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Pani Poori From Scratch

Pani Poori From Scratch

IT’S SNACK TIME! Today, I’m making homemade pani poori, my absolute favorite Indian street food. I’ve loved this dish since I was a kid! FUN STORY TIME: My brother, Yoni, and I went to the same Indian restaurant for years growing up, and so we got to know the owners pretty well. When we were little, they jokingly told us that the mint water was called, “dirty water.” Fast forward years later, we’re at a new Indian restaurant. We order pani poori to start and ask for a “side of dirty water”…CRINGE. We had NO IDEA that we’d only been told that as a joke, and we seriously confused (and probably offended!) the waiter.

I love this dish for so many reasons, but especially because it’s a complete journey of flavors and textures. You have a light crunchy exterior, pillowy spiced potatoes, sharp raw onion, bright spicy mint chutney, earthy tangy tamarind, and sweet bursts from pomegranate seeds. The toppings make this super customizable, too, so anyone can add as much or as little of each topping to their taste, or make each bite different than the one before! Ponipuri are great as an appetizer or snack, but, here’s your warning, after you try your first one, they’ll probably become your entire meal. Extremely once-you-pop-you-can’t-stop energy!! As always, you can watch the entire process in the video, and the full recipe is below. I hope my favorite, classic Indian street food becomes yours, too!