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Puri (food)
Encyclopedia
PuriHindi
पूरी (pūrī), Urdu: بوری, Tamil
பூரி (pūri), Kannada ಪೂರಿ (pūri), Oriya
ପୁରି(luchi/puri), is an unleavened
Indian bread
, commonly consumed in India
, Nepal
, Bangladesh
, Pakistan
and other countries of South Asia
. It is eaten for breakfast
or as a snack
or light meal.
Puri is most commonly served at breakfast. It is also served at special or ceremonial functions as part of ceremonial rituals along with other vegetarian food offered in prayer as prasadam. The name puri derives from the Sanskrit
word पूरिका (pūrikā), from पुर (pura) "filled".
(whole wheat flour
), maida
(refined wheat flour), or sooji (coarse wheat flour). A dough
of flour and salt is either rolled out in a small circle or rolled out and cut out in small circles and deep fried in ghee
or vegetable oil. While deep frying, it puffs up like a round ball because moisture in the dough changes into steam which expands in all directions. When it is golden-brown in color, it is removed and may be served hot or saved for later use (as with the snack food pani puri). The rolled puri may be pricked with a fork before deep frying to get a flat puri for chaat
like bhel puri. A punctured puri does not puff when cooked because the steam escapes as it cooks.
, chana masala
, dal
, potato based curries (e.g.: saagu, bhaji, bhujia), shrikhand
, basundi
. In some parts of India, puri is also served with a mixed vegetable dish that is prepared during Puja, and with kheer
, a dessert prepared with rice, milk and sugar.
, 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
). Bhatoora is made of a different flour; puri uses whole-wheat flour while bhatoora uses leavened all-purpose flour ("maida"). In the Indian state of Orissa
a large size Puri is made during Bali Yatra which is called Thunka puri .
Another variant of the puri popular in the eastern states of West Bengal and Orissa is the luchi
.
Sev-puri is an Indian snack offered by street vendors who serve chaat
.
Street vendors in Mumbai
serve bhel
in a throw-away folded leaf with a flat puri to scoop it.
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
पूरी (pūrī), Urdu: بوری, Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
பூரி (pūri), Kannada ಪೂರಿ (pūri), Oriya
Oriya language
Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...
ପୁରି(luchi/puri), is an unleavened
Leavening agent
A leavening agent is any one of a number of substances used in doughs and batters that cause a foaming action which lightens and softens the finished product...
Indian bread
Indian bread
Indian breads are a wide variety of flatbreads and crêpes which are an integral part of Indian cuisine. Their variation reflects the diversity of Indian culture and food habits....
, commonly consumed in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and other countries of South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
. It is eaten for breakfast
Breakfast
Breakfast is the first meal taken after rising from a night's sleep, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work...
or as a snack
Snack
A snack is a small portion of food eaten between meals. The food might be snack food—items like potato chips or baby carrots—but could also simply be a smaller amount of any food item.-Snacks and health:...
or light meal.
Puri is most commonly served at breakfast. It is also served at special or ceremonial functions as part of ceremonial rituals along with other vegetarian food offered in prayer as prasadam. The name puri derives from the Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
word पूरिका (pūrikā), from पुर (pura) "filled".
Ingredients
Puri is prepared with wheat flour, either attaAtta flour
Atta is the Hindi word for oven, and flour is the main ingredient of most varieties of Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani bread. Atta generally refers to the oven used in cooking the bread. Flatbreads made from atta, such as chapati, roti, naan and puri, are an integral part of Indian cuisine...
(whole wheat flour
Whole wheat flour
Whole wheat flour is a powdery substance derived by grinding or mashing the wheat's whole grain. It is used in baking but typically added to other "white" flours to provide nutrients , texture, and body to the finished product....
), maida
Maida flour
Maida is a finely milled and refined flour of wheat, closely resembling cake flour, and used extensively in making Indian fast food and Indian bakery products such as pastries and breadand sometimes in making traditional Indian breads such as paratha and naan. It is made from the endosperm of the...
(refined wheat flour), or sooji (coarse wheat flour). A dough
Dough
Dough is a paste made out of any cereals or leguminous crops by mixing flour with a small amount of water and/or other liquid. This process is a precursor to making a wide variety of foodstuffs, particularly breads and bread-based items , flatbreads, noodles, pastry, and similar items)...
of flour and salt is either rolled out in a small circle or rolled out and cut out in small circles and deep fried in ghee
Ghee
Ghee is a class of clarified butter that originated in South Asia and is commonly used in South Asian cuisine....
or vegetable oil. While deep frying, it puffs up like a round ball because moisture in the dough changes into steam which expands in all directions. When it is golden-brown in color, it is removed and may be served hot or saved for later use (as with the snack food pani puri). The rolled puri may be pricked with a fork before deep frying to get a flat puri for chaat
Chaat
Chaat is a term describing savoury snacks, typically served at road-side tracks from stalls or carts in India. With its origins in east India, chaat has become immensely popular in the rest of India and the rest of South Asia...
like bhel puri. A punctured puri does not puff when cooked because the steam escapes as it cooks.
