Poori or puri is a puffy, fried Indian bread that we Indians serve and eat on special occasions. It's my favorite Indian bread and I make it at least once a month. Learn how to make perfect, round pooris each time with my step-by-step guide.
No feast for any occasion in any part of India would be complete without a poori or puri.
This puffy, deep-fried bread, with its pert, rotund looks and unparalleled delicousness, is deeply beloved by kids and adults. When it makes an appearance at lunch in our home it puts smiles on both Desi's and Jay's faces.
Pooris are super simple to make. The basic dough is similar to that you'd make for a homemade roti, although pooris are rolled out much smaller.
You need just three ingredients for the dough--flour, water and salt--and vegetable oil to deep fry the pooris.
Almost anyone can make a decent poori, but to make a perfect poori that's crisp yet soft, and that puffs up into a perfect round in the hot oil, you need some skill. Practice will definitely help and the more pooris you make, the better you'll get at it.
I'm going to make the process easier for you by sharing the tips and tricks I've learned over years of making this bread. It should help give you a leg up, for sure, and you will soon be turning out perfect pooris faster than you think.
I love serving these pooris with rajma masala, potato masala or chana masala (or serve them with the chickpea curry in this chana bhatura recipe). You can also serve pooris with any spicy, thick curry like vegan keema masala or vegan butter chicken.
Recipe card
Poori or Puri recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat flour (preferably atta flour)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Water for kneading dough (approx 1 cup, although you may need more or less)
- avocado oil or any neutral oil (for frying pooris, to a depth of two inches in the pan)
Instructions
- In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor, mix the flour and salt. Trickle in water and knead until a stiff dough forms. Form the dough into a ball, place it in an airtight container and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.
- Divide the dough into approx 20- 24 balls. You can make bigger or smaller pooris, depending on your preference.
- Roll each ball of dough into a circle, about 3-4 inches in diameter. The pooris should not be too thick nor thin. If they are too thin, they won't puff up.
- Add oil to a wok or deep fryer. The oil should be at least four inches deep - using too little will result in flat pooris.
- Heat the oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/190 degrees Celsius. If you have a candy thermometer or a frying thermometer use it. Another way to test the temperature of the oil is to break off a tiny bit of the dough and put it in the frying pan. If it sinks to the bottom and rises immediately, the oil is hot enough.
- Place a single poori in the center of the wok.
- Use a spider or a spatula to push down the center of the poori into the oil, gently, until the poori begins to puff up.
- Once the poori has puffed up fully, flip it and cook about 30 seconds more.
- Place on a baking sheet or plate lined with paper towels. Eat immediately.
Notes
Ingredient notes:
- Whole wheat flour. Atta, a whole wheat flour sold at Indian stores and online, works best for making roti and puri. Atta is more finely ground that regular whole wheat sold in U.S. stores. You can find it at any Indian grocery store or online.
- Vegetable oil: A flavorless oil that has a high smoke point, like peanut oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, avocado oil or canola oil works best to deep-fry foods like pooris. I usually cook with avocado oil but I keep peanut oil or sunflower oil on hand for deep frying.
Top tip
- Don't add the pooris to the oil before it heats up to the right temperature because that will result in oil-clogged pooris.
Nutrition Information
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My top tips
- Stiff dough: For perfect pooris, you need a stiff dough. A wet dough will result in flat pooris that will also suck in too much oil during deep-frying.
- Rolling: Roll the pooris as evenly thick as you can and don't make them too thin, like a roti. Thinly rolled pooris will not puff up in the hot oil.
- Use the right tools: The heavy rolling pins we use to roll pie crusts are not suitable for Indian breads. Use a lighter rolling pin without ball bearings, like an Indian rolling pin or a French rolling pin, to make pooris.
- Wait for the oil to reach the correct temperature. Fry the pooris in oil heated to 375 degrees F/190 degrees C, or when a tiny bit of dough dropped into the pan rises to the top immediately. Pooris fried in cooler oil will drink in the oil.
- Fry a single poori at a time. Don't rush and overcrowd the pan for best results. Pooris cook quickly, so cook them one at a time for best results.
- Eat pooris right away. This is not a bread you should make now and eat later. Pooris will deflate if kept around for too long. They'll still taste fine but they are at their best when fresh.
- For crispier pooris: use a half and half mix of atta and all-purpose flour.
Pam says
Hi there, thank you for this amazing vegan puri recipe, I love it!
How do I store extra dough for the next day?
Vaishali Honawar says
Hi Pam, store the dough in the fridge in an airtight container. You can store up to three days.
Jessie Humphreys says
Fahrenheit or Celsius?
Vaishali says
Fahrenheit!
greg samas says
use yogurt instead of water-don't rest dough-if you do -puri will absorb too much oil--edges of puri are thinner than center of puri.your friend greg samas