Puchka / Pani Poori /Pani Puri

Pani Puri or Puchka is all time favorite street food in Kolkata so also Mumbai , Delhi and other places

Lets see how this can be made at home

Ingredients
Part 1 - Pani

• Mint - 1 cup
• Coriander leaves - 1 cup
• Thin tamarind extract - 1 cup (soak gooseberry sized tamarind in 1 cup water and extract it)
• Jaggery - 1 big piece
• Ginger - 1 small piece
• Green Chilly - 1 or 2 nos
• Lemon - 1

Part 2 - Spices / Masala Powders

• Chaat Masala
• Coriander Powder
• Kashmiri Chilly Powder
• Cumin Powder
• Black Salt
• Normal Salt

Take these powders in required quantity.There is no such hard and fast rule

Part 3 - Stuffing

• Potato - 8 nos
• Black Channa - 1 handful

Part 4 - Main Ingredient

• Small Pooris - 30 nos 
• Boondhi - as required

I used the ready made ones

Method
Step 1 - Pani Preparation

• Take mint, coriander, jaggery, ginger, green chilly in a mixer jar
• Pour 1/2 cup of water and grind it smoothly
• Filter the ground mixture.Do not discard the residue
• Pour tamarind extract, 2 cups of water
• Add the masala powders and salt
• Squeeze lemon.
• Put boondhis on top of the pani

Now the pani is ready

Step 2 - Stuffing

• Soak black channa overnight and pressure cook for 5 whistles
• Also pressure cook potatoes.Peel them
• Mash the boiled potatoes and channa
• Now add the residue that was filtered in the above step
• Also put the masala powders and salt as required
• Mix them well

Step 3 - Assembling

• Break / make small hole on top of the poori
• Put the potato stuffing inside
• Dip inside the pani and gulp it

Pav Bhajji

Pav Bhajji is a complete meal relished by all age groups.This is a popular street food in Mumbai

Ingredients
Part 1 - Bhajji Masala

• Oil - 2 tablespoons
• Onions - 2 nos (chopped)
• Capsicum - 1 (cubed into small pieces)
• Tomato - 2 nos (cut into small cubes)
• Carrot - 2 nos (cut into small pieces)
• Beans - 6 nos (cut into small pieces)
• Cauliflowe - around 15 florets
• Frozen Peas - 1/2 cup
• Potato - 2 kg (peeled and cubed)
• Pav Bhajji Masala - 2 teaspoons
• Red Chilly Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Salt - 1 1/2 teaspoons
• Coriander leaves - few
• Butter - 1 tablespoon

Part 2 - Pav Buns

• Pav Buns - 10 nos
• Butter - as required

Part 3 - Serving

• Chopped Onions
• Chopped Coriander
• Lemon
• Butter

Method
Step 1 - Bhajji Masala

• In a cooker heat oil and fry onions, tomatoes and capsicum
• Then add all the vegetables except potatoes and saute it once
• Add potatoes and mix well
• Put the masala powders, salt and pour water to immerse the vegetables
• Close the cooker and leave it for 3 whistles

• Once done open the lid and mash the contents using masher

• Put butter and garnsih with coriander leaves

Step 2 - Pav Bhajji

• Now bhajji and pav both are ready

• Cut each and every pav into two pieces
• Heat a tawa 
• Toast the pav pieces on both the sides by applying butter

Step 3 - Serving

• Place two toasted pav buns in a plate
• Put the bhajji masala in a serving dish and top it with butter and coriander leaves
• Also serve chopped onions and a small piece of lemon separetley
• Add the chopped onions and squeeze lemon to the bhajji masala while eating

Bread Tikki Chat

This is a simple chaat recipe that can be made in no time

Ingredients
Part 1 - Bread Tikki

• Brown / White bread slices - 6 nos
• Onion - 1 (finely chopped)
• Coriander leaves - little
• Red Chilly Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Garam Masala Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt - 1 teaspoon
• Oil - for shallow frying

You may use butter for kids

Part 2 - Chat

• Whipped Curd - as required
• Sweet and Green Chutney - 1 tablespoon each or as needed
• Boiled Green Gram / Channa - 2 tablespoons (optional)
• Ompodi / Sev - Garnish
• Chaat Masala - 2 pinches

Method

Step 1 - Bread Cutlet

• Take water in a bowl.Dip each and every brown slice in it (i did not trim the edges)
• Squeeze out the excess water and crumble the bread pieces
• Add onions, coriander, red chilly powder, garam masala powder and salt to it
• Knead it well

• Pinch out small lemon sized balls and flatten each one of them
• Heat a tawa and cook each and every tikki with 1/2 teaspoon of oil on both the sides

Step 2 - Assembling Chaat

• Take 2 bread tikki pieces at a time.Crumble it (optional)
• Put boiled green gram / channa over it
• Add curd over it
• Add 1 tablespoon of sweet / green chutney each
• Put chaat masala
• Garnish with Sev and Coriander leaves
• Serve immediately

Ghugini Chaat / Ragda Chaat /Vatana Chaat

This is a popular street food in Bengal.It can be served during tea time.Kids as well as adults will definitely relish it

