Poori Bhaji or Puri Bhaji, a popular Maharashtrian combination of aloo bhaji or batata bhaji with fluffy, golden whole wheat breads called pooris, is eaten at picnics, weddings and everywhere in between. It is a delicious dish and it sits at the very top of India's long list of comfort foods.
Poori Bhaji (puri bhaji) is about as delicious as Indian food gets: and by that I mean pick-your-fingernails-with-your-teeth-to-devour-every-last-crumb delicious.
This is pure comfort food: the kind that gets made at every festive occasion in an Indian kitchen, no matter where in the world that kitchen is. The kind that kids carry to picnic lunches, the oil from the poori making transparent blotches on the newspaper it’s wrapped in. And the kind I feel like eating when I will settle for nothing short of pure perfection at the dinner table.
It wouldn’t be stretching the truth to say that there are perhaps as many versions of Poori Bhaji as there are Indian cooks. Although the poori, or the puffy, deep-fried bread, remains more or less the same except the addition of spices in some cases, the bhaji, or the vegetable component, varies drastically. It’s almost always made with potatoes but everyone puts their own delicious spin on the versatile spud: gravied, dry, spicy, mild, tangy with lemon, or alive with the spicy pungency of curry leaves.
When I lived in Bombay, one of the most popular places to go to if you were craving a plate of Poori Bhaji was Pancham Puriwala, a famously crowded and unpretentious dhaba/restaurant that sits not far from the grand Victoria Terminus railway station. According to Busybee, the now-dead but still-entertaining chronicler of Bombay’s eateries, it predates the British-era VT building and was started by an immigrant from Agra in north India who singlehandedly cooked and sold his Poori Bhaji more than 150 years ago.
The Pancham I was familiar with had grown into a much bigger establishment, but it still sold nothing but poori bhaji. Hundreds of people who worked around the busy Fort area would pour into the restaurant for lunch. It was -- if I remember correctly-- a salt-of-the-earth establishment with hardy wooden tables flanked by long benches. There’d be some pickles at the center of the table to spice up the meal. The place was intensely noisy and crowded and hot and humid -- a microcosm of the city itself-- but you could be sure to get your order fast from one of the super-efficient waiters for a truly nominal price.
I loved the atmosphere, but I never really acquired the taste and fascination for Pancham Puriwala that some of my friends had-- perhaps because I had tasted better in my mom’s kitchen.
We Maharashtrians tend to make a dryer version of the potato bhaji-- at my parents’ house, the Bhaji was always an ultra-simple, yellow-hued delicacy specked with the green fire of fresh chillies, the lemony bite of coriander, and the smokiness of cumin seeds. It was a dish you couldn’t help but love.
I’ve posted a detailed tutorial on how to make poori before, so I am just going to send you to that link. My poori bhaji is exactly like the one my family made, only for the bhaji, instead of adding the curry leaves whole and then discarding them as some people do, I chop them into small bits and saute them along with the onions because I love how they complement the potatoes in each bite. And I also mash my potatoes a little because that way they are perfect to scoop up with the pooris. The potatoes also get a little bit crusty that way.
Here it is, a recipe that can make any day-- however humdrum-- just a little more special. Enjoy!
Try these recipes next:
- Pav Bhaji
- Tawa Pulao
- Jeera Aloo (Stir-fried Potatoes with Cumin)
- Crispy Baked Potato Vadas (No added fat)
- Easy Vegan Grilled Naan
Poori Bhaji
Ingredients
- 5 medium potatoes (boiled in their jackets and diced. You don't have to peel the potatoes if organic. Russets or yellor or red potatoes are all fine--russets will mash more easily and will become crustier)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- A pinch asafetida (hing)
- 1 medium onion , finely diced
- 2 green chili peppers (like jalapeno or serrano, minced)
- 1 tablespoon ginger (grated)
- 10-15 curry leaves (chopped)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- Salt to taste
- ¼ cup cilantro
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
For serving
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a skillet.
- Add the cumin seeds and asafetida. When the seeds sputter, add the onions and curry leaves and green chillies and saute until the onion turns transparent, about five minutes on medium heat.
- Add the ginger and turmeric and saute a few more seconds. Add the potatoes and stir them in to combine with the oil and spices.
