Poori - Puris

Everyone in my house loves Poori, and it is our favorite bread of all Indian bread.

There is something magical about that crispy yet soft Poori that makes you fall in love with them instantly.

Poori is the Vedic bread for entertaining—from a party of six to a crowd of six hundred. Once the dough is made, puris can be rolled and cooked one after another in a matter of minutes.

 Now, this gluten-free one is a labor of love:: why you ask because to make gluten-free.
Poori, that tastes almost better than the original, and to have everyone in the family vote a big yes for it 😉yes, I said it tastes better than your original was a herculean task, and you just have to try to believe it. 

Though Poori is generally made from whole wheat flour, especially in Northern India, I made this with my gluten-free flour blend, and it tastes delicious.
These are made with sorghum, tapioca potato flours. All of them are gluten-free and typically available in grocery stores.
Each has its own place, but if the tapioca or potato flour is unavailable, you can add oat instead, but the taste will be slightly different. 

My kids love them so much that they can start eating right as I make them. Don't blame them; those warm puffy pooris are just too irresistible.

 Having said that, even though we love it, I tend to make it only for special occasions, festivals, or weekends since it's fried food after all. 

 From bazaar stalls to campsite festival kitchens, traveling through India, it is customary to see a bowl-shaped iron karahi resting on a single-burner stove. Two or three men gather around the stove and cook Poori after Poori, which is served, still filled with steam, in cups made from leaves.

 The dough is almost the same as that for chapatis, with only minor changes. A little less water is added, so it is a firmer dough, and it is shortened with a touch of oil and salted to bring out the flavor.

Practice makes these better Initially, your pooris may be oblong or elongated, but they will balloon and taste delicious at the right temperature if carefully fried.
 If you are new to pooris, I suggest rolling them out ahead of time and giving all your attention to last-minute frying. This recipe yields 15 standard-size pooris takes no more than a half-hour of rolling and frying time. 

If possible, schedule frying pooris just before serving. In a pinch, they can be held in a warm oven for up to ½ hour. After that, the bread loses its sheen, softens, and is called bassi—tired or deflated bread.
They are frequent traveling companions for train journeys, park or seaside outings, and lunch boxes in this still form.
Enjoy ❤️

Ingredients

INGREDIENTS

1 cup sorghum flour

  1/2 cup tapioca flour 

  1/3 cup potato flour 

 1 tea spoon xanthan gum 

  1/2 tea spoon salt 

   2 table spoon kasuri methi ( optional )

 Water – 1/ 2 cup

 Oil for deep frying and 1 tea spoon extra to cover the dough .

Directions

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl, except water.

2. Slowly add in water as you knead, making sure that the dough is medium soft. You may need to adjust the quantity of water a little. When I make the dough, I always think of PLAY DOUGH- not too dry, not too wet.

3. Knead well—all gluten-free flours require a little bit more care and extra kneading.

4. Drizzle a little oil on the dough to coat, cover, and allow it to rest for at least 15 minutes.

5. Divide dough into 15 balls. If you want smaller pooris, you may want to make more balls 

6. Place tapioca flour on a plate nearby.

7. Take one ball, flatten it slightly with your palms, and dust it lightly with tapioca flour.

8. Place it on a rolling surface and roll with a rolling pin into a small round a little thicker than chapattis. Because of the xantham gum, we do not need to use any plastic wrap while rolling puris.

9. Roll out each ball separately and place rolled-out pooris on a clean plate.

10. Meanwhile, heat oil in a small wok.

11. Test for readiness by dropping a small portion of dough into it, and it should sizzle and rise to the surface.

12. Carefully slide puri into the hot oil.

13. Press the pooris gently into the oil, then move the frying spoon in such a way that the oil from the sides gets poured over the puri as it cooks and balloons a little.

14. Flip the puri onto the reverse side and allow it to cook in the oil for 10 seconds or so.

15. Flip again and make sure that both sides of the poori are golden brown.

16. Remove from wok and place on the paper towel so that excess oil drains away.

17. Repeat steps until all puris are fried. Serve hot. We eat them with Punjabi Chola or potato curry also on the blog.

Enjoy !!