I will walk you through a complete guide to Making a Perfect Poori Recipe. Poori is an unleavened deep-fried Indian bread commonly made weekly in all Indian homes. Popularly, these pooris are enjoyed with poori masala and aloo puri. The Pooris are either made with whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour. They are crispy and puffy when fried and are delicious.
Aloo poori is my favorite meal to eat any day! I love carbs, I bet you can tell if you are a regular reader, haha. Pooris were a weekly affair growing up. I don't prefer to deep-fry often, so I make them only for special occasions. A perfect poori is crisp on the top, soft on the bottom, and puffs up beautifully while frying.
I am going to share a few tips and tricks on how to make perfect pooris at home. I have been making pooris for over a decade so I think I know what I am talking about. This poori recipe is made with whole wheat flour, salt, oil, water and, oil for deep frying. It is an easy recipe to follow and if you will knead the perfect dough and roll the puris you will make perfect puris.
Jump to:
- What is a Puri?
- Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients to Make This Puri Recipe
- How to Make Perfect Poori Recipe
- Expert Tips to Make Perfect Poori Recipe
- Serving Suggestions
- Variations of This Poori Recipe
- Troubleshooting
- Storage Instructions
- More Recipes You Might Like From The Blog
- Poori Recipe | How to Make Perfect Pooris
What is a Puri?
Poori are unleavened deep-fried Indian breads usually made with whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour. Pooris are such a delightful treat, and their variations make them even more interesting. The addition of sooji (semolina) helps with the texture, giving them a bit of a crunch. Sugar is a nice touch too; it can enhance the color and add a subtle sweetness. Some families also incorporate spices like cumin or ajwain for added flavor. How do you like to enjoy your pooris?
There are 4 key steps to making perfect puris.
- Kneading the Puri Dough
- Resting the Dough for Gluten to Form
- Rolling the Puris
- Deep Frying the Puris
You might also like Kuttu ki Puri and Bhature recipes.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- The recipe is simple and delicious
- This recipe is naturally vegan
- It is perfect to celebrate and make for festivals
Ingredients to Make This Puri Recipe
We only use 4 ingredients to make this recipe. It is easy, fast, and delicious. Although, it takes practice to make perfect puris, and I bet with my recipe, tips and, tricks you will be able to make perfect pooris.
Whole Wheat Flour - I use whole wheat flour to make the puri recipe, as it is most commonly used in puri recipes, and a staple flour to use for everyday cooking.
Salt - We will season this dough with salt because otherwise, the puris don't taste as good.
Oil - We will be using some oil for kneading the dough, and later more oil for deep frying the pooris.
Water - We will be using warm or room temperature water to knead the poori dough, as it helps the flour to come together quickly, and makes soft delicious puris.
How to Make Perfect Poori Recipe
Every flatbread is typically a three or four-part recipe. It includes kneading the dough, proofing the dough, rolling the bread, and cooking the bread. I have broken down this recipe into 4 parts for easy understanding.
Knead the Dough
Add 2 cups of whole wheat flour in a wide mixing bowl. To this add ¾th teaspoon of oil and half a teaspoon of salt. Mix it well.
Now make a well in the center and add some water. You will have to mix flour and water using your fingers.
This will hydrate your dough, which will help your pooris to puff up, the water in the dough will become steam when fried. This will help your pooris puff up.
Add water as little as you need. We need a firm yet soft dough to make pooris.
Once the dough comes together, rub oil between your palms, and start to knead until it forms a dough ball. This should take you about 3 minutes.
Resting The Dough
Cover and rest the dough for just 5 minutes.
A very well-rested dough may soak more oil while frying the puris.
Once the dough is rested, make 25 equally-sized dough balls. Cover them so the dough doesn't dry.
Roll The Pooris
You will not need to flour your surface for rolling the pooris. As we knead a tighter dough that rotis, these roll well without dusting the surface with flour.
Roll each portion into a small circle, about 4-5 inches in diameter. Try to keep them even in thickness.
In a deep frying pan or kadhai, heat enough oil for deep frying. The oil should be hot but not smoking (about 350°F or 180°C).
Lay all the rolled puris on a baking sheet.
Deep-Fry the Pooris
Test if the oil is ready by pinching a small piece of dough and adding it to the oil. If the oil is hot enough the dough will sizzle and rise immediately. If the oil is not hot enough it will take a while before the dough rises.
Carefully slide one rolled poori into the hot oil.
It should puff up quickly.
Gently press the poori with a slotted spoon to help it puff up evenly.
Fry until golden brown on both sides, about 1-2 minutes.
Remove the poori and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining rolled puris.
Serve the Puris with Halwa, Chane and Aloo ki Sabzi.
