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Pani puri is by far Rhut and my favorite Indian street food! Pani pur aka golgoppa is a puffed fried semolina crisp filled with potato filling and various water flavors. You fill it and shove the whole thing in your mouth for a burst of flavor and texture! Elara is finally big enough to eat an entire pani puri in one go, and I had an excess of cilantro and mint in the garden, so I decided to make my own pani puri water!
I usually buy my puri from the Indian store and toast them at 350°F for 4-5 minutes to crisp them up! You can totally make them at home, but to be honest, with the amount of pani puri we go through in one sitting, it would take forever for me to make.
The filling for pani puri changes from region to region. I’ve learned that the most popular filling is potatoes, and sometimes people add kala chana (black chickpeas), garbanzo beans, and/or boondi (deep-fried wheat batter). I like to use boiled potato and garbanzo beans seasoned with chopped cilantro, chaat masala, salt, and red chili powder.
The most traditional pani is thikki pani, or spicy cilantro and mint water. You can blend the mint, cilantro, ginger, and all the spices into a paste and then freeze the paste in ice cubes for future use. This is a great way to use any excess mint and cilantro from your garden! I like to amp up the mint flavor with dried mint and refrigerate the water overnight to infuse the spices into the water.
Another pani puri water is khatta meetha pani, which means sour and sweet water. This water is made from a tamarind base, which gives it that sourness. I love mixing this with the thikki pani puri water for a 50/50 spicy, sweet and sour combo!
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The Best Pani Puri Water
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Quick khatta meetha pani and a thikki (spicy) pani puri water! Makes 5 cups of thikki pani and 3 cups khatta meetha pani.
Ingredients
THIKKI MINT AND CILANTRO PANI
- 1/2 cup fresh mint
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- 1 inch ginger
- 1 tbsp tamarind paste (or 2 tbsp lime juice)
- 1 small serrano or thai chili, or to taste
- 1 1/2 tsp chaat masala
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 3/4 tsp salt, or to taste
- 1/2 tsp black salt
- 1/2 tsp dried mint (optional)
KHATTA MEETHA PANI
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 1/2 tamarind, peeled
- 1/4 cup jaggery or brown sugar or date sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp chaat masala
- 1/2 tsp black salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 tsp cumin powder
- 3/4 tsp coriander powder
- 1/4 tsp red chili powder, or to taste
- 3/4 tsp salt, or to taste
Instructions
Cilantro and Mint Spicy Pani
- Add mint, cilantro, ginger, tamarind, and pepper into a small food process or grinder and blend until you have a thick paste. If needed, add 2-3 tbsp of water to the mix.
- Spoon the paste into a large lidded container and add chaat masala, cumin powder, coriander powder, salt, black salt and dried milk. Whisk well and add 4 cups of ice-cold water to the mix and stir well. Refrigerate overnight.
- The next day you can optionally strain the pani for a clearer pani. Taste and season with additional salt or lime juice as needed.
Khatta Meetha Pani
- Add boiling water and tamarind into a lidded container. Soak the tamarind until the water is completely cool. Use your hands to remove the pulp from the tamarind seeds and discard the seeds and any large fibers.
- Add jaggery, chaat masala, black salt, black pepper, cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, and salt. Blend the mixture with an immersion blender until smooth. Add 2 cups of cold water and blend again for 10-20 seconds. Refrigerate the mixture overnight.
- The next day you can optionally strain the pani for a clearer pani. Taste and season with additional salt or lime juice as needed.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Category: Main
- Cuisine: Indian
