puri (food)

{{Infobox food

| name = Puri

| image = Fluffy Poori.JPG

| image_size = 250px

| caption = Puri on a plate

| region = Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Caribbean

| national_cuisine = India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana

| creator =

| course =

| served = Hot or cold

| main_ingredient = Atta

| variations = Bhatoora, Luchi, Sevpuri, Panipuri

| calories =

| other =

| no_commons = true

}}

Puri, also poori, is a type of deep-fried bread, made from unleavened whole-wheat flour, originated from the Indian subcontinent.

Puris are most commonly served as breakfast or snacks. It is also served at special or ceremonial functions as part of ceremonial rituals along with other vegetarian food offered in Hindu prayer as prasadam. When hosting guests it is common in some households to serve puri in place of roti, as a small gesture of formality. Puri is often eaten in place of roti on special holidays.

Name

The name Puri derives from the Sanskrit word पूरिका (pūrikā), from पूर (pūra) "filled".{{cite book|title=Traditional Foods: Some Products and Technologies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7CVBAAAAYAAJ|page=56|author=Tokuji Watanambe|publisher=Central Food Technological Research Institute|year=1986}} In other South Asian languages it is known as: Urdu: پوری (pūrī), Dogri and Hindi: पूरी (pūrī) or पूड़ी (pūṛī), Kumaoni: लगड (lagaḍ), {{langx|ta|பூரி}} (poori), {{langx|te|పూరి}} (pūri), Gujarati: પૂરી, {{langx|as|পুৰি}} (puri), {{langx|bn|পুরি}} (pūri), {{langx|bho|पूड़ी}} (pūṛī), {{langx|mr|पूरी}} (pūrī), {{langx|kn|ಪೂರಿ}} (pūri), {{langx|ml|പൂരി}} (pūrī), {{langx|my|ပူရီ}} (pūrī), {{langx|ne|पूरी}} (puri), {{langx|or|ପୁରି}} (puri), {{langx|pa|ਪੂਰੀ}} (pūṛī), Garhwali: पूरी (pūrī), {{cite book|title=Traditional Foods: Some Products and Technologies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7CVBAAAAYAAJ|page=56|author=Tokuji Watanambe|publisher=Central Food Technological Research Institute|year=1986}}

Ingredients

Puris are prepared with wheat flour, either atta (whole wheat flour) or sooji (coarse wheat flour). In some recipes, ajwain, cumin seed, spinach, or fenugreek seeds are added to the dough. The dough is either rolled out in a small circle or rolled out and cut out in small circles, then deep fried in ghee or vegetable oil. While deep frying, puris puff up like a round ball because moisture in the dough changes into steam which expands in all directions. They are flipped once in the frying process, and when they are golden-brown in color, they are removed and either served hot or saved for later use (as with the snack food pani puri). Rolled puris may be pricked with a fork before deep frying to make flat puris for chaat like bhel puri. A punctured puri does not puff when cooked because the steam escapes as it cooks. Masala puri adds turmeric, chili powder, coriander and cumin, and hing (asafoetida) to the dough.

Types and variants

A variant of the puri popular in the eastern part of Indian subcontinent is Luchi (in West Bengal and Odisha) or lusi in Assam, luchui{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QmhDAAAAYAAJ&q=luchui |title=Folk Culture: Folk culture & literature |date=1983 |publisher=Institute of Oriental and Orissan Studies |language=en |quote=Luchui (flour - cakes cooked in ghee)}} and Jharkhand. Luchi is made using refined wheat flour (samidh flour) and is deep fried. It is served with typical side dishes like aloor dum (potato preparation), Chana ghugni, begun bhaja (fried eggplant) and others.

