Pooris (puri) are one of the most popular Indian bread out there. These deep-fried, fluffy rounds can be eaten for breakfast or lunch and are typically consumed with vegetable curries. Sometimes pooris are also paired with Indian rice pudding kheer or seviya and even the popular dessert halwa. No matter what you pair them with, fresh, hot pooris are delightful to bite into and no one can stop at just one. The moment you tear a piece of the fluffy and soft pooris, your mouth is sure to start salivating. The process of dipping the piece of crispy poori in curry and then popping it into your mouth is nothing short of therapeutic. All that talk of dieting and weight loss is likely to disappear in a puff of smoke, the moment someone punctures a fluffy round of poori near you.
Although pooris (puri) are definite crowd-pleasers and can make just about anyone drool like a baby, they are not very easy to prepare. The dough of the poori is of utmost importance for anyone wanting to churn out perfectly crisp, soft and fluffy pooris. Even if you make your dough just right, you are likely to mess up on either crispiness or level of doneness or your pooris may turn out to be flat, instead of bubbly. However, there are some tips and tricks that all pro-level cooks may know of, that can help you churn out hot, fluffy and perfect pooris every single time.
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Indian Cooking Tips: How To Make Perfect Pooris
1. For Soft Dough
It's important to get the dough right so that your pooris are not dry and tough. Poori dough is quite different from roti or chapatti dough and it contains, in addition to wheat flour and water, milk and oil/ghee as well. Make sure your milk is lukewarm and add a bit of oil as well, so that your dough is soft and stretchy.
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2. For Crispy Pooris
The dough for pooris can get a nice, crumbly texture by adding a single ingredient to the mix - semolina or sooji. This ensures that the pooris get a crispy exterior when they are fried in oil. Adding ghee to the dough can also ensure a nice and crispy exterior.
3. For Less Oily Pooris
There are some simple tricks to make pooris absorb less oil. This includes keeping the consistency of your dough a bit tough. Avoid making your dough very runny or very hard. Secondly, add a bit of salt to your oil before frying the poori in it, to avoid making the finished product extremely oily. Thirdly, allow the dough to sit in the fridge for about 15 minutes before taking it out and flattening it to fry.
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4. For The Perfect Colour
For the perfect golden brown hue, you may add half a teaspoon of sugar to your dough. The sugar caramelises and gives your pooris a beautiful colour. Also, make sure to get the temperature of the oil just right. Frying pooris in very hot oil can burn them. Use a food thermometer to measure the temperature of the oil, before placing the flattened dough rounds in the oil.
Use a stainless steel frying spoon to gently press the poori down before flipping it to the other side, so that both sides are equally browned. Don't let the pooris stay on one side for too long or they'll get done unevenly. Know of any more hacks to make perfect pooris? Let us know in the comments below!