Puri (sometimes spelled as poori) is a Deep fry, deep-fried bread made from leavening agent, unleavened whole-wheat flour that originated in the Indian subcontinent. It is eaten for breakfast or as a snack 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 Indian languages it is known as: Urdu language, Urdu: پوری (𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘪), Dogri language, Dogri: पूरी (pūrī) or पूड़ी (''pūṛī''), Kumaoni language, Kumaoni: लगड (''lagaḍ''), ta, பூரி (''boori''), te, పూరి (''pūri''), Gujarati language, Gujarati: પૂરી, as, পুৰি (''puri''), bn, পূরি (pūrī), 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 language, Garhwali: पूरी (pūrī),

Ingredients

Puris are prepared with wheat flour, either atta flour, atta (whole wheat flour) or semolina, 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 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). 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 (Hinduism), 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 chana masala, chholey (spicy chick peas). It often constitutes a full meal. (See chole bhature). 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 ''semolina, rava/sooji'' (semolina) to the dough. Sev puri is an Indian snack offered by street vendors who serve chaat. Street vendors in Mumbai serve Bhelpuri, 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