Puri (sometimes spelled as poori) is a deep-fried bread made from

unleavened In cooking, a leavening agent () or raising agent, also called a leaven () or leavener, is any one of a number of substances used in doughs and batters that cause a foaming action (gas bubbles) that lightens and softens the mixture. An alterna ...

whole-wheat flour that originated in the India. It is eaten for

breakfast Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night.Anderson, Heather Arndt (2013)''Breakfast: A History'' AltaMira Press. Various "typical" or "t ...

or as a

snack A snack is a small portion of food generally eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at home. Traditionally, snacks are p ...

or light meal. It is usually served with a savory curry or ''bhaji'', as in puri bhaji, but may also be eaten with sweet dishes. Puris are most commonly served as breakfast and snacks. It is also served at special or ceremonial functions as part of ceremonial rituals along with other vegetarian food offered in Hindu prayer as prasadam.

Name

The name ''puri'' derives from the Sanskrit word पूरिका (pūrikā), from पुर (pura) "filled". In other

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, ...

languages it is known as: Urdu: پوری (𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘪), Dogri: पूरी (pūrī) or पूड़ी (''pūṛī''), Kumaoni: लगड (''lagaḍ''), ta, பூரி (''boori''), te, పూరి (''pūri''), Gujarati: પૂરી, as, পুৰি (''puri''), bn, পুরি (''pūri''), hi, पूड़ी (''pūṛī''), bho, पूड़ी (''pūṛī''), mr, पूरी (''pūrī''), kn, ಪೂರಿ (''pūri''), ml, പൂരി (''pūrī''), my, ပူရီ (''pūrī''), ne, पूरी (''puri''), or, ପୁରି (''puri''), pa, ਪੁੜੀ (''pūṛī''),

Garhwali Garhwali may refer to: * Garhwali people, an ethno-linguistic group who live in northern India * Garhwali language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by Garhwali people * anything from or related to: ** Garhwal division, a region in state of Uttarakh ...

: पूरी (pūrī),

Ingredients

Puris are prepared with wheat flour, either

atta Atta or ATTA may refer to: * Atta Halilintar, Indonesian YouTuber, singer and entrepreneur * ''Atta'' (ant), a genus of ants in the family Formicidae * ''Atta'' (novel), a 1953 novel by Francis Rufus Bellamy * Atta flour, whole wheat flour made f ...

( whole wheat flour) or sooji (coarse wheat flour). In some recipes, ajwain, cumin seed, spinach, or fenugreek seeds are added to the dough. The dough is either rolled out in a small circle or rolled out and cut out in small circles, then deep fried in

ghee Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals. Description Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from c ...

or vegetable oil. While deep frying, puris puff up like a round ball because moisture in the dough changes into steam which expands in all directions. When they are golden-brown in color, they are removed and either served hot or saved for later use (as with the snack food

pani puri Panipuri (originally known as ''jalapatra'' from Mahabharata times) (), phuchka (), gupchup, golgappa, or ''pani ke patashe'' is a type of snack originating in the Indian subcontinent, where it is an extremely common street food. Ingredients ...

). Rolled puris may be pricked with a fork before deep frying to make flat puris for chaat like bhel puri. A punctured puri does not puff when cooked because the steam escapes as it cooks.

Accompaniments

Puri can be eaten with many savory accompaniments, including korma, chana masala, dal, potato-based curries (for example, ''saagu'', ''bhaji'', ''bhujia'', ''Aloo ki tarkari'', ''shaak'', and ''sambharo''), shrikhand and basundi. In some parts of India, puri is also served with a mixed vegetable dish that is prepared during Hindu Puja. Puri is also eaten with sweet accompaniments, such as kheer (a dessert prepared with rice, milk and sugar) or halwa (in Hindi-speaking regions of India, the expression "Halwa puri khana", "to eat puri with halwa", signifies a celebration – of possibly modest means). Puri is often the bread of choice for festivals and special occasions. In southern India, puri is almost always made for breakfast, and on the east coast (Andhra, Tamil Nadu) it's rarely eaten with non-vegetarian dishes. Often, they will be served with pickles, chutneys, dal masalas, potato masala, or gourd curry (either ivy, ridge, or bottle varieties).

Types, variants

A variant of puri is bhatoora, which is three times the size of a puri and served with chholey (spicy chick peas). It often constitutes a full meal. (See

chole bhature Chole bhature () is a food dish popular in the Northern areas of the Indian subcontinent. It is a combination of chana masala (spicy white chickpeas) and bhatura/puri, a deep-fried bread made from maida. Although it is known as a typical Punjab ...

). Bhatoora bread is with yeast and puri bread made from unleavened dough. In the Indian state of Odisha a large size puri is made during Bali Yatra which is called ''thunka puri'' ().''Binita Jaiswal''
Fanfare & spectacle mark the opening of Bali Yatra
10 November 2011 Another variant, largely popular in the Northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh is ''bedvi''. It is a saltier and stiffer version of the regular puri, and is often stuffed with lentils. Another variant of the puri popular in the eastern states of West Bengal and Odisha is the luchi. In Assam, it is pronounced as ''lusi''. Luchis in Bengal are served with typical side dishes like aloor dum (potato preparation), begun bhaja (fried eggplant) and others The ''puris'' used for '' panipuri'' are smaller, and are usually made crisper by the addition of '' rava/sooji'' (semolina) to the dough.

Sev puri Sev puri is an Indian cuisine snack and a type of chaat. It is a speciality that originates from Pune, Maharashtra, India. In Pune and Mumbai, sev puri is strongly associated with street food, but is also served at upscale locations. Recently, ...

is an Indian snack offered by street vendors who serve chaat. Street vendors in Mumbai serve bhel in a throw-away folded leaf with a flat puri to scoop it. Fast food chains in the Middle East use puri for fried chicken wraps. File:Aloo Puri, typical morning snack, Varanasi.jpg, Aloo Puri, a typical morning snack in Varanasi, India File:Halwa Puri - Walled City of Lahore Punjab Pakistan is famous for this traditional food.jpg, Puri Frying in Pakistan File:Poori.jpg, Puri is traditionally deep fried. File:Dal Puri.JPG, Dal puri, a traditional Bengali version File:Pani Puri - Perfect Street food.JPG, Mini-puris are part of panipuri snack. It's crunchier in texture. File:Puri (food), fried dough food at Wikipedia's 16th Birthday celebration in Chittagong (01).jpg, Daal puri, Bangladesh File:Halwa Puri, a traditional food made in Walled City of Lahore.jpg, Thin bread is fried in oil and eaten with salty curry of chickpeas potatoes and sweet pudding. File:Puri used in Panipuri made from aata.jpg, Puri, made of wheat flour, which is used n Panipuri. File:Sooji Batashe used in Panipuri.jpg, Puri, made of rawa, which is used in Panipuri.

References

External links