Golgappa !

There is no other street food that is more street food than Golgappa. If Shakespeare had had an opportunity to taste this beauty, he would have written a whole wonderful book on it. Since he did not, I'm going to do it here! HAH!!

I've tried making the puris before a couple of times. But, every time I thought it was so not worth all the effort and buying a pack for 5.99 seemed like a good deal. Or the only deal if I wanted to eat it. But, now things have changed. My life has changed. I'm a food blogger. I've taken this invisible oath like a doctors' hippocratic oath to make food from scratch. If I know to eat it, I should know to cook it. That's my mantra!

So, here we go! This is actually a pretty simple recipe. Not too many ingredients. But, it does need a little patience - if you want to make a lot of puris. I made the puris in two batches. The first time, I was very careful -measuring, checking the thickness, getting perfect rounds etc. The second time - I was a professional already. It all seemed too easy. Its like you run the half marathon first and that seems like a big deal..and then you run the full marathon and the half seems like nothing. Not that I ever ran any marathon. My friend's husband Srini did both and that was his experience! I'll just stick with making golgappas!

To begin with, take about 1 cup of rava. (Semolina for all you peters!) Add salt to taste. About 1/2 tsp for 1 cup of rava. This measurement will yield about 55 small golgappas or about 35- 40 big ones.

Add about 1/2 cup of warm water in drops and mix to a granular mixture.

 

You should get a coarse consistency like this - not too thick and not too watery.

 

Dust some maida on top and knead well to a nice smooth dough.

 

Does this look smooth? Yes..please say yes..

 

Cover the dough ball and let it sit for about 20 mins.

 

Take a small ball and roll it out into a thin chappathi. Make small rounds with anything handy you have at home. I used a small box for the small ones and a tumbler upside down for the big rounds. My cookie cutter was too big for this. If you have a small one - that will be perfect.

 

Just remove all the extra dough by lifting it out carefully.

 

Does that not look pretty?

 

Here are the small puris ready to be fried.

 

Here are the big ones from the second set.

 

Fry the puris is hot oil. Just put them in oil and you will be delighted to see that they puff up beautifully all by themselves! Good kids!

 

Turn them around when one side reaches a nice golden color.

 

And lo behold - here are the wonderful puris!

 

Really...look at these.

 

Just a close up obsession shot!

 

Now that are puris are ready - let's get started with the paani.

For the paani, take about 4-5 cups of water in a wide mixing bowl. Soak a lemon sized piece of tamarind and squeeze it out here. Add some pani puri masala if you have. Add salt, red chilli powder, jeera and dhaniya powder. If you don't have pani puri masala, be sure to add chaat masala or black salt for the tangy chaat flavor. Add about 1-2 tsp of regular chaat green and red chutney. Mix all together well.

 

To kick up the paani, blend together coarsely a bunch of fresh cilantro with a bunch of fresh mint leaves.

 

Add the blended fresh greens to the paani. This just adds a whole world of flavor to the paani.

 

Mix everything well. Paani is ready. Puri is ready. Are we done. Not quite yet. Let's get a few fillings ready.

 

I soaked and cooked some garbanzo. Add salt while pressure cooking this - that way the channa is well flavored and not bland inside. Add salt, chaat masala, red chilli powder, dhaniya and jeera powder. Mix well.

 

There's the channa ready to be filled.

 

This is not for paani puri but for papdi chaat. Just mix some fresh curds with a little bit of red chilli powder and a tsp of sugar.

 

Mise En Place!

 

From left to right - boiled potatoes, onions and tomatoes, dahi mix, fine sev, and channa. All around the king.

 

Set your puris up any way you want it - mine has a little bit of aloo and channa inside. Get your paani in a cup. Dunk. Pour. Enjoy!

 

I'm just shutting up now.

 

Dahi Sev puri variation. Stuff inside with your favs, add red and green chutneys on top, add dahi and top off with sev.

 

Papdi chaat variation. Some puris do turn out flat when you make it. Those are perfect for papdi chaat. Arrange a layer of puris on the bottom, add potatoes, channa, onions, tomatoes. Top off with all chutneys and dahi. Finally add sev on top.

 

 

Enjoy! Peace Out!