Learn how to make the perfect Poori (Puri), a popular Indian fried bread recipe that is puffy, crispy, and delicious. It is typically served for breakfast or as a snack.
One Indian breakfast combination we can never resist is crispy, deep-fried puris and flavorful potato sagu. This classic dish was made every Sunday at our home while growing up, along with semiya kheer or shrikhand.
You can make puri by using a variety of flours like wheat flour, all-purpose flour, gram flour, semolina, rajgira, and more. No matter which variant you try, puri is sure to be delicious and nothing else.
Today, I am sharing how to make puri at home in a few simple steps. You may also like my aloo masala poori, and palak poori variations.
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What is Poori?
Poori (Puri) is a very popular Indian unleavened fried puffed bread that is typically made from whole wheat flour. It can be eaten for breakfast, a snack, or a light meal. It is served with delicious Indian curries or chutney on the side.
Ingredients for Poori Recipe
Here are the ingredients to make crispy poori recipe at home.
- Whole Wheat Flour: It is the main ingredient for making poori. I prefer Sujatha Gold Sharbati Whole Wheat Flour or Aashirvaad Whole Wheat Atta brands. It's easily available in Indian grocery stores or on Amazon.
- Semolina: Optional. Fine semolina (sooji or rava) is sometimes added to make the poori crispy and helps to retain its shape for longer. Adding sooji is a personal preference.
- Sugar: Optional. Adding a small amount of sugar to puri gives a beautiful golden brown color when fried and also enhances the flavor of the poori.
- Oil for deep frying: Any neutral-tasting oil can be used for frying, such as vegetable oil, avocado oil, or sunflower oil.
How To Make Poori (Puri) at Home
Here, we will tell you how to make puri using whole-wheat flour (chakki atta).
Kneading The Dough
Take a large mixing bowl, and add 2 cups of wheat flour, 2 tablespoons of fine rava (sooji or semolina), salt to taste, ½ teaspoon sugar, and 2 teaspoons of oil. Mix well. Rava is added to make the poori crispier.
Next, add the water little by little and knead the dough using your fingers and hands, or use a standing mixer like Kitchen Aid.
The dough must be smooth, and tight (Not too soft like roti and not too stiff like mathri).
Grease the dough with a dash of oil to prevent it from drying. Cover the bowl with a plate or damp cloth. Let it rest for at least 15 minutes at room temperature.
Roll Out
Knead the puri dough again for a minute until it is smooth, and take a tiny portion from the poori dough, roll it between your palms to make it smooth, and gently press it in between your palms.
Take one dough ball and apply a little oil over it. You can also lightly grease the rolling pin with oil to prevent it from sticking to the dough.
Roll the ball into a small circular shape using a rolling pin. Do not roll them too thick or too thin.
Deep Fry
Heat oil in a deep pan or kadhai on medium-high flame. Once it's hot, gently place one puri in the oil. Press it lightly with a slotted spatula or spoon. It will immediately start to puff out. Then flip the poori and fry until it becomes golden brown on both sides.
Once done, remove the poori from the oil using a slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel or steel colander to drain the excess oil.
Please Note: If you are someone who does not prefer deep-fried food, you can also air fry the puris.
Serving Ideas
Poori is best paired with aloo masala, bombay sagu, aloo rasedar, or vegetable sagu. But you can even pair it with chana masala, aloo gobhi, matar paneer, undhiyu, vegetable kurma, and more.
It can also be paired with desserts like basundi, shrikhand, aamras, and rice kheer.
While fasting on Navratri, devotees also pair it with sukha kala chana and sooji halwa.
Storage Instructions
- Make Ahead: The puri dough may be prepared ahead of time, refrigerated for 2-3 days, or frozen for up to a month. If frozen, Before usage, simply thaw and allow it to reach room temperature.
- Store: Poori keeps well for two to three days at room temperature. Let them cool, then wrap them in aluminum foil or store them in an airtight container.
Tips to Make the Perfect Fluffy Poori Recipe
- Use fresh flour: Always use fresh wheat flour to make pooris.
- Crispy texture: For a crispier poori, you can add fine suji (rava or semolina flour) to the dough.
- Dough texture: Knead the poori dough stiff, and tight (Not as soft as you make for chapati).
- Let the dough rest: Allow the dough to rest for at least 15-20 minutes after kneading. This will help the gluten to relax, making the dough easier to work with.
- Roll the puris evenly: Roll out the puri evenly, neither too thin nor too thick. This will help the poori to puff up well while frying. Also, avoid any folds or cracks while rolling.
