Poori or Puri is an unleavened fried bread made from whole wheat flour, salt and water. In this post I am sharing 2 recipes to make pooris.
- Recipe 1 – Basic Poori Recipe to make crisp, golden and soft poori
- Recipe 2 – These Pooris are made with whole wheat four and suji (semolina) making them more crisp from outside and yet having soft texture from inside.
Both the recipes are easy and taste good. You can make either of them. If you want extra crispy pooris then you can go for recipe 2.
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About Basic Poori Recipe
The basic poori recipe is always made with whole wheat flour, salt and water. A bit of oil or ghee can be added to the whole wheat dough optionally. The dough is not leavened or fermented.
Small balls are pinched from the dough, rolled evenly to a disc later to be deep fried in hot oil. While frying the poori puffs up nicely and this is the benchmark of a well made poori. The puffing up of the poori helps in giving it a soft texture.
While frying the poori should not break otherwise it will absorb some more oil.
Variations of Poori Recipes
- Masaledar poori – Spiced poori or Teekhi Poori
- Luchi – In Bengal region a popular variation of poori with all purpose flour (maida) is made and usually served with Bengali Dum Aloo.
- Mangalore Buns – Sweet banana pooris.
- Palak Poori – With palak puree added to the dough.
- Beetroot Poori – With Beetroot puree added to the dough.
- Potato poori – Poori stuffed with spiced mashed potatoes.
- Meethi Poori – Sweet Poori made with sugar or jaggery.
- Rice Poori – Made with rice flour.
- Poori made with grated vegetables or pureed vegetables.
Serving Suggestions for Poori
In the Indian cuisine, it is a norm to serve these crisp, golden and puffed poori with a side potato dish (dry or curried). According to me, Potato curry and poori are made for each other combination.
Poori is also served in North India with a sweet dish – sooji halwa and in Gujarat and Maharashtra with aamras (mango pulp) or shrikhand.
Poori are an important part of festive occasions as well as made during Navratri Kanjak Pooja. They are often had for breakfast.
Although, you can prepare poori with a curry or a sautéed veggie dish (sabzi) for lunch or any time of the day. In this post, I have shared the basic method of making poori.
Curry recipes that go well with poori are chana masala, veg kurma, kadala curry, aloo sabzi, aloo chole and jeera aloo.
How to make Puri or Poori
1. Mix or sieve the whole wheat flour with salt. Add melted ghee or oil. Add little water at a time and knead well to form a dough with hands or with the help of a stand mixer.
2. The dough should not be soft like the dough of the chapati or roti, but a little stiff and tight.
3. Divide the dough into small or medium pieces – about 12 to 14. Make into medium sized or slightly small balls.
Rolling Puri
4. Apply oil to dough ball. The idea of applying oil and not dusting with flour is so that while frying, the oil stays clean and you won’t see dark burnt flour particles inside the oil.
5. Roll the dough evenly into circles which are neither too thin nor thick.
6. Place the rolled poori in a plate and cover with a clean kitchen towel, so that they don’t dry up.
7. Heat oil in a deep frying pan or kadai. When the oil is sufficiently hot, then drop a small dough ball into oil. If the dough ball rises steadily & briskly to the top, then the oil is sufficiently hot to fry the poori. Otherwise, wait till the oil becomes hot before frying the poori. if the dough ball rises slowly or is still at the bottom, then the oil is cold and if it rises too fast, then the oil is very hot.
Frying Puri
8. Add one puri at a time. It will puff up soon.
9. Once the bottom side is golden, then turn over the poori and fry gently pressing down with the frying spoon or slotted spoon in a circular motion. Fry the poori till golden brown all over.
10. Remove them into paper napkins to remove excess oil. Fry all poori this way. If the oil becomes too hot, then lower the temperature by reducing the flame and vice versa.
11. Serve poori hot with a vegetable curry or sweet dishes like aam ras or hot with aloo tamatar ki sabzi or chana masala or mathura ke dubki wale aloo or aloo matar.
If making for picnics or tiffin, then after the poori have been drained, when still hot or warm, keep them in a casserole. They will stay soft and won’t get dense and chewy.
Tips for making whole wheat puri
- The dough should be slightly stiff. This is, so that the while being rolled less amount of wheat flour can be dusted on the poori. If you use too much of wheat flour for dusting then while deep frying the wheat flour particles get fried and burnt in the oil. These burnt particles then stick to the later batches of poori that you will fry.
- To avoid this happening, you have one more option. While rolling, apply a little oil on the poori and then roll. This way, you won’t need to dust the rolling board with wheat flour. The oil does the trick and you can easily roll the poori.
- Ensure that the oil is neither too hot nor cold. If hot, then poori get browned quickly. If not enough hot then the poori absorb oil and become too oily.
- The poori should puff while frying. If not, then something has gone wrong….. Either the dough has not been kneaded well or the poori have not been rolled out evenly or the oil is not hot enough.
- You can also add some suji/semolina to the poori. It makes the poori a little crispier. This method is shared in second recipe further down the post.
