Masala Puri Spicy Puffed Bread

Masala Puri Spicy Puffed Bread is a recipe from a close family friends, where both the husband wife duo are excellent cooks! It’s always a joy to have a meal at their house. On one of our family outings, my friend had got this, and I immediately took a liking to it. The taste was spicy, texture was soft yet crispy, can be enjoyed hot or cold and with a unique flavour of coconut, ginger, green chillies, red chilli powder and optional garlic

Surprise factor was that it did not have wheat flour but rice flour and all purpose flour powder. Gujarati cuisine also has masala puri but it is made of wheat flour and has the common spices of turmeric and red chilli powder as this one.

You know the saying goes, when the time is right or when you need something, you find the right stuff and bingo! I had misplaced this recipe since past 3-4 years and rediscovered it while deleting old pictures on the computer just last week! And the timing was perfect, as my husband and a friend were planning 5 day long road trip down south in the USA, where food for vegetarians is kind of a question mark! This version of Masala Puri Spicy Puffed Bread was much appreciated by the guys who nicknamed themselves as “Two Guys and a Truck”! The puris will stay fresh for at least 3-4 days so it is a perfect for long journeys.

Enjoy this spicy, crispy soft coconut flavoured puri that can be great as a breakfast, snack, tea/coffee accompaniment! You will like it for the fact, that so many different tastebuds will be satisfied from just one piece of Masala Puri Spicy Puffed Bread and possibly you will not miss home cooking that much when on a long journey away from home!

Masala Puri Spicy Puffed Bread

Recipe makes about 30 Puris

Prep TIme 10 min

Cooking Time 20

Ingredients

1 cup of all purpose flour or maida
i cup of rice flour
1 tbsp chopped coriander
11/2 tbsp white til or sesame seeds
5-7 thai green chillies finely chopped
1 1/2 inch ginger minced
1/2 cup finely shredded dry coconut powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
2 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
1/2 cup of water to bind
6 garlic pods minced(optional) See Tips section for Jain version
Oil for frying

Method

Mix everything and bind into a medium soft dough using up to 1/2 cup water.

Divide the dough into two parts and roll it into a long cylindrical shape.
Further divide each roll into approx 15 pieces each and make small flat rounds.

Using rice flour as dusting, roll each piece of small ball into a flat round, about 4 inch in diameter

Heat oil for deep frying.
When the oil smokes, reduce the flame to medium level and insert the rolled puri after upside down.
Try to gently press the puri into the oil, to puff it up, in case it does not.

Once the puri puffs up, flip it over and drain after frying it to golden red color.

Serve warm or store for later use, either by wrapping in foil or container.

A good accompaniment to enjoy this might be a great cup of Chai Tea with Fresh Ginger!

Tips

If the puri is rolled too thin, it will not puff and taste crispier. To get it puffed up, high to medium heat is needed as well as the puri needs to be slightly thick.

The puris will stay puffed only if served warm, as they cool, they are likely to collapse but stay soft.

Jain version– instead of garlic and ginger, add an extra tsp of green chillies, 1 tsp of sesame seeds and i tsp of red chilli powder.

Instinct Factor

Had to use my instinct, as the recipe did not call for oil,( just an oversight in the recipe I guess) so I relied on my measurement of 1 tbsp per cup of flour and it worked well. One can also warm the oil and mix in for more crispier taste. So trusting your instincts is the first thing to success!

Even if the shape is not perfectly round, and the edges are not smooth, the taste is just delicious, so not to worry about the looks, but be excited about the taste!

Feel Factor

A great find from a friend at the perfect time, a quick recipe for some tea time moments with near and dear ones. Enjoy some sweet, spicy conversations with a hot cuppa of tea and Masala Puri Spicy Puffed Bread that has unique flavour of rice, coconut, sesame, green chillies and ginger!