Puris

Deep-Fried Bread with Wholemeal Flour

VegetarianMakes about 25 puris

Puris are small, round deep-fried breads made from wholemeal dough. They puff up in hot oil and have a crisp outside with a soft, tender interior.

Ingredients

250 g

flour

~0.3 gpinch

salt

Vegetable oil · Telplus extra for rolling and frying

40 g3 tablespoons

oil/fat

179 g180 ml

liquid

Put 250 g wholemeal flour or chapatti flour, 0.3 g salt and 40.5 g vegetable oil in a bowl and stir roughly with a spoon.
Add 179 g water a little at a time, mixing after each addition, until the dough comes together.
Knead the dough with your fingers until it is smooth and firm but pliable; add a little more flour if it is sticky or a splash of water if it is dry.
Cover the dough and leave it to rest for 15 minutes.
Knead the dough again, then divide it into equal-sized balls.
Flatten each ball, rub it with a little oil and roll it into an 8 cm disc; keep the discs not too thin so they can puff.
Heat enough vegetable oil for deep-frying in a kadhai or wok, filling it about one-third full, and line a large bowl with paper towels.
Check the oil by frying a small square of dough: it is ready when it sizzles and browns in about 30 seconds.
Lower one puri into the hot oil; it will sink and then rise, so press it gently with a slotted spoon until it puffs, turn it and cook for 2–3 seconds on the second side until lightly golden.
Lift the puri out, drain it on the paper towels and repeat with the remaining dough.
Serve the puris warm.

Wholemeal flour

Whole wheat flour
Use the same weight; it is almost the same, though slightly finer, so add water gradually.
Plain flour
Use the same weight but reduce water by about 10%; the result is lighter and less nutty.
Flour
Use the same weight as plain flour; reduce water slightly and expect less bran and colour.

Vegetable oil

Peanut oil
Use 1:1 by weight. Handles high-heat frying identically and introduces a very subtle, pleasant nuttiness.
Ghee
Use 1:1 by weight. Yields a much richer, authentic aroma and a glossy, heavier mouthfeel.
Mustard oil
Use 1:1 by weight. Heat until smoking, then cool slightly before cooking to temper its intensely pungent, sharp mustard kick.

Water

Stock
Use the same weight in savoury dishes; it adds body, so adjust salt.
Milk
Use the same weight only in doughs or creamy dishes; it makes the result richer.
Coconut water
Use the same weight in curries or rice; it adds sweetness and a faint coconut taste.

Same: Phulkas shares the same chapatti or wholemeal flour, salt, and water base as this dish, and both are unleavened wholemeal breads.
Different: Phulkas uses ghee instead of vegetable oil, has less water (159 g vs 179 g), and is cooked on a hot griddle rather than deep-fried, so it lacks this dish's deep-frying step.

Same: Chapati shares wholemeal flour, water, vegetable oil and salt with this dish.
Different: Chapati uses more flour, salt and water for the same amount of oil and is cooked on a hot dry pan instead of being deep-fried.

Same: Puris shares with this dish a deep-fried chapatti-flour bread base made with vegetable oil and salt.
Different: Puris uses 200 g chapatti flour and 54 g vegetable oil with no water amount listed, while this dish uses 250 g wholemeal flour, 40.5 g vegetable oil and 179 g water.

Same: Chapatti shares with this dish the use of chapatti flour, salt and water in an unleavened dough.
Different: Chapatti uses ghee as its fat and is cooked as a thin flatbread, while this dish uses vegetable oil and is deep-fried until puffed.