Bhel puri belongs to a class of Indian street foods popularly known as chaat. A chaat food hits every element of the taste (sweet, sour and tangy) with a melange of flavors & textures. Indians across the world love chaats and bhel puri is one of the most loved by kids and grownups alike.
About Bhel Puri
Bhel puri is a popular Mumbai street food where crispy puffed rice is tossed with sweet tamarind chutney, spicy green chutney, hot pungent garlic chutney, onions, tomatoes, roasted peanuts, sev and chaat masala. Lastly it is garnished with coriander leaves, crunchy sev and crushed papdis. There are numerous ways a bhel puri is made. The simplest being the dry bhel known as sukha bhel which is made with only one kind of chutney known as sukhi chutney/ dry chutney. The more popular version known as geeli bhel is made with 2 to 3 basic kinds of chutneys which not only add zing and punch of flavours to the bhel puri but also turns it to a mouth-watering addictive snack. More often you will find bhel puri made with just 2 chutneys – sweet tamarind chutney and spicy green chutney. The red chutney is just substituted with red chili powder. But actually it is this pungent red garlic chutney that transforms a normal bhel puri to the best. In this post I share 3 easy chutneys which you can make instantly and the whole recipe from scratch comes together under 30 minutes. You can also use the store bought sweet tamarind chutney if you have. But fresh green chutney makes a lot of difference so I insist you make it fresh and use up within a day or 2. Green chutney provides heat so normally the heat level and the flavour of green chilies is more here than the green chutney we usually make to serve with snacks. For this normally 2 kinds of green chillies are used for the flavour & heat, the spicy kind and the less spicy kind are combined. However you are free to add the regular green chutney like the way I used here. Jhaal muri and churumuri are two similar snacks & are also very popular in other regions of India. More popular Snacks Recipes, Samosa Veg cutlet Aloo tikki Hara bhara kabab
Preparation For Bhel Puri Recipe
I always prefers serving fresh homemade foods to my family. So I make the chutneys all on the same day I intend to make the chaats. But I do refrigerate the left over tamarind & red chutney. Use them up to make other kinds of chaat like Dahi vada, papdi chaat & aloo chaat So for convenience you can very well, make all the chutneys ahead and refrigerate. The recipe of chaat chutneys has been shared below. For detailed versions of the same you can check these posts on Tamarind chutney and Green chutney. Next roast the peanuts and store them in a air tight jar to retain the crunch. You can buy the puffed rice, papdis & sev from the Indian grocery stores just like the way I did. Locally made sev & papdis smell & taste fresh. Just before you begin to make the bhel puri, chop the potato to half inch cubes. Boil them with water in a small pot. Alternately you may simply air fry them until golden and crisp. Meanwhile chop the onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves & green chilies. Once the above preparation is done, you will finish making bhel puri under 5 mins.
Make Chutney
Green chutney To make green chutney, add the following to a grinder jar¾ cup coriander leaves¼ cup mint leaves1 to 2 green chili (8 to 10 low heat green chilies if you prefer)¼ inch ginger1 small garlic (optional)¼ teaspoon salt½ teaspoon jeera powder (roasted cumin powder)1 tablespoon fried gram (or roasted peanuts or coconut)2 teaspoons lemon juice2 tablespoons water Blend it as smooth as possible. Scrape the sides and then pour water as much required to make a thick green chutney. You should have a thick chutney. Don’t make it runny as we don’t want soft and too moist bhel puri. Tamarind chutney To make tamarind chutney or sweet sour chutney, to a small sauce pan, add2 to 3 tablespoons tamarind paste3 to 4 tablespoons jaggery¼ teaspoon red chilli powder¼ teaspoon salt (or black salt)½ teaspoon jeera powder1/8 teaspoon or 2 pinches of ginger powder1/8 teaspoon fennel powder (saunf powder)If you do not have tamarind paste, boil 2 tablespoons tamarind in little water until soft. Let cool down and then squeeze & pass through a filter to extract the paste. Use that here to make the chutney. Then pour 4 tablespoons (¼ cup water) to the pan. Mix all of them. Simmer until thick. This takes only a few minutes but this simmering process brings out the flavor of the spices. Taste test and add salt or spice if required. Turn off when the tamarind chutney is thick yet of pouring consistency like shown in the picture below. Red chutney To make red chutney, add the following to a small grinder jar (chutney jar):1 ½ tablespoon red chilli powder (or 10 soaked and deseeded red chilies)4 to 5 garlic cloves (small to medium)
¼ teaspoon salt1 teaspoon sugar¼ teaspoon cumin powder
Pour 2 to 3 tablespoons water and squeeze 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Blend until smooth adding more water as required. Taste test and adjust salt, sugar and lemon juice. This red chutney should be pungent, hot, sweet and sour.
How To Make Bhel Puri
- I usually cut open a fresh pack of puffed rice when I make chaat recipes bhel puri, churumuri or jhaal muri. If the puffed rice is not crispy then dry roast them until crisp. Cool and then add them to a mixing bowl.
- Add the boiled potatoes. I cube the potato and boil in 2 cups of water until just cooked. Drained the water and cooled completely. Potatoes must be dry and not moist. Then added them here.
- Then add in onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves & green chilies.
- Toss them well. Then add tamarind chutney. I begin with a small quantity of chutneys as you cannot undo if it becomes too sour or sweet. I also feel too much chutneys or too thin chutneys will make the bhel too soggy very quickly. So add them as needed after tasting.
- Add red chutney. If you do not have red chutney just replace with some chilli powder.
- Next add in green chutney.
- Mix to coat the chutneys all over the puffed rice. I added more of all the chutneys. Sprinkle chaat masala and salt if needed.
- Add roasted peanuts, crushed papdis & sev. Gently mix. Transfer bhel puri immediately to serving plates. Top with more sev and papdis.
Pro tips
These tips will help your bhel to stay crisp for longer. However do note that it tastes best as soon as it is made.
Firstly ensure puffed rice is crisp if not roast them until crisp. Cool completely before using.Secondly keep the consistency of the chutneys thick & not runny. This prevents the bhel puri from turning soggy too quickly.Lastly do not add too much chutney at one time. Add a bit mix and then add more only as needed until you get the taste you desire. Always add the crispies – sev, peanuts & papdis towards the end. Taste test sev and papdis first before using to ensure they don’t smell rancid.
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