Ingredients in bhel puri
Bhel puri like most chaats is customizable to your own taste buds. Here are the ingredients that are in this bhel puri recipe and how you can customize it to your liking…
Puffed Rice or Muramura - Puffed rice is the crunchy element of this dish Roasted Peanuts - Roasted peanuts adds an another element of crunch for this chaat. In addition, it provides nuttiness and some added protein to this dish. Easily swap this out with your favorite nut. Crunchy additions - It is great to add some additional crunchy elements to bhel puri to keep it crunchy longer. Some crunchy additions include crushed papdi, crushed pani puri, and sev. Fruits and Veggies - The most common veggies in bhel puri are diced tomatoes and red onions. However, you can make a healthier version of this dish with added vegetables like shredded carrots, diced mangoes, and cucumbers. Cilantro-Mint Chutney - The green chutney also known as cilantro and mint chutney provides heat and a bright herbaceousness to the chaat. Customize the bhel puri with little or more of this sauce for a spicier snack. Tamarind Date Chutney - Tamarind-date chutney also known as Imli-khajoor chutney adds a sweet and sour sauce flavor to this chaat. Chaat Masala - Chaat masala is a complex and tangy spice blend that makes chaat so lip smacking-ly delicious. This spice blend can be purchased at an Indian store or online. It has a complex mix of dried mango (amchur powder), dried pomegrante, dried mint, black salt, as well as other warm spices to flavor the potatoes and chickpeas.
Tips to get crispy bhel puri
Nothing is worse than a plate full of soggy bhel puri. Here are some tips for serving crispy bhel puri for your guests…
Puffed rice and muramura alternatives
Puffed rice is also known as muramura in Indian grocery stores. You can find a large bag at most Indian grocery stores or online very cheaply. However, an alternative is to crush apart plain rice cakes that are sold as snacks in American grocery stores for an equivalent taste and texture.
Bhel puri sauces
The other two chutneys that are important for bhel puri are the cilantro-mint chutney as well as the tamarind-date chutney. The cilantro-mint chutney adds heat to the chaat while the tamarind-date chutney adds a sweet and sour flavor profile. The amount of each of these sauces can be customized depending on your taste buds which makes chaat such a personal experience. Checkout the blog posts on these homemade chutneys below as well as information on where to buy them. It is important that if you make these chutneys at home to limit the amount of water in these chutneys to lead to keep the bhel puri crispy longer.
Other chaat recipes you’ll love
If you love chaats as much as I do, here are other chaats that you will love. Some of these are more traditional chaat varieties whereas some of them are riffs on classics.
Other Recipes To Try
Chaat Nachos Crispy Kale Chaat Papdi Chaat Dahi for Chaat Spicy Cilantro Mint Chutney Sweet and Sour Tamarind Date Chutney Potato and Peas Samosas