- Oil your rolling pin as well: In addition to applying little oil to the flattened dough ball, you may also lightly grease the rolling pin with oil to prevent the dough from sticking.
- Don't roll puris using dry flour: The excess flour on the puri can burn in the hot oil, and the burned particles will attach to the subsequent batch of pooris.
- Heat the oil to the right temperature: To achieve a perfectly cooked, crispy, golden-brown poori, ensure the oil is hot but not smoking when frying. The ideal temperature is around 350-375°F.
Different Types Of Puri: Variations
- Methi (Fenugreek) Poori: Add fresh or dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) to the dough while kneading.
- Aloo Masala Poori: Add mashed boiled potatoes and a few spices like carrom seeds (ajwain), red chili flakes, and salt to the dough while kneading.
- Masala Poori: Add Indian spices like coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder, and ajwain (carrom seeds) to the dough while kneading. This gives a nice spicy flavor.
- Palak Poori: Add pureed or finely chopped spinach to the dough while kneading. Gives a vibrant green color to the poori.
- Luchi: Luchi is made with all-purpose flour, salt, and water. It is a popular type of puri in Bengali cuisine.
- Multi-grain Poori: You can mix different types of flour like wheat, barley, jowar, and besan to make a healthier version of the traditional poori.
Frequently Asked Questions
Poori is a deep-fried dish. Eating it occasionally and moderately is okay. Also, It depends upon the way you are making it. It can be healthy if you are using an air fryer to cook it.
1. Roll the dough evenly into a disc that is neither too thin nor too thick to achieve a nicely puffed poori. They won't puff if they are too thin; instead, they will turn crisp like papads.
2. If the oil used for frying is not hot enough, the puri may not puff up.
There can be a number of reasons why the pooris can turn oily.
1. Poori will absorb more oil when fried at a low oil temperature, turning soggy.
2. Frying the poori for a longer time will absorb more oil.
3. If the poori dough is very soft, it can absorb oil when deep fried.
3. If the puri cracks while frying, the oil will leak, making it oily.
For deep-frying dishes like pooris, it's best to use flavorless oils with a high smoke point, such as peanut oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, avocado oil, or canola oil.
More Indian Breakfast Recipes
How to Make Poori
Ingredients
Instructions
Kneading The Dough
- Take a large mixing bowl, and add 2 cups of wheat flour, 2 tablespoons of fine rava (sooji or semolina), salt to taste, sugar, and 2 teaspoons of oil. Mix well. Rava is added to make the poori crispier.
- Next, Add the water little by little and knead the dough using your fingers and hands, or use a standing mixer.
- The dough must be smooth, and tight (Not too soft like roti and not too stiff like mathri).
- Grease the dough with a dash of oil to prevent it from drying. Cover the bowl with a plate or damp cloth. Let it rest for at least 15 minutes at room temperature.
Roll Out
- Knead the puri dough again for a minute until it is smooth, and take a tiny portion from the poori dough and roll it between your palms to make it smooth, and gently press it in between your palms.
- Take one dough ball and apply little oil over it. You can also lightly grease the rolling pin with oil to prevent it from sticking to the dough.
- Roll the ball into a small circular shape using a rolling pin. Do not roll them too thick or too thin.
Deep Fry
- Heat oil in a deep pan or kadhai on medium-high flame. Once it's hot, gently place one puri in the oil. Press it lightly with a slotted spatula or spoon. It will immediately start to puff out. Then flip the poori and fry until it becomes golden brown on both sides.
- Once done, Remove the poori from the oil using a slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel or steel colander to drain the excess oil.
Notes
Tips to Make the Perfect Poori
- Use fresh flour: Always use fresh wheat flour to make pooris.
- Crispy texture: For a crispier poori, you can add fine suji (rava or semolina flour) to the dough.
- Dough texture: Knead the poori dough stiff, and tight (Not as soft as you make for chapati).
- Let the dough rest: Allow the dough to rest for at least 15-20 minutes after kneading. This will help the gluten to relax, making the dough easier to work with.
- Roll the puris evenly: Roll out the puri evenly, neither too thin nor too thick. This will help the poori to puff up well while frying. Also, avoid any folds or cracks while rolling.
- Oil your rolling pin as well: In addition to applying little oil to the flattened dough ball, you may also lightly grease the rolling pin with oil to prevent the dough from sticking.
- Don't roll puris using dry flour: The excess flour on the puri can burn in the hot oil, and the burned particles will attach to the subsequent batch of pooris.
- Heat the oil to the right temperature: The oil should be hot but not smoking when frying the poori to achieve a crispy, golden-brown poori that is cooked perfectly. The ideal temperature is around 350-375°F.
Nutrition
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