Expert Tips to Make Perfect Poori Recipe
Making the Dough - The puri dough shouldn't be too soft and sticky. It should be firm and tight in texture.
Adding Water to Knead the Dough - I feel it depends on the quality of flour you are using to make the dough. So add a little water as needed to knead the dough. About 1-2 tablespoons of water at a time until the dough comes together.
Kneading the Dough - You only want to knead the dough for a couple of minutes until it becomes smooth and uniform. Over kneading the dough will make it very soft like roti dough and then pooris won't come out perfectly.
Resting the Dough - The puri dough needs to rest only for 5 minutes. The longer it rests, it hydrates, which will result in oily pooris.
Rolling The Puris - You want to roll the Puris with an even pressure into small discs. The puris should be round approximately 4-5 inches in diameter. Make sure you roll the pooris that are not too thick or thin. Thin puris come out crispy while very thick puris won't puff up and soak up too much oil.
Frying the Pooris - The oil should be hot enough to fry the pooris, but also not smoking hot. Adjust the temperature of the oil while frying the pooris, turning it to low if the oil becomes smoking hot. And turning it on high if the oil is not hot enough. If you fry the pooris in oil that is not hot enough, the pooris will turn out to be very oily.
Serving Suggestions
Puris taste best with delicious sides of aloo ki sabzi, chane, boondi raita, and halwa. I am posting this recipe during Navratri, so this thali is what I typically make on Ashtmi.
You can also serve my Aloo Baigan with this recipe, along with Gujarati kadhi and Shrikhand.
I love to enjoy these pooris with Amrakhand (Mango Shrikhand) during the summers.
Variations of This Poori Recipe
- You can add spices like red chili powder, turmeric, and cumin seeds to make masala puris.
- I also like to add fresh methi along with ajwain and spices to make methi puris.
- Add beetroot or spinach puree to knead the dough to make spinach and beetroot puris
Troubleshooting
Very Wet And Soft Dough - Add more whole wheat flour to make the dough tight and firm. If the dough is very soft and wet, you won't be able to roll the puris properly, and will soak too much oil while deep frying.
Very Dry and Crumbly Flour Mix - Add 1 tablespoon of water and start kneading the dough until the dough comes together.
Pooris not Puffing - There are two main factors why your puris won't puff. The first one is rolling the puri. Roll your puris not too thin nor too thick. And make sure when you fry them the oil is hot and puris rise immediately. If not, then the puris won't puff and will turn out very oily.
Storage Instructions
Store the leftover puris at room temperature in a tortilla warmer for 2 days. We enjoy these puris the next day with some dry snacks or a mixture for breakfast.
More Recipes You Might Like From The Blog
Poori Recipe | How to Make Perfect Pooris
These nutrional values are automatically generated. Use them for estimation only.
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Wholewheat Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Oil used in 2 parts
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- ¾ Cup Water
- Oil For Deep Frying
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Add 2 cups of whole wheat flour in a wide mixing bowl. To this add ¾th teaspoon of oil and half a teaspoon of salt. Mix it well.
- Now make a well in the center and add some water. You will have to mix flour and water using your fingers.
- This will hydrate your dough, which will help your pooris to puff up, the water in the dough will become steam when fried. This will help your pooris puff up.
- Add water as little as you need. We need a firm yet soft dough to make pooris.
- Once the dough comes together, rub ¼ teaspoon of oil between your palms, and start to knead until it forms a dough ball. This should take you about 3 minutes.
Rest the Dough
- Cover and rest the dough for just 5 minutes.
- A very well-rested dough may soak more oil while frying the puris.
- Once the dough is rested, make 25 equally-sized dough balls. Cover them so the dough doesn't dry.
Roll The Puris
- You will not need to flour your surface for rolling the pooris. As we knead a tighter dough that rotis, these roll well without dusting the surface with flour.
- Roll each portion into a small circle, about 4-5 inches in diameter. Try to keep them even in thickness.
- In a deep frying pan or kadhai, heat enough oil for deep frying. The oil should be hot but not smoking (about 350°F or 180°C).
Frying The Puris
- Test if the oil is ready by pinching a small piece of dough and adding it to the oil. If the oil is hot enough the dough will sizzle and rise immediately. If the oil is not hot enough it will take a while before the dough rises.
- Carefully slide one rolled poori into the hot oil.
- It should puff up quickly.
- Gently press the poori with a slotted spoon to help it puff up evenly.
- Fry until golden brown on both sides, about 1-2 minutes.
- Remove the poori and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining rolled puris.
- Serve the Puris with Halwa, Chane and Aloo ki Sabzi.
Your Thoughts