When it's hot and muggy outside and your appetite has withered away in the sweltering summer heat, Bhel Puri is just the kind of dish you need to awaken your taste buds with an explosion of colors, textures and flavours.
This is my post for June's Dinner and a Movie event. The June movie, Monsoon Wedding is chock full of scenes of the hectic New Delhi street scape, depicting the ubiquitous food scene. It only seemed natural to do a post on chaat, Indian street food.
I know bhel puri is more typical of Mumbai street food, but I hope you guys can forgive this transgression as bhel puri is one of my favourite snacks... ever, and I just couldn't resist the opportunity to post about it.
Bhel Puri is a mixture of puffed rice (think giant Rice Krispies), sev (fried chickpea noodles), tossed with chilies, vegetables and some sweet and tart chutney's. The textures of the crackly rice, crunchy noodles, and crisp veggies meld perfectly with the salty, sweet, sour, and spicy seasonings that coat each morsel.
The mere smell of the cilantro, cumin and lime is enough to make me salivate like a Bullmastiff, but when you lay eyes on the confetti of colors on a plate before you, it's hard to resist the primal urge to pick up the plate and inhale its contents.
I've never tried it, but if you don't have an Indian market near you, you could probably get away with using rice cripsies for the puffed rice and crumbled instant ramen in place of the sev.
Once it's mixed, it needs to be eaten right away for the same reason that you don't want to let cereal steep in a bowl of milk. This makes enough for 4-6 appetizer sized portions, but 2 of us managed to devour the whole batch in a few minutes, so it does just fine as a meal too.
📖 Recipe
Units
Ingredients
- ½ cups potatoes (boiled, peeled and chopped)
- ½ cups tomatoes (chopped)
- ¼ cups red onion (minced)
- 1 Serrano chile minced (to taste)
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼ cups green chutney
- ¼ cups tamarind chutney
- 2 cups puffed rice
- 1 cup sev
- salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Toss the potatoes, tomatoes, red onion, chile, tumeric, green chutney and tamarind chutney together.
- Add the puffed rice and sev and toss to coat. Add some salt if needed. Serve immediately.
food-4tots says
It is new to me. Looks healthy yet delicious!
Apsalar says
I work with a lot of Indians, and they make big batches of this for afternoon snacks all the time. I never knew what it was called, though. I like the puffed rice and the spiciness, but the raw red onion flavor is a little too strong for me.
Apsalar says
I work with a lot of Indians, and they make big batches of this for afternoon snacks all the time. I never knew what it was called, though. I like the puffed rice and the spiciness, but the raw red onion flavor is a little too strong for me.
bluejeangourmet says
ah, the food of my people! bhel puri is magical, I agree, and it's totally a go-to lazy dinner in my house because I can keep sev, etc. on hand & potatoes are always in the pantry.
I make my own cilantro & tamarind (imli) chutneys as well--they freeze beautifully.
the combinations in bhel puri vary depending on who you ask, but my mom likes hers with roasted peanuts & I like mine with sprouted mung beans.
bluejeangourmet says
ah, the food of my people! bhel puri is magical, I agree, and it's totally a go-to lazy dinner in my house because I can keep sev, etc. on hand & potatoes are always in the pantry.
I make my own cilantro & tamarind (imli) chutneys as well--they freeze beautifully.
the combinations in bhel puri vary depending on who you ask, but my mom likes hers with roasted peanuts & I like mine with sprouted mung beans.
Natasha says
This crap is awful O my god i am never more eating this stuff again
Sanjana says
I love bhel puri- we usually eat it as a kind of party food at home as it is a roadside snack in India. Great recipe!
Sanjana says
I love bhel puri- we usually eat it as a kind of party food at home as it is a roadside snack in India. Great recipe!
Holly says
One of more popular Indian restaurants in Atlanta, Bombay Cafe, serves this dish and it's all I get when I go because it is so incredible. The blend of flavors is just out of this world. I haven't tried your recipe yet but visually it looks just like the one I get so I can't wait to try it.
Holly says
One of more popular Indian restaurants in Atlanta, Bombay Cafe, serves this dish and it's all I get when I go because it is so incredible. The blend of flavors is just out of this world. I haven't tried your recipe yet but visually it looks just like the one I get so I can't wait to try it.
hadi and isha says
i wanted this for my scout thingy and i got and got full marks
hadi and isha says
i wanted this for my scout thingy and i got and got full marks
Nikki says
this looks delicious! i went to the idian supermarket and discovered that there are ready made packets of the bhel with all the spices.......ustill hve to add the veggies and sauces though.
Sailaja says
Addition of raw mango (finely chopped) enhances the flavor by leaps and bounds.
Marilia says
Bhel Puri is one of my favorite Indian Street Foods!
Thomas Abraham says
Bhel Puri is one of my favorite Indian Street Foods!