Ingredients
Part 1 - Pressure Cooking

• Dried White Peas - 1 cup
• Potato - 3 nos
• Turmeric - a pinch

Part 2 - Ghugni

• Oil - 2 teaspoons
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Green Chilly - 2 nos
• Tomato - 1 no:
• Onion - 1 no:
• Tamarind - a small piece
• Coriander Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Kashmiri Chilly Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Grated Mango - 1 teaspoon
• Salt - 1 teaspoon
• Chaat Masala - 1/2 teaspoon

Part 3 - Chaat

• Small Pooris - 5 nos
• Ghugni - 1 ladle
• Peanut powder - 1 tablespoon (optional)
• Sweet Chutney - 1 tablespoon
• Grated Carrot - little
• Coriander leaves - little
• Mixture / Sev - topping

Method

Step 1 - Pressure Cooking

• Wash and soak white peas for 6 hours
• Pressure cook it for 4 whistles with a pinch of turmeric

• Also pressure cook potato.Peel the skin and chop into samll cubes

Step 2 - Ghugini / Ragda

• In a kadai heat oil and splutter jeera, green chillies
• Saute tomatoes in it
• Fry onions
• Add the pressure cooked ragda (along with water if any).Mix well
• Extract tamarind juice and pour it here
• Add all the spices - coriander powder, kashmiri chilly powder, chaat masala and salt
• Let it boil
• Finally add grated mango and boiled potato cubes.Mix it well
• Switch off the stove

Step 3 - Ghugini Chaat / Ragda Chaat /Vatana Chaat

• Take small pooris in a serving plate
• Crush it and pour cooked ghugini / ragda over it
• Add sweet sauce
• Put little peanut powder and grated carrot
• Garnish it with sev / mixture and finally chopped coriander leaves

Pori Upma Version 2 / Bhel Upma /Muri Upma

I have already explained how to make quick upma using pori or puffed rice in Pori Upma
This version also very similar to the previous one but with little extra fittings

Ingredients

• Pori / Puffed rice - 2 cups
• Green chillies - 2 or 3
• Onion - 1 (medium sized)
• Peanuts (raw) - handful or more
• Carrot - 1 or 2 grated
• Oil - 2 teaspoons
• Mustard - 1 teaspoon
• Curry leaves - little
• Salt - 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric - a pinch

Topping / Garnish

• Sweet and Green Chutney - as required
• Sev / Ompodi - as required
• Coriander leaves - little

Check out for Chutney recipes at Chat Chutneys

Method

• Wash and drain the puffed rice
• In a kadi heat oil and splutter mustard seeds
• Fry chillies, curry leaves and peanuts in it
• Add onions and saute it
• Put carrot and just swirl it once
• Add the soaked puffed rice and mix it well
• Put salt and mix it once again

Serving

• Put the upma in a serving plate / bowl
• Top it with sweet and green chutney(s)
• Garnish it with sev and coriander leaves

Mango and Corn Flakes Bhel

Now that mangoes had started emerging in the market so we get those varieities who are either sweet nor sour.It is an unique flavour. Tried making a Chat with it and it came out well

I tagged weight watchers also.Please skip the sev or ompodi for garnishing

Ingredients

• Bhel / Moori / Pori - 4 cups
• Boiled Black Channa - 1 cup
• Grated Carrot - 2 nos (medium sized)
• Onion - 1 cup (chopped) (but i didn't use it_
• Mango - 1 cup (chopped pieces)
• Sweet Chutney - as needed
• Green Chutney - as needed
• Ompodi / Sev - for Garnishing
• Chat Masala - little

Please check for Sweet and Green Chutney (s) here

Method

• In a mixing bowl take bhel and corn flakes first
• Add carrot and boiled channa.Mix it once
• Now add the chuneys as per your preference along with chat masala and mix it
• Put mango pieces to it
• Garnish with sev and coriander leaves before serving
• You may also spice it up with chilly and jeera powder (optional)

Sweet and Green Chutney(s) for Chats

One of the basic toppings for any chat items is Sweet and Green Chutney

Lets see how to prepare

Ingredients

Sweet Chutney

• Dates - 20 nos 
• Dry Grapes - handful
• Tamarind - gooseberry sized
• Jaggery - 1 small piece
• Chat Masala - 1/2 teaspoon

Green Chutney

• Mint leaves - 2 cups
• Coriander leaves - 1 cup
• Green Chilly - 3 or 4 nos
• Chat Masala - 1/2 teaspoon
• Coconut - 1 tablespoon (grated)
• Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
• Lemon juice - 1 teaspoon

Method

Sweet Chutney

• Remove seeds from dates first
• Soak dates and dry grapes together in warm water for about 15 minutes
• Also soak tamarind in little water and extract it
• Grind soaked dates, dry grapes and tamarind water together to a smooth paste
• Put jaggery and chat masala and grind it once more
• Sweet Chutney is ready

Green Chutney

• Take mint, coriander and green chillies in a mixer.Grind it smooth with very little water (optional)
• Add coconut, chat masala, salt and run the mixer in pulser mode
• Take it out from the mixer jar and squeeze lemon over it

Sweet and Green Chutney(s) are ready.Use it on the same day