Puri, also poori, is a type of

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 frying used in conventional frying done in a frying pan. N ...

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 ...

, originated from the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

. Puris are most commonly served as breakfast or 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 Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

food offered in Hindu prayer as

prasadam 200px, ''Naivedya'' offered to Sri Maya Chandrodaya Mandir in Mayapur, India">Mayapur.html" ;"title="Sri Maya Chandrodaya Mandir, Mayapur">Sri Maya Chandrodaya Mandir in Mayapur">Sri Maya Chandrodaya Mandir, Mayapur">Sri Maya Chandrodaya Mandi ...

. When hosting guests it is common in some households to serve puri in place of

roti Roti is a round flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is commonly consumed in many South Asian, Southeast Asian, Caribbean, East African, and Southeast African countries. It is made from stoneground whole-wheat flour, kno ...

, as a small gesture of formality. Puri is often eaten in place of roti on special holidays.

Name

The name ''Puri'' derives from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

word पूरिका (pūrikā), from पूर (pūra) "filled". In other

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

languages it is known as:

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

and

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

: پوری (''pūrī''), Dogri and

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

: पूरी (''pūrī'') or पूड़ी (''pūṛī''), Kumaoni: लगड (''lagaḍ''), (''poori''), (''pūri''), Gujarati: પૂરી, (''puri''), (''pūri''), (''pūṛī''), (''pūrī''), (''pūri''), (''pūrī''), (''pūrī''), (''puri''), (''puri''), (''pūṛī''), Garhwali: पूरी (pūrī),

Ingredients

Puris are prepared with wheat flour, either atta (

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 or ajowan (''Trachyspermum ammi'') () —also known as ajowancaraway, 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 seeds) of the pl ...

cumin seed Cumin (, ; ; ''Cuminum cyminum'') is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to the Irano-Turanian Region. Its seeds – each one contained within a fruit, which is dried – are used in the cuisines of many cultures in both whole ...

spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to Central Asia, Central and Western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common vegetable consumed eit ...

, or fenugreek seeds are added to the dough. The

dough Dough is a malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from flour (which itself is 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 ...

is either rolled out in a small circle or rolled out and cut out in small circles, then deep fried in

ghee Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from South Asia. It is commonly used for cooking, as a Traditional medicine of India, traditional medicine, and for Hinduism, Hindu religious rituals. Description Ghee is typically prepared by ...

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. They are flipped once in the frying process, and 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 Panipuri or golgappa is a deep-fried breaded hollow spherical shell - about in diameter - filled with a combination of potatoes, raw onions, chickpeas, and spices. It is a common snack and street food in the Indian subcontinent. It is often ...

). 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 India, typically served as an hors d'oeuvre or at roadside tracks from stalls or food carts across South Asia in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. ...

like bhel puri. A punctured puri does not puff when cooked because the steam escapes as it cooks. Masala puri adds

turmeric Turmeric (), or ''Curcuma longa'' (), is a flowering plant in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. It is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that requires temperatures between and high ...

, chili powder, coriander and cumin, and hing (

asafoetida Asafoetida (; also spelled asafetida) is the dried latex (Natural gum, gum oleoresin) exuded from the rhizome or tap root of several species of ''Ferula'', perennial herbs of the carrot family. It is produced in Iran, Afghanistan, Central As ...

) to the dough.

Types and variants

A variant of the puri popular in the eastern part of

Luchi Luchi is a deep-fried flatbread, made of maida flour. Luchi is popular in India (especially East and Northeast India) and in Bangladesh. Since luchi is made without rice or rice flour, it is a popular staple item at times when rice is to be av ...

(in West Bengal and Odisha) or ''lusi'' in Assam, ''luchui'' and Jharkhand. Luchi is made using refined wheat flour (''samidh'' flour) and is deep fried. It is served with typical side dishes like aloor dum (potato preparation), Chana

ghugni Ghugni or guguni ( Bengali:ঘুগনি, Bhojpuri:𑂐𑂳𑂐𑂳𑂢𑂲, Odia: ଘୁଗ୍ନି , romanized: Ghughunē) is a dish made of peas or chickpeas in Nepal, India and Bangladesh. Different variations of the dish use different ...

, begun bhaja (fried eggplant) and others. Another variant, largely popular in the Braj culinary tradition of the Northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh is ''bedmi puri'' or ''bedai.'' It is prepared using stuffing of

Urad dal The black gram or urad bean (''Vigna mungo'') is a bean grown in South Asia. Like its relative the mung bean, it has been reclassified from the genus ''Phaseolus'' to ''Vigna''. The product sold as black gram is usually the whole urad bean, wher ...

paste and paired with Mathura's ''Dubki Aloo jhor''. A variant of puri is

bhatoora Bhatura also known as batoora, bhatoora, batura, or pathora (, is a fluffy deep-fried leavened sourdough bread originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is commonly served as a midday meal or a breakfast dish in northern and eastern India. P ...

, which is three times the size of a puri and served with chholey (spicy chickpeas). 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. Chole bhature is often eaten as a ...

.) Bhatoora is made with yeast and yogurt in the dough and puri is made from unleavened dough. In the Indian state of

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

a large-sized puri is made during

Bali Yatra Bāli Jātrā, () , is the major Boita Bandana festival held at Cuttack on Kartik Purnima and lasts for 7 days or more, i.e. usually until Prathamastami. It is considered to be one of Asia's largest open trade fair. The festival is held in Odisha ...

which is called ''thunka puri'' ().''Binita Jaiswal''
Fanfare & spectacle mark the opening of Bali Yatra
10 November 2011 The ''puris'' used for ''

panipuri Panipuri or golgappa is a deep-fried breaded hollow spherical shell - about in diameter - filled with a combination of potatoes, raw onions, chickpeas, and spices. It is a common snack and street food in the Indian subcontinent. It is often ...

'' are smaller, and are usually made crisper by the addition of '' rava/sooji'' (semolina) to the dough.

Sev puri Sev puri is an Indian snack and a type of chaat. It is a speciality that originates from Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. In Pune and Mumbai, sev puri is strongly associated with street food, but is also served at upscale locations. As of today, su ...

is an Indian snack offered by street vendors who serve

. Street vendors in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

serve

bhel Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is an Indian central public sector undertaking and the largest government-owned electrical/ industrial technology company. It is owned by the Government of India, with administrative control under ...

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.

Gallery

File:Puri Bhajji in Mumbai Restaurant.JPG, Puri Bhajji in Mumbai restaurant, served with potato bhaaji and coriander leaf chutney 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 or Puri.JPG, Poori or Puri, traditionally deep fried from most Indian restaurants File:Dal Puri.JPG, Dal puri, a traditional Bengali version File:Pani Puri - Perfect Street food.JPG, Mini-puris are part of a

panipuri Panipuri or golgappa is a deep-fried breaded hollow spherical shell - about in diameter - filled with a combination of potatoes, raw onions, chickpeas, and spices. It is a common snack and street food in the Indian subcontinent. It is often ...

snack. It is 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 a 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 in panipuri File:Sooji Batashe used in Panipuri.jpg, Puri, made of rawa, which is used in panipuri

References

External links