Gluten-Free Pani Puri with Potato Filling and Spiced Water
shared by המטבח של Nibblore
These crisp pani puri shells are filled with warmly spiced potatoes and chickpeas, then topped with tangy, fiery mint-tamarind water. A blend of rice flour, tapioca starch and psyllium produces thin shells that puff beautifully without gluten. Fill each puri just before eating so it stays crisp. • The rolled dough must be thin and even; thick patches or cracks will prevent the puri from puffing. • Always keep the dough and uncooked rounds covered, as even a few minutes of drying can cause cracks. • Test one puri first. If it browns before puffing, the oil is too hot; if it sinks and absorbs oil, the oil is too cool. • Check that the chickpea flour, spices and tamarind paste are explicitly labelled gluten-free to avoid cross-contamination. • Replace the tapioca starch with the same amount of potato starch; the puri will be slightly less chewy. • Replace the brown sugar with the same amount of coconut sugar. • For a milder version, omit the green chilli and reduce the chilli powder by half. • If Indian black salt is unavailable, use 1/2 teaspoon fine salt; the flavour will be less sulphurous and traditional. Store completely cooled puri in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. If softened, reheat on a wire rack in a 150°C oven for 4–6 minutes, then cool. Refrigerate the filling and spiced water separately for up to 2 days. The filling can be frozen for 1 month, but freezing the puri or spiced water is not recommended. Do not store filled puri.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Servings
- 6
- Difficulty
- Advanced
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Save to my cookbook — freeIngredients
- 120 gwhite rice flour, finely milled
- 45 gtapioca starch
- 20 gchickpea flour
- 4 gpsyllium husk powder
- ½ tspfine salt
- 1 tspvegetable oil
- 120 mlwater, warm, plus more as needed
- 1 lvegetable oil, for deep-frying
- 400 gpotatoes, peeled and cut into 3 cm chunks
- 120 gchickpeas, cooked and drained
- ½ tspground cumin
- ½ tspgluten-free chaat masala
- ¼ tspKashmiri chilli powder
- ½ tspfine salt
- 2 tbspfresh coriander, finely chopped
- 20 gfresh mint leaves
- 15 gfresh coriander leaves
- 1green chilli, roughly chopped
- 15 gfresh ginger, peeled and sliced
- 45 gpure gluten-free tamarind paste
- 25 gbrown sugar
- 1 tspground cumin
- ½ tspgluten-free chaat masala
- ¾ tspIndian black salt
- 600 mlwater, cold
- 2 tbsplime juice, freshly squeezed
Instructions
- 1Make the dough: Combine the rice flour, tapioca starch, chickpea flour, psyllium and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon oil and 110 ml of the warm water, then mix with a spoon. Once cool enough to handle, knead for 4 minutes until smooth, firm and pliable; if crumbly, add the remaining water 1 teaspoon at a time. Cover tightly and rest for 20 minutes.
- 2Meanwhile, make the filling: Put the potatoes in a 2-litre saucepan, cover with cold water by 3 cm and bring to the boil. Cook over medium heat for 12–15 minutes, until easily pierced with a knife. Drain, leave to steam-dry for 3 minutes, then roughly mash. Fold in the chickpeas, cumin, chaat masala, chilli powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and chopped coriander. Cool to room temperature.
- 3Make the spiced water: Blend the mint, coriander, chilli, ginger, tamarind paste, sugar, cumin, chaat masala, black salt and 150 ml of the cold water into a smooth paste. Add the remaining water and the lime juice, then blend briefly. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, taste and adjust with salt or lime. Chill for at least 20 minutes.
- 4Divide the dough in half and keep one half covered. Roll the other half between two sheets of baking paper to an even thickness of 1–1.5 mm. Remove the top sheet and cut out 5 cm rounds. Transfer them to a tray and immediately cover with a slightly damp tea towel. Gather and reroll the scraps only once, then repeat with the remaining dough; you should have 30–36 rounds.
- 5Heat the frying oil in a 22–24 cm heavy-based saucepan to 190°C. Fry 3–4 rounds at a time: Slide them into the oil and gently hold each one beneath the surface with a slotted spoon for 5–10 seconds, until it puffs. Turn and fry for another 35–50 seconds, until firm and pale golden. Keep the oil at 185–190°C between batches.
- 6Transfer the puri to a wire rack set over a baking tray and leave to cool completely, about 10 minutes. Discard any rounds that remain flat or soft in the centre, as they will not hold the filling and spiced water.
- 7To serve, stir the spiced water well. Crack a small opening in the top of each puri, add 1–2 teaspoons of the potato filling and pour in 1–2 teaspoons of the cold spiced water. Eat immediately in one bite, filling more puri as needed.