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Friday, September 11, 2009

Poori (Indian puffed fried bread)

This is the recipe I taught in today's cooking class. I was impressed with everyone's great Poori rolling! Often the first time someone makes these they come out every shape except round. You were all pro's from the get go! Way to go! :-)
Poori's are a very popular accompaniment to many meals throughout India. They can be eaten with a dinner or even made into a dessert by sprinkling them with powder sugar as they come out of the hot oil. Very simple to make, and its fun to see them puff into ballon-like rounds in the oil. Trick is to roll them dough into a consistent thickness and when frying use the flat back of the spatula to push the poori under the oil as it comes to the surface. When it rises stroke it under again gently to aid it puffing.

Makes approx 16 medium sized Poori's. Takes about 30 mins to prep and cook. (longer if you let the dough rest longer - which is recommended but not essential).

Ingredients
  • 2 cups 1/2 and 1/2 - plain wholewheat flour & white flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp Oil/butter
  • 2/3 - 1 cup warm water - as needed
  • Oil for deep-frying
Method

Combine flours and salt and mix. Add oil and rub into flour til it resembles coarse meal. Add the warm water gradually as you mix it together, as much as you need to form a nice soft but not sticky dough. Turn onto a flat clean surface and knead about 5 mins til smooth. Let it rest 5mins - 3hrs (make sure you cover it with an upturned bowl if you leave it that long so it retains its moisture).

BTW you can also add in fresh Fenugreek (Methi) leaves or other fresh herbs and spices/seasoning into the dough for variety.

When you are ready to use your dough, heat deep-frying oil in a wok or suitable saucepan at medium temperature.

Re-knead and roll into a snake shape. Cut into 16 pieces and roll into smooth balls. Flatten each ball into a small disc in your palms and on a lightly oiled or floured surface use your rolling pin to roll it into a round disc about 4 ish inches wide.

Pat off any excess flour and carefully place into hot oil. (To test if its ready throw a small piece of dough in and if it rises & fizzes its hot enough). The Poori will go to the bottom of the pan and as soon as it rises up again, use a flat spatula to ease it back under the oil. When it puffs, flip it over for a few seconds til light golden and use your spatula to place into a colander to drain. Its helpful to have paper towls in the colander so the excess oil is absorbed.

Serve Poori's hot with a meal or sprinkled with powdered sugar as a dessert. Have fun! :-)

3 comments:

  1. I never knew that making poori is so easy. I will surely give them a try over the weekend.

    Can we use the vegetable oil for frying the pooris??

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  2. Yeah they are super easy to make! Let me know how it goes! :-)

    You can use any oil that is suitable for deep-frying...vegetable oil is generally corn, soya bean or peanut oil. They are all suitable.

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  3. FYI Pure ghee (clarified butter)is great for a rich flavor and according to some 'relatively' more healthy than any of those oils. If you are vegan or prefer not to use ghee, and if you regularly deep-fry foods -- which is never healthy btw -- try to use an organic non-genetically modified oil available from a health store (non GMO is how its usually labelled).

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