Pani Puri / Gol Gappa

'Chaat' is a snack item spread across north-east-west-south of India. A delicacy to be devoured with relish - as the name suggests. A very tempting item which is tangy, spicy, sweet & salty, sold in carts & stalls. The way the puris, the ingridients like the chopped coriander leaves, Onions, tomatoes, the packet of sev, papdis and puris are arranged and the aroma of the ragda that is  steaming  & variwill tempt one to walk towards the cart / shop to relish some.

There are variety of chaat items viz., Pani Puri, Bhel Puri, Sukha Bhel, Ragda Patis, Sev Puri etc. each one different in their own way with additions or deletion of few ingridients with variable presentations. The important thing to top all that is the chaat masala - a special combination of some special spices which adds the aroma & that extra taste which will linger in your mouth for long time and make you crave for more.

Pani puri - round puris are prepared, a whole made on the top inside which mashed potato or green gram or soaked bhoondhis is stuffed and this is immersed in two different pots containing Sweet & tangy potions and spicy salty potion according to one's preference  and served in a katori or cup. the whole puri with the contents is then put in the mouth and there starts your pleasant journey into the world of chaat......the different tastes of tanginess, sweet, salt and spicy........creates a pleasant experience in you.

Making of Puris

1. Maida - 1 cup
2. Rava / sooji - 1/2 cup
3. Salt to taste
4. water to knead
5. Oil for frying
6. round biscuit cutter / bottle cap

Procedure :- 

• Mix maida, sooji and salt into a bowl, mix well
• Adding water slowly, knead a soft dough

• set it aside for 1 hour by covering it with a moist cloth.
• Divide the dought into equal portions of small size, make ball out of it.
• dust the board, spread each ball using rolling pin like a chapathi
• using a round biscuit cutter or suitable bottle cap, cut round puris

• Deep fry them in oil in batches (when you put them into oil, press them with the laddle to make it puff)

• Place on an absorbant paper to remove excess oil and store it in an air-tight container
• you may get some flat puris in the process, preserve them for making a sev puri or for bhel puri :-) or you can crush them in a bowl, pour some sweet as well as spicy potions of pani puri and enjoy.

Making of Pani :-

Sweet Pani :

1. Tamarind - two lemon sized
2. Jaggery - 5 tbsp or more as per your taste
3. Dhania - 1tbsp
4. Dates - 10 nos.
5. Pani puri masala - 1 tsp
6. Mint - tbsp
7. Water
8. Salt to taste

• Boil water add tamarind & dhania boil till tamarind becomes tender.
• Using a chalni & a laddle crush the tamarind & dhania and collect the pulp into a vessel.
• Soak dates and grind to a nice paste along with mint leaves. Add it to the tamarind pulp.
• Add pani puri masala, Salt and required water

Spicy Mint Pani 

1. Mint leaves - 1/4 cup
2. Coriander leaves - 1 cup
3. Green chillies - 4 nos (or as required)
4. Salt to taste (use rock salt for best flavour)
5. Water
6. Pani Puri Masala - 1 tsp

• Grind mint leaves, coriander leaves, green chillies together.
• Mix this in a litre of water, add salt and pani puri masala
• Filter through a sieve and keep the pani.

For pani puri / Gol Gappa

You need :-

1. Puris
2. Sweet Pani
3. Mint spicy pani
4. Soaked bhoondi or boiled & mashed aloo or moong

• Take a puri, make a hole on the top.
• Place some bhoondi / aloo / moong inside
• Dip the puri in sweet pani 
• Dip it in mint pani
• Put it in your mouth, relish the toungue tickling pani puris / gol gappas
• You can adjust your taste by increasing or decreasing the ratio of sweet or mint panis (sweet or medium or spicy)
• During Summer, just add few ice cubes into the mint pani and enjoy it cool.