Delicious Pooris

Delicious Pooris

Pooris are deep fried delicacies that are usually made with whole wheat flour. The ingredients are just a few. But the process involves a little effort. You may notice that my recipe here has 24 steps, which seems to suggest that making pooris is a laborious process. In fact, it is not so. Sometimes, I have broken down one step into several steps, just to illustrate the various items or utensils used for the step. The process itself is not that complicated, especially when you get used to it.

I have provided two sets of instructions to prepare the dough for the Pooris. One is using a food processor, the other is by hand, the old-fashioned way. Choose the one that you prefer. I have also provided a slide show depicting many of the steps.

Delicious Pooris

Delicious Pooris

Delicious Pooris

Serves 2 - 3
Cook time 20 minutes
Dietary Diabetic, Vegan, Vegetarian
Meal type Lunch, Main Dish
Misc Child Friendly, Gourmet, Serve Hot
Region Indian

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups Wheat Flour (Finely sifted whole wheat flour)
  • 3 cups Water (Very warm or slightly hot water)
  • 4 cups Oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt

Optional

  • 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder (don't use baking soda)

Note

Serving Suggestions:
1) Serve hot with a suitable vegetable side dish curry, or jam.
2) There are a lot of side dishes on this website that will be great with Pooris. But I have mentioned a few below. Click on the recipe.They are as follows:
    a) Delicious Koftas
    b) Cauliflower Chaat Masala
    c) Spinach/Palak with Mung Dahl
    d) Channa Masala

Options:
1) You can make the Pooris later. But keep the dough covered until you are ready to make the Pooris. Make sure the dough does not get dry. If it gets dry, use a moist paper towel and place it on top of the dough and close the lid.
2) You can reheat the Pooris in the microwave oven.

Directions

Preparing the flour for the dough
Step 1

Add 2 cups of finely sifted whole wheat flour in a medium bowl. Add salt and baking powder. Mix well.

Making the dough using a Food Processor
Step 2
Use the Dough Blade on the Food Processor.
Step 3

Add the flour mix to the Food Processor. Add 2 tablespoons of oil. Use very warm or hot water. Add 1/2 cup of water to start with. Start the food processor's pulse action. If very dry, add a little water at a time, but not too much. Pulse again.

Step 4

Repeat Step 6 until the dough becomes like a ball and rolls around in the container of the food processor. The dough should not stick to the sides. If the dough is sticky, add more wheat flour to the food processor and pulse again.

Step 5

Remove the dough ball from the food processor and place it in a bowl. Coat the dough ball with a little oil. Cover the bowl with a lid and set aside for about 15 minutes.

Making the dough by hand
Step 6

In order to prepare the dough by hand, you can knead the dough in a bowl, or you can use a wood block.

Step 7

Add 4 tablespoons of oil into the bowl with the flour mix. Use very warm or hot water. Add 1/2 cup of water to start with. Knead the dough with your hand. Kneading means pressing the dough with your fingers, or the back of your hand, and squeezing it to together to make a large, round ball, but not sticky.

Step 8

If very dry, add a little water at a time, but not too much. Knead again. You can transfer the dough on to a wood block and knead with both hands.

Step 9

The dough should not be sticky. If it is, add more wheat flour and knead again until you get a nice, pliable, soft dough ball. Coat the dough ball with a little oil. Cover the bowl with a lid and set aside for about 15 minutes.

Preparing the Pooris
Step 10
You can use a wok to fry the Pooris.
Step 11
Instead of the wok, you can use a wide, deep sauce pan.
Step 12

Place the wok or pan on medium heat. Add the oil to the pan. Add 4 cups of oil. With experience, you can decide whether to use less or more oil. There should be enough oil in the wok or pan, to hold a 6 inch flattened poori.

Step 13

On a wood block, have a rolling pin ready. Have half a cup of finely sifted whole wheat flour ready.

Step 14

Take a small roll of dough from the dough bowl and place it on a plate. Leave the rest of the dough in the bowl and cover it. Don't let it dry up.
Make small balls out of the roll of dough you just took out. They can be as small or as large, proportional to the size of the pooris you want, or the wok/pan you are using, or the amount of oil used.
Note: If you are a novice, you should start with small dough balls. You will have better results that way.

Step 15

Sprinkle a little wheat flour on the wood block. Spread it around. Place one small dough ball on the wood block.

Step 16

Using the rolling pin, first flatten the dough ball (raw poori) a little, and then a little more.

Step 17

Gently flatten the raw poori into a circle of about 4 inches diameter. Don't put too much pressure. You can dip the poori in wheat flour, or sprinkle some more on the poori, if the rolling pin sticks to the dough. Don't make it too thin; then the poori will come out crispy, and may not puff up when you deep fry it. With experience, this will get easier.

Step 18

Note: One useful technique is to gently roll the rolling pin on the dough ball (raw poori), only along the edges. Avoid pressing the dough in the center. As you flatten the edges, lift and turn the poori around, little by little, and continue gently expanding the poori along the edges. This is definitely essential for making Roti or chapati, which is larger than a poori.

Frying the Pooris
Step 19

Check if the oil is hot enough. The oil should be hot, but not smoking. Drop a tiny piece of dough into the oil. The dough should fry immediately and come up to the surface. If it lies in the oil without getting fried, that means the oil is not hot enough.

Step 20

Have a large container lined up with paper towels. Have a flat skimmer or a spatula ready.

Step 21

When the oil is hot, gently slide the raw poori into the oil. When the poori is slowly rising to the surface, hold it down in the oil, with a skimmer. This helps the Poori to puff up.

Step 22

When it puffs up fully, turn it around with the skimmer without breaking it.
Note: Sometimes, the Poori may not puff up fully. In that case, it is enough it is puffs up partially. One other thing; the pooris may not retain their puffiness after a while.

Step 23

After a couple of seconds, remove it with the skimmer and place in the container lined up with paper towels. The color and quality of the pooris may vary, depending upon the type of wheat flour and oil you use.

Delicious Pooris
Step 24

Serve hot with a suitable vegetable side dish curry, or jam.

Delicious Pooris
Veggie Paneer Masala Curry
Delicious Easy Rava Kesari Dessert

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