Flour-3 cups (enough for 12 pooris)

Salt-1/2 teaspoon

Cooking Oil-1 tablespoonful

Luke Warm Water-1 cup

Cooking Oil/Clarified Butter (Ghee) for deep frying; Ghee is preferred if you want the authentic taste.

Method

In a bowl, mix together the wheat flour, salt and one tablespoon cooking oil.

Add water bit by bit and knead well to make a firm dough.

Cover the dough and leave it for ½ an hour.

Before rolling out Pooris, knead the dough once again.

Now make small balls, smaller than for Chapatis, and roll out on a rolling board (Chakla) with a rolling pin (Belan), WITHOUT dusting it with any dry flour.

Tip: Remember your Pooris are going into hot oil. You should NOT, therefore, dust it with any dry flour, as you do for chapatis. Doing that will only make your frying oil dirtier. So later, if you use this oil for frying more Pooris, they will inevitably acquire a more bitter taste because of the burnt flour dust accumulating inside.

In a small wok, add the cooking oil (or Ghee) till it is ½ full. Heat the oil till a faint haze arises from the oil.

Now, place the rolled out pooris one by one into this hot oil. Slowly turn with a slotted spoon and gently press the pooris till they swell up magically like a balloon. Remove the pooris from the oil and put it on a plate covered with a paper napkin so that excess oil is absorbed. Repeat till all the pooris are done.

That’s all.

Enjoy the delicious pooris with any vegetable, meat or even sweet dish like kheer or halwa.

Tip: The oil or Ghee used for Pooris should be stored in a fridge and used up for other dishes as soon as possible.

Prep time: 35 minutes

Cooking time: 8 minutes for 12 pooris @40 seconds per poori

Total time: 43 minutes

(This recipe is an excerpt from my book “Home Style Indian Cooking In A Jiffy” which is available on all e-book retailers such as Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Google Play, etc.)

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post