Accompaniments
Puri can be served with halwa, kormaKorma
Korma is a dish originating in South Asia or Central Asia which can be made with yoghurt, cream, nut and seed pastes or coconut milk; it is usually considered a type of curry...
, chana masala
Chana masala
Chana masala or chole masala is a popular vegetable dish in Pakistani cuisine & Indian cuisine. The main ingredient is chickpeas. It is fairly dry and spicy with a sour citrus note...
, dal
Dal
Dal is a preparation of pulses which have been stripped of their outer hulls and split. It also refers to the thick stew prepared from these, an important part of Indian, Nepali, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, and Bangladeshi cuisine...
, potato based curries (e.g.: saagu, bhaji, bhujia), shrikhand
Shrikhand
Shrikhand is an Indian sweet dish made of strained yogurt. It is one of the main desserts in Gujarati cuisine and Maharashtrian cuisine. It is also served with Gujarati thali sometimes as a sweet dish. Preparation of this dish is very simple but it takes some time to process yogurt properly.The...
, basundi
Basundi
Basundi is an Indian dessert mostly in Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka. It is a sweetened dense milk made by boiling milk on low heat until the milk is reduced by half....
. In some parts of India, puri is also served with a mixed vegetable dish that is prepared during Puja, and with kheer
Kheer
Kheer also known as Payasam or Payesh is a rice pudding, which is a traditional South Asian sweet dish...
, a dessert prepared with rice, milk and sugar.
Types, variants
A variant of puri is bhatooraBhatoora
Bhatoora or Bhatura or Batoora, is a soft and fluffy deep-fried bread from the North India and Punjab region of Pakistan, and is often eaten with chickpea curry, chole or channe, making the classic dish chole bhature.-Ingredients:A typical recipe includes white flour , yogurt, ghee or oil, and yeast...
, which is three times the size of a puri and served with chholey
Chana masala
Chana masala or chole masala is a popular vegetable dish in Pakistani cuisine & Indian cuisine. The main ingredient is chickpeas. It is fairly dry and spicy with a sour citrus note...
(spicy chick peas). It often constitutes a full meal. (See chole bhature
Chole bhature
Chole bhature is a combination of chole and fried bread called bhatoora .. The word 'bhatura' is pronounced as 'pathoora' in Punjabi. It is mainly eaten in Punjab in North India.It is a street food sold by vendors,...
). Bhatoora is made of a different flour; puri uses whole-wheat flour while bhatoora uses leavened all-purpose flour ("maida"). In the Indian state of Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
a large size Puri is made during Bali Yatra which is called Thunka puri .
Another variant of the puri popular in the eastern states of West Bengal and Orissa is the luchi
Luchi
Luchi , is a deep-fried flatbread made of wheat flour that is typical of Oriya, Assamese and Bengali cuisine. In order to make luchis, a dough is prepared by mixing fine maida flour with water and a spoonful of ghee, which is then divided into small balls. These balls are flattened using a...
.
Sev-puri is an Indian snack offered by street vendors who serve chaat
Chaat
Chaat is a term describing savoury snacks, typically served at road-side tracks from stalls or carts in India. With its origins in east India, chaat has become immensely popular in the rest of India and the rest of South Asia...
.
Street vendors in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
serve bhel
Bhelpuri
Bhelpuri is a puffed rice dish with various vegetables and a tangy tamarind sauce. It is a type of chaat, or small plates of savoury snacks, particularly identified with the beaches of Mumbai , such as Chowpatty. Bhelpuri is called Jhaal Muri in Kolkata...
in a throw-away folded leaf with a flat puri to scoop it.
See also
- LángosLángosLángos is a Hungarian food speciality, a deep fried flat bread made of a dough with flour, yeast, salt and water.-Variations:Lángos can be made with yoghurt, sour cream or milk instead of water, a dash of sugar along with salt and sometimes with flour and boiled mashed potatoes, which is called...
- KulchaKulchaKulcha kulcā is a type of Naan made from Maida flour. It is particularly popular in India and Pakistan and is usually eaten with chole....
- ChiburekkiChiburekkiChiburekki is a fried turnover with a filling of ground or minced meat and onions. It is similar to the peremech of the Volga Tatars, but made with a single round piece of dough folded over the filling in a half-moon shape...
- QutabQutabQutab is an Azerbaijani dish, which made from thinly rolled dough that may be cooked briefly on a convex griddle.-Composition:Qutab is made by creating stiff dough from flour, water, eggs and salt, roll it into a thin layer, cut a groove circles. In the middle of each circle to put stuffing and...
- BörekBörekBörek is a family of baked or fried filled pastries made of a thin flaky dough known as yufka . It can be filled with cheese, often feta, sirene or kaşar; minced meat, or vegetables...
- Puff Puff