Another variant, largely popular in the Braj culinary tradition of the Northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh is bedmi puri or bedai.{{Cite web |date=2024-01-19 |title=Bedai Puri, The Origin Of Uttar Pradesh's Special Breakfast Dish |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/lifestyle/food/recipes/bedai-puri-the-breakfast-special-from-uttar-pradesh-article-106985195/amp |access-date=2024-08-24 |website=Times Now |language=en}} It is prepared using stuffing of Urad dal paste and paired with Mathura's Dubki Aloo jhor.{{Cite web |date=2023-05-08 |title=UK Chef Makes Mathura Ke Dubki Wale Aloo, Fans Want Him To Start Restaurant In India |url=https://www.news18.com/amp/viral/uk-chef-makes-mathura-ke-dubki-wale-aloo-fans-want-him-to-start-restaurant-in-india-7749619.html |access-date=2024-08-24 |website=News18 |language=en |quote=scrumptious dish, which finds its roots in Mathura and is called Mathura Ke Dubki Wale Aloo.}}

A variant of puri is bhatoora, which is three times the size of a puri and served with chholey (spicy chickpeas). It often constitutes a full meal. (See chole bhature.) Bhatoora is made with yeast and yogurt in the dough and puri is made from unleavened dough.{{cite book |last=Ramineni |first=Shubhra |title=Entice With Spice: Easy Indian Recipes for Busy People |year=2012 |publisher=Tuttle |isbn=9781462905270 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LpXTAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT206}}

In the Indian state of Odisha a large-sized puri is made during Bali Yatra which is called thunka puri ({{Langx|or|ଠୁଙ୍କା ପୁରି}}).{{Cite web |url=http://cmccuttack.gov.in/overview_on_cuttack.html |title=Overview of Cuttack |access-date=28 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813184324/http://cmccuttack.gov.in/overview_on_cuttack.html |archive-date=13 August 2011 |url-status=dead }}[http://www.odiaa.com/2011/11/fanfare-spectacle-mark-the-opening-of-bali-yatra/ Fanfare & spectacle mark the opening of Bali Yatra] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403141410/http://www.odiaa.com/2011/11/fanfare-spectacle-mark-the-opening-of-bali-yatra/ |date=3 April 2015}}, 10 November 2011[http://orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=22539 Orissa CM Naveen Patnaik inaugurates historic Baliyatra festival in Cuttack] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307131414/http://orissadiary.com/currentnews.asp?id=22539 |date=7 March 2016 }}, 22 November 2010[http://www.odishanewstoday.com/entertainment/1279-bali-yatra-fever-grips-cuttack.html Bali Yatra Fever grips Cuttack], 12 November 2011 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113062949/http://www.odishanewstoday.com/entertainment/1279-bali-yatra-fever-grips-cuttack.html |date=13 November 2011 }}Binita Jaiswal, [https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/PDATOI/articleshow/10684108.cms Fanfare & spectacle mark the opening of Bali Yatra], 10 November 2011

The puris used for panipuri are smaller, and are usually made crisper by the addition of rava/sooji (semolina) to the dough.

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.

Fast food chains in the Middle East use puri for fried chicken wraps.

Gallery

File:Puri Bhajji in Mumbai Restaurant.JPG|Puri Bhajji in Mumbai restaurant, served with potato curry and coriander leaf chutney

File:Aloo Puri, typical morning snack, Varanasi.jpg|Aloo puri, a typical morning snack in Varanasi, India

File:Halwa Puri - Walled City of Lahore Punjab Pakistan is famous for this traditional food.jpg|Puri frying in Pakistan

File:Poori or Puri.JPG|Poori or Puri, traditionally deep fried from most Indian restaurants

File:Dal Puri.JPG|Dal puri, a traditional Bengali version

File:Pani Puri - Perfect Street food.JPG|Mini-puris are part of a panipuri snack. It is crunchier in texture.

File:Puri (food), fried dough food at Wikipedia's 16th Birthday celebration in Chittagong (01).jpg|Daal puri, Bangladesh

File:Halwa Puri, a traditional food made in Walled City of Lahore.jpg|Thin bread is fried in oil and eaten with a salty curry of chickpeas, potatoes and sweet pudding.

File:Puri used in Panipuri made from aata.jpg|Puri, made of wheat flour, which is used in panipuri

File:Sooji Batashe used in Panipuri.jpg|Puri, made of rawa, which is used in panipuri