Puri (sometimes spelled as poori) is a

deep-fried Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot fat, traditionally lard but today most commonly oil, as opposed to the shallow oil used in conventional frying done in a frying pan. Norma ...

bread made from unleavened

whole-wheat flour Whole-wheat flour (in the US) or wholemeal flour (in the UK) is a powdery substance, a basic food ingredient, derived by grinding or mashing the whole grain of wheat, also known as the wheatberry. Whole-wheat flour is used in baking of breads ...

that originated in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

. It is eaten for breakfast or as a snack or

light meal Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 terah ...

. 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 Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

food offered in Hindu prayer as

prasadam 200px, Prasad thaal offered to Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad ">Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad">Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad Prasada (, Sanskrit: प्रसाद, ), Prasadam or Prasad is a religious offering in Hinduism. Most o ...

Name

The name ''puri'' derives from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

word पूरिका (pūrikā), from पुर (pura) "filled". In other Indian languages it is known as:

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Dogri Dogri ( Name Dogra Akkhar: ; Devanagari: डोगरी; Nastaliq: ; ) is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, India, with smaller groups of speakers in adjoining regions of western Himachal Prad ...

: पूरी (pūrī) or पूड़ी (''pūṛī''), Kumaoni: लगड (''lagaḍ''), ta, பூரி (''boori''), te, పూరి (''pūri''), 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 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 Uttarakhan ...

: 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 Whole-wheat flour (in the US) or wholemeal flour (in the UK) is a powdery substance, a basic food ingredient, derived by grinding or mashing the whole grain of wheat, also known as the wheatberry. Whole-wheat flour is used in baking of breads ...

) or sooji (coarse wheat flour). In some recipes,

ajwain Ajwain, ajowan (), or ''Trachyspermum ammi''—also known as ajowancaraway, omam (in Tamil), thymol seeds, bishop's weed, or carom—is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. Both the leaves and the seed‑like fruit (often mistakenly called ...

cumin seed Cumin ( or , or Article title
) (''Cuminum cyminum'') is a

fenugreek seeds Fenugreek (; ''Trigonella foenum-graecum'') is an annual plant in the family Fabaceae, with leaves consisting of three small obovate to oblong leaflets. It is cultivated worldwide as a semiarid crop. Its seeds and leaves are common ingredient ...

are added to the dough. The

dough Dough is a thick, malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops. Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes yeast or other leavenin ...

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 Chaat, or chāt (IAST: ''cāṭ)'' () is a family of savoury snacks that originated in North India, typically served as an hors d'oeuvre or at roadside tracks from stalls or food carts across South Asia in North India, Pakistan, Nepal and B ...

bhel puri Bhelpuri is a savoury snack originating from India, and is also a type of chaat. It is made of puffed rice, vegetables and a tangy tamarind sauce, and has a crunchy texture. Bhel is often identified as a 'beach snack', strongly associated wit ...

. 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 Korma or qorma (; ; ) is a dish originating in Indian subcontinent, consisting of meat or vegetables braised with yogurt ( dahi), water or stock, and spices to produce a thick sauce or gravy. Etymology The English name is an anglicisation of Hind ...

chana masala Chana masala (, literally 'mix-spiced small-chickpeas'), also known as channay, chole masala, chhole masala, chole or chholay (plural), is a dish originating from the Indian subcontinent. The main ingredient is a variety of chickpea called ''c ...

dal In Indian cuisine, ''dal'' (also spelled ''daal'' or ''dhal''; pronunciation: , Hindi: दाल, Urdu: ) are dried, split pulses (e.g., lentils, peas, and beans) that do not require soaking before cooking. India is the largest producer of pu ...

, potato-based curries (for example, ''saagu'', ''bhaji'', ''bhujia'', ''Aloo ki tarkari'', ''shaak'', and ''sambharo''),

shrikhand Shrikhand is a traditional sweet of the Indian subcontinent made from strained yogurt. It is often served as part of a '' thali'' (platter) or with '' puris'' (puffed deep-fried whole wheat bread). It is a traditional dessert in Gujarati and Mar ...

and

basundi Basundi ( gu, બાસુંદી, kn, ಬಾಸುಂಡಿ, mr, बासुंदी, ta, பாசந்தி, te, బాసుంది) is an Indian sweet mostly in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Ka ...

. 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 Kheer, also known as payasam, is a sweet dish and a type of wet pudding popular in the Indian subcontinent, usually made by boiling milk, sugar or jaggery, and rice, although rice may be substituted with one of the following: daals, bulgur w ...

(a dessert prepared with rice, milk and sugar) or

halwa Halva (also halvah, halwa, and other spellings, Persian : حلوا) is a type of confectionery originating from Persia and widely spread throughout the Middle East. The name is used for a broad variety of recipes, generally a thick paste made f ...

(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 Bhatoora (also known as batoora, bhatura, batura, or pathora) ( hi, भटूरा, pa, ਭਟੂਰਾ) is a fluffy deep-fried leavened sourdough bread originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is commonly served as a midday meal or a bre ...

, 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 Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

a large size puri is made during

Bali Yatra Bāli Jātrā, () , is the major Boita Bandana festival held at Cuttack on Kartik Purnima. It is considered to be one of Asia's largest open trade fair. The festival is held in Odisha (a state in eastern India), in the city of Cuttack at ''Gadaga ...

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 Luchi ( bn, লুচি) or Lusi ( as, লুচি) is a deep-fried flatbread, made of Maida flour, originating from the Bengal region. Luchi is especially popular in the Indian states of Assam, Odisha, West Bengal and Tripura and in the ...

. 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 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 ...

'' 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

. Street vendors in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

serve

bhel Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is an Indian central public sector undertaking. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Heavy Industries, Government of India. It is based in New Delhi, India. Established in 1956, BHEL is India ...

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

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