Pani puri (Mexican style)

This recipe has got me all excited and happy! Another one of my experiments that turned out well. I have been wanting to post the recipe for pani puri  (Indian chat) for quite some time now. So today, I got some ready made puris from my local Indian grocery store. As me and RB were driving back home with bag full of groceries, RB was talking to me but all I could think was getting back home in time to take a good picture of the pani puris and feeding my hungry husband. So I made a mental plan of what needed to be done like boiling potatoes, making date chutney, green chutney for the pani puri and that’s when inspiration struck me and I came up with this idea!! I immediately told RB about this recipe, who looked at me with his puzzled eyes realizing that I hadn’t been paying any attention to what he had been talking. I had been in my own world of food.

I had an idea for 3/4th of the recipe and thought I would figure out the rest as I started cooking. Once I got back home, I went straight to the kitchen and started testing this recipe. Once everything was done, and I tasted it, I knew it was good but there was something missing. But I proceeded to take a picture of the puris anyways, wondering about the missing element as I arranged them in a plate. And, that’s when I got the idea for the last missing piece of this recipe – “the pineapple chutney” and I have to say that it balanced the whole dish beautifully. With all the ingredients put together, it was just perfect. RB was all praises after he tasted the pani puris and Me, I had a big grin on my satisfied face 🙂

A word of caution before you try this recipe : This can be a little messy to eat, but it is worth getting your hands dirty for this dish! 🙂

Ingredients:

For the puris and stuffing:

• Store bought pani puris (Or you can make them at home)
• 1/2 avocado chopped into small cubes
• 1 small tomato finely chopped
• 1/4 cup cucumber finely chopped
• 1/4 cup corn
• 1 jalepeno
• 3-4 tbsp sev (Indian fried noodles for crunchiness)- optional
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 1/2 tsp chaat masala
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp chilly powder
• salt to taste

For the spiced water (masala pani)

• 1/2 cup mint
• 1/2 cup coriander leaves
• 1 green chilly
• 1/2 tsp chat masala
• 2 tsp pani puri masala (or add extra 1 tsp chat masala & 1/2 tsp cumin powder)
• 1/2 tsp amchur/dry mango powder ( or use some lemon juice)
• salt to taste
• a pinch of black salt (optional)
• 2 cups water (more or less depending on whether you want the flavors strong or mild)

For sweet chutney (Pineapple chutney)

• 1 cup pineapple chopped
• 1-2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp butter
• a pinch of salt
• a pinch of chilly powder

Method:

For sweet chutney (Pineapple chutney):

In a pan, add butter, sugar and let it bubble up. Add the chopped pineapples and let it cook for 7-8 minutes, until the pineapples start turning color and become soft. When done, mash them with your ladle to make them into a chutney.

Add salt and chilly powder to it and mix well. Set it aside.

For the spiced water (masala pani):

Grind the mint leaves, coriander and green chillies and make them into a paste.

Add the ground paste, rest of the ingredients and water to make the masala pani. Stir well and refrigerate it until you are ready to serve.

For the stuffing:

In a pan, add 1 tsp of oil, corn and finely chopped jalapenos and saute them until they turn brown here and there.

Mix all the ingredients – Chopped tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, corn-jalapeno mixture and the spice powders. Add salt according to taste and set aside. (Add sev in the end while serving so that they don’t become soggy)

Making the pani puris:

Make holes in the puri and add the stuffing, some pani (spiced water) and some pineapple chutney. Sprinkle sev of top and eat it immediately.