- Mash down the potatoes with a potato masher or a heavy ladle so some of the pieces break up but others remain mostly intact. You want the potatoes to start turning slightly golden and crusty at the bottom of the pan.
- Add salt and lemon juice and mix well. Garnish with the coriander seeds or, if you like, some grated coconut.
Recipe notes
Nutrition
Love this puri bhaji recipe? Check out more Marathi recipes on Holy Cow Vegan!
Angela Coriale
I don’t see a quantity for asafetida.
Vaishali
Just a pinch! No more than an eighth of a teaspoon---the asafetida is very strong and you just need it for the umami. 🙂
The Chubby Vegan
This looks delicious! Those puffed pooris are so cool too. I think I need an invite to your house! 🙂
Chitra
wowooow, i droool over tat puffed pooris.. Referred poori post too. next time will try this combo 🙂
Uj
This post tempted me so much that we made poori for breakfast the next day.. 🙂 After long time I had poori with kurma 🙂 Lovely clicks
Vidya
Perfect pooris! The bhaji sounds very similar to what my mom makes.
Julia
I've never had this before. Looks delicious!
maya
All time favorite.Never tried with dash of lemon juice .Anyways it is so inviting and wouldn't be surprised being weekend I make Poori Baaji for dinner tonight.
Priya
Delicious bhaji, makes me hungry...fluffy poori looks damn pretty.
J
Some places I find curry leaves:
Sri Lankan or Indian grocery/spice stores (not always displayed, so ask.)
International supermarkets--the big ones comparable in size to regular supermarkets. It doesn't matter if they appear to be mainly catering to a Korean or Hispanic demographic, they all have them (on most days, at least in Northern Virginia, they all carry them). Sold in bunches or packaged in cling-wrap topped shallow packaging (like meat packaging.) Only thing is, most employees won't be able to help you locate them. If you don't know what they look like, approach a shopper who looks South Asian and ask for help.
I don't advice vegans to go to the Korean and other North/East Asian supermarkets if they can help it because of all the live animals waiting for their death. When I go, I try and stick to the fresh produce/freezer areas only, but still it's hard to avoid seeing the sad sights and they occupy a large area of the store. I always come out feeling depressed and down.
Goemkar
Your bhaji looks delicious. I make it often and the recipe is very similar to yours, but I use mustard seeds, too. They go in the oil before anything else.
For the pooris, I add a wee bit of semolina for crispiness. I knead and divide the dough, my five year old presses them using a 6" chapatti press and the wife fries them.
Laavanya
That IS comfort food and it screams lazy SUnday breakfast to me... Infact my daughter is screaming 'poori poori' (it's one of her favorite dishes) after peeking at the screen and wants me to make it now!
rekhas kitchen
My all time favorite looks so tempting and beautiful pictures.
Vaishali
Skay, Rachana, Manasi, Happy Cook, Ameya, Sharmila, Thanks!
Ellen, Welcome! I would advise putting the curry leaves in ice trays, adding water, and then freezing them. When you need them, thaw and use. If you freeze them on their own they would thaw out dark and soggy.
Ellen
Ah, if only it were easier to find curry leaves. When I do find them, which is rare, can I freeze them?
I love your blog - your recipes are either gluten free or adaptable to be gluten free - a real plus for me and my blog readers!
~Ellen
Sharmila
What a colossal structure Vaishali! And how beautifully captured! Love every shot. And for puri bhaji ... an absolute fav ... your dish tempts me to make some for breakfast this Sat morning. 🙂
Ameya
Aloo puri is always a favorite 🙂 Looks delicious!!
Manasi
I love the pooris 🙂 pillows..
I have had m y fill at Pancham Pooriwala when my parents were working in VT, sitting on the 'bakda', hehe!
I love the St.L Arch too, we went there in the summer and loved it. Wish I could have taken beautiful snaps as u guys did 🙂
Happy Cook
I am in love with your puris woa they have puffed up so much, inddeed a comfort food.
Rachana
Puri bhaji is comfort food...Yumm!!!!
Skay
Ahh my forever favorite! I absolutely love this dish, reading your recipe brought back fantastic memories of learning to cook this at a Marathi friend's place. Thank you, Vaishali!