15 Poori Recipes | Indian Poori Bread Recipes | Bhatura Recipe | 4.50/5.0

Best Occasion to Prepare this Recipe

I have lost count of how many times mom mocked us for choosing the same dishes out of a restaurant menu. One day out of curiosity we asked Grandpa what was ma’s favorite restaurant food in her childhood and he said – “She acted as if there was nothing else on the menu other than Poori Aaloo“. Urrgh – double standards! 😐 😛 And frankly, it all added up – Poori Aaloo was always that “something nice” she made for breakfast when we got bored of Idli Dosa! *Find out your mom’s secret-kitchen-weapon!*

Jokes apart, it’s only wrong to DENY that Poori IS an addictive & delicious Indian Tiffen Recipe. You Poori lovers out there – did you know there were 15 different variations of your favorite puffy bread? READ UP!!!

This unleavened deep-fried bread, originating from the Indian subcontinent is typically eaten for breakfast or as a snack or light meal. It is also served at special or ceremonial functions as part of ceremonial rituals along with other vegetarian food offered in prayer as “prasadam” or offering. Puri is often the bread of choice for festivals and special occasions, it is served alongside with sweet accompaniments such as “Kheer” or “Halwa”.

Ever since its origin, Puri has been prepared in numerous varieties, a popular variant of poori being “bhatoora”, which is three times the size of a puri and served with choley (spicy chickpeas). “Thunka puri” is Orissa’s version of Poori. Another variant popular in the state of Uttar Pradesh is “bedmi”. It is a saltier and stiffer version of the regular poori, and is often stuffed with lentils. And finally, the most popular Pani Pooris are smaller and made using the addition of  Rava/sooji (semolina) to the dough.

No, you’re mistaken, that’s not it- there are many many more variations of Poori and I’m going to brain-dump them here. Try all and let me know your favorite!

PS: Poori’s food-spouse is Aloo Bhaaji, they ALWAYS go together. Bhatoore are to be had with Chole

My Top Recipe Recommendations

1. Classic Puffy Soft Poori Recipe– Very straightforward recipe – nothing that you and I are not familiar with, but just that tip to make your poori go puff is one to take a look at
2. Bhatura Recipe – Maida + Yogurt + Rava/Sooji + Baking powder. Bhatura prep is a little long winding requiring fermentation of the key ingredients (typically) overnight
3. Bedmi Poori Recipe – This poori has a slightly more crispier texture than regular pooris, as Rava and Urad dal take over the recipe!
4. Luchi Poori Recipe – Puffy, flaky, crisp and very Bengali Luchi Pooris are made out of Maida as opposed to regular pooris. Try adding Nigella seeds to this recipe!
5. Aaloo Poori / Potato Poori – Very simple yet delicious recipe! Those of you unacquainted with this recipe, aaloo is not stuffed inside the poori, these are Aaloo ke poori (Pooris made from Aaloo). Try adding 1tbsp Rava (for Crispiness in Poori). You can also add Ajwain to this recipe! I add some aamchur powder to my mix as well.
6. Ragi Poori – Healthy and delicious kids lunchbox recipe. Some amount of Wheat flour is needed to be added with the Ragi flour dough for binding. A teaspoon of Rava helps acheive crispy consistency
7. Besan ke Masala Puri – Delicious spicy pooris made from Besan. Rajasthani Poori recipe – a must try!
8. Makki Methi Poori / Corn Flour’s Methi Pooris – Very delicious given that you can eat it plain/ with green chutney.
9. Spinach Poori / Palak Poori – Loaded with spices and goodness of spinach, one way to feed iron to your kid in his favorite fried bread
10. Beetroot Poori – Another non traditional healthy kids lunchbox recipe!
11. Paneer Poori– Very filling breakfast/tiffen recipe made with shredded Paneer + Wheat flour and all the spices. You can also add in Spinach Puree to make this “palak Paneer Poori”
12. Green Peas Masala Poori– Add green chilies in the right proportion with Green Peas to bump-up spice units
13. Tomato Poori – Yes- tomato puree, ajwain and Kasuri Methi go great together!
14. Jodhpuri Moong Dal ke Poori – Very innovate and unique tasting recipe. Soaked Moong Dal, Spring onions, Cumin Seeds and Ginger are blended and added with flour to make the dough
15. Pani Poori / Mini Pooris – All credits go to Sooji Rava, Baking soda and kneading the dough right!

My Improv & Notes

Here are some notes before you jump into preparing Pooris at home today:

• I add in a teaspoon of hot oil while kneading the dough. Oil helps the dough not to dry out, you need your dough to be soft and non crusty.
• Be cautious of the leaving the dough wrapped in a Muslin cloth for about 15 mins. Poori dough should not be too stiff nor too soft – it should be a little stiffer than chapati dough. Do not allow the dough to sit for too long as it will soak up lot of oil. So start making pooris as soon as the dough is ready
• Apply oil to dough ball rather that dusting flour so that while frying, the oil stays clean and you won’t see dark burnt flour particles inside the oil
• The puris are usually made smaller than chapattis and a little thicker so they can puff up
• Have you fried Papad/Vadaam? Same principle applies to making Pooris. That is, test the Oil temperature to see if it’s hot enough for your Poori dough to sizzle and come to the top. Make sure that it’s not too hot to char the dough to dark brown color
• Some people use Ghee instead of oil for frying – Pooris puff up to the same amount either which way

Restaurants Serving Best Poori in Bay Area

• Delhiwaala Chaat
• Madras Cafe
• Chaat Bhavan
• Satkar Indian Cuisine
• Udipi Palace San Francisco
• Dakshin San Francisco
• Little Delhi San Francisco