A few weeks back I made a curry for a friend and me. While I was at it, I made poories/puries to scoop up the lovely sauce that was left behind. What is a poori? It is very much like a chapati, a flat bread, that is fried.
The difference between a chapati and a poori is the addition of a little oil. If you have ever had Indian Fry Bread or Mexican Sopaipillas, then you have something like a poori.
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2 oz all-purpose flour
2 oz whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
about 1/4 cup warm water
oil for deep frying
Sift flours and salt into a medium bowl. Stir in tablespoon oil and mix in enough of the water to make a soft dough.
Knead dough 5 minutes and then lightly cover with oil and plu in a plastic bag and let rest 30 minutes. Divide dough into 12 pieces; roll into balls. Dust balls with flour and cover with a damp cloth. Roll each ball out to about a 3-inch round, keeping unrolled balls and finished rounds covered with a cloth.
Half-fill a deep pan or deep-fryer with oil and heat until very hot over medium heat. Fry one or two poori at a time, turning over once, for 30-60 seconds. Keep patting top of the poori gently with a slotted spoon as they cook in order to make them puff up.
Serve at once.
Eaten by themselves they are rather tasteless, but used like a biscuit with a good Indian stew they are delicious.
And, while very non-Indian, they aren’t bad coated with a little powdered sugar.
This week was Potluck with I Heart Cooking Club and while we are cooking with Donna Hay until the end of March 2014 we can use any of the past chefs for Potluck. Again I went with Madjur Jaffrey. The recipe is on page 820 of The Madjur Jaffrey Cookbook Go visit with the other members of IHCC and check out their POTLUCK dishes.
December 22, 2013 at 10:18 AM
I love eating poori, and have not had it for quite a while!
A great idea with the sprinkling of powdered sugar! Makes a wonderful snack.
Wishing you and your family A Merry Christmas!
December 22, 2013 at 10:49 PM
I have always wanted to make these! Thanks for posting these, as it has been a reminder!
December 23, 2013 at 12:17 AM
I love crisp little breads like this and love the idea of a bit of powdered sugar on them for a sweet treat too. very fun! 😉
December 23, 2013 at 7:58 AM
I’ve never had poori – they look like the perfect accompaniment to a spicy Indian curry.
December 27, 2013 at 12:05 AM
perfectly puffy poori
January 6, 2014 at 7:37 PM
I love poori with a good curry (drenched in powdered sugar sounds exceptionally good too), but I’ve never actually made them. You make it sound easy. I love that you chose to cook with Madhur Jaffrey – she is always such a popular choice when we have potluck week.