100th Recipe!
Pooris are the rock stars of the fried food world. Everyone loves them. Finicky kids, grown ups, old people – it’s truly a crowd pleaser. Easy to make, and quick, it’s more forgiving than rotis – you can almost not mess it up if you follow a few simple tips/techniques.
Servings Prep Time
10pooris 10minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
30 secs/poori 10minutes to rest the dough
Servings Prep Time
10pooris 10minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
30 secs/poori 10minutes to rest the dough
Ingredients
  • 1cup wheat flourGet what’s known as “atta” from the Indian grocery stores.
  • 1tbsp rava/semolinahelps retain the puffiness and crispness
  • 1/2tsp Salt
  • 1tsp oilfor the dough
  • 1/2cup Waterto make the dough
Instructions
  1. Make the dough with the flour, rava, salt, 1 tsp of oil and 1/2 cup of water, adding the water litlte by little. The dough should be somewhat stiff
  2. Let the dough rest, covering with a bowl/towel for about 10-15 minutes. This is optional. The dough can also be used right away
  3. Heat the oil to deep fry in a frying pan. There should be enough oil to let the poori submerge and puff up completely
  4. Divide the dough into 10 even sized balls, and get rolling stuff ready.
  5. As the oil starts to heat up, start rolling out the pooris into 5-6 inch discs. I use a tortilla press, smearing a bit of oil on the plate and pressing down each ball of dough
  6. The poori should be not too thinly rolled out/pressed – a little thick disc makes for fluffy pooris
  7. Test the oil by dropping a tiny bit of dough in it. If it floats right up, it’s ready
  8. Gently slide in the poori and with the frying ladle, gently splash the oil from the sides on to the poori. When it cooks and puffs up on one side, flip to the other side and repeat. This whole thing will only take a few seconds (roughly 20-30) so being quick is important
  9. Remove to a plate lined with paper towel to drain excess oil. I usually hold it against the side of the pan for a few seconds and tap to let the oil drip before transferring to the plate
  10. Serve with a side dish of your choice!
Recipe Notes

Tips For Great Pooris:

  1. Adding rava/semolina/cream of wheat helps with crisp pooris that stay puffed up for some time
  2. Adding a bit of oil in the dough and on the rolling pin/tortilla press instead of flour keeps the frying oil clear (otherwise the flour makes it cloudy)
  3. Make the dough not too soft. It should be a little bit on the stiff side
  4. The dough doesn’t need to rest at all. If the oil is not ready, it’s okay to rest it while the oil heats up
  5. Invest in a light weight tortilla press – it’s totally worth it!
  6. The oil should be fairly hot. Otherwise, the pooris will take longer to cook, and soak up oil
  7. Splashing oil (carefully and gently) on the poori while it’s frying is important to ensure puffing up and evenly cooking
  8. This is not a dish for saving on oil – be generous with the quantity of oil you use, enough to submerge a puffed up poori

Happy poori making!