Bhel puri

This might be one of those recipes considered taboo to traditional bhel puri makers, due to the order of preparation- mostly. If that does not matter, do give it a try. Its quick.

Time to make something with puffed rice aka pori in tamil. I did not have a thing for chaat ever, but P loves it. Especially the Bombay street food types. When he walked in the door today, remarking how bone chilling the evening was, I decided to throw this together. Used a packet of leftover Haldiram mixture, screaming to be consumed instead of papdi - the small flat crunchy disks you see in big bags in Indian stores.

Ingredients (listed in order of preparation)

Coriander leaves - a handful, washed
Green chillies - 3 (I used Thai peppers)
Dates - 6 (soaked in water for few minutes)
Tamarind paste - 1 tsp

Salt - 1 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Chaat masala - 1.5 tsp

Onion - 1 small, red onion for strong flavor if desired
Tomato - 1 medium
Potato - 1 large, I used a russet potato boiled, peeled and roughly chopped

Mixture - any brand, 1 cup (or) papadi broken up
Puffed rice - 5 cups

Sev and chopped cilantro - just enough for garnish

Preparation Method

Take a large mixing bowl. Puree the cilantro leaves and green chillies together, in the blender with some water to make a runny mix. Pour in the large bowl. Add the spoon of tamarind paste, puree the dates and add it in. Next add the salt, chilly powder and chaat masala. At this point in time, taste test it. Now is the best time to make changes. Make sure the heat, sweet, salt and sour are on their way to town- adding the puffed rice and potatoes will tone it down significantly.

Now add the onion, tomato, potato, the mixture and puffed rice. Give them a good mix.Scoop to serving bowls and add the garnish.

Overall, I liked the spice punch and burst of flavors.

Things I would improve on, especially if its going to make it to a guest/party table rather than a snack for just us.

1. Toasted the puffed rice, just a 5 minute dry roast to give it that warmth and crunch.

2. Added in a handful of roasted peanuts for some quality protein.

3. Cranked up the sweetness a tad bit. Probably 2 more dates would have done it.

4. Gone low on the cilantro for the puree, my bhel looks very green not aesthetically appealing. I went overboard on the cilantro since I believe its a great detox agent and wait for opportunities to pile it in hidden ways as this.