- Ajwain seeds (carom seeds) can also be added to the wheat flour. Carom seeds (ajwain) is very helpful in digestion. It is used in poori as poori being a heavy food can be difficult to digest at times. In north India they make paratha using ajwain.
Few more tasty recipes for you!
Note: This recipe post is from the archives and has been republished and updated on 1st June, 2020.
Many of my recipes have detailed step by step photos and useful tips to help you make it easily and perfectly.
Poori Recipe (Soft & Fluffy Wheat Puri)
Crisp, golden and soft poori made with whole wheat flour, salt and water.
Servings (change the number to scale):20 to 25 poori
(1 CUP = 250 ML)
making dough
Seive the whole wheat flour with salt. Add melted ghee or oil.
Add little water at a time and knead well to form a dough. The dough should not be soft but a little stiff and tight.
making poori
Divide the dough into small or medium pieces – about 12-14.
Make into medium sized or slightly small balls.
Apply oil to dough ball. The idea of applying oil and not dusting with flour is so that while frying, the oil stays clean and you won’t see dark burnt flour particles inside the oil.
Roll the dough evenly into circles which are neither too thin nor thick.
Place the rolled poori in a plate and cover with a clean kitchen towel, so that they don’t dry up.
frying poori
Heat oil in a deep frying pan or kadai.
When the oil is sufficiently hot then add one poori at a time and fry gently pressing down with the frying spoon or slotted spoon in a circular motion.
Turn over when puffed up and fry till golden brown.
Serve poori hot with a vegetable curry or sweet dishes like suji ka halwa ( known as sheera in maharashtra ) or aam ras or aloo tamatar ki sabzi.
Nutrition Facts
Poori Recipe (Soft & Fluffy Wheat Puri)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 112 Calories from Fat 54
% Daily Value*
Fat 6g9%
Sodium 116mg5%
Potassium 65mg2%
Carbohydrates 12g4%
Fiber 1g4%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin A 5IU0%
Calcium 6mg1%
Iron 0.6mg3%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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For Making Crisp Whole Wheat Puri (With Rava)
This Crispy Puri Recipe is different from the above basic poori recipe. These are crisp from outside and yet have soft texture from inside.
The ingredient which is added to make the poori crisp is sooji or cream of wheat or rava. This method I learnt from my mom.
Usually I make poori only with whole wheat flour or atta. But when we want some crisp texture in the poori, I add sooji or rava. Use fine quality of rava. The sooji should also not be roasted.
The crispness in these poori is not like a papdi or the puri of pani puri.
The method of making a pani puri or a papdi is different and I have already shared the recipes.
So if you like crisp poori for morning breakfast or brunch, do try this recipe.
Serve them with your choice of potato curry or chana masala or vegetable kurma.
How to make soft crisp poori
1. In a bowl take 2 cups whole wheat flour (atta), 3 tbsp fine sooji (rava or cream of wheat) and ½ tsp salt or add salt as per taste.
2. Mix everything very well with a spoon or with your hands.
3. Add water little at a time and as required. Also add 1 tsp oil.
4. Begin to mix first and then start to knead the dough.
5. Then add more water as required and knead the dough really well. the dough may appear hard as first, but as you continue to knead, it will become slightly soft. the sooji absorbs water while you knead. So if the dough looks sticky, then don’t worry. Continue to knead and the stickiness will go away. the dough should not be too soft but a little stiff and tight.
6. Cover and allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes again knead the dough lightly.
7. Make small to medium sized balls of the dough. Cover and keep aside.
8. Now take a dough ball. With your palms slightly flatten it and apply oil to it on both sides.
9. With a rolling pin, gently roll to a small or medium sized poori or circles which is neither too thin nor thick. You can roll the poori and fry it simultaneously or place the rolled poori in a plate and later fry them. Do cover with a clean kitchen towel, so that they don’t dry up.
Frying Wheat Puri
10. Heat oil in a deep frying pan or kadai.
11. When the oil is sufficiently hot then add one poori at a time.
12. It will rise gradually on top and begin puffing up.
13. Gently nudge with the slotted spoon so that it puffs up very well.
14. The poori will puff up.
15. Once the oil has stopped sizzling, gently flip and fry the other side.
16. Once both the sides are crisp, golden and fried well, remove them with a slotted spoon. Drain on kitchen paper towels to remove excess oil.
17. Serve crisp wheat poori hot or warm with any potato curry or amritsari chole or aloo matar or kadala curry or any veg curry.
Many of my recipes have detailed step by step photos and useful tips to help you make it easily and perfectly.
Crisp Wheat Poori
Method to make soft and crisp poori with whole wheat flour, rava, salt and water.
Servings (change the number to scale):3 to 4
(1 CUP = 250 ML)
kneading puri dough
In a bowl take 2 cups whole wheat flour (atta), 3 tbsp fine sooji (rava or cream of wheat) and 1/2 tsp salt or add salt as per taste.
Mix everything very well with a spoon or with your hands.
Add water little at a time and as required. Also add 1 tsp oil.
Begin to mix first and then start to knead the dough.
Then add more water as required and knead the dough really well. The dough may appear hard as first, but as you continue to knead it will become slightly soft.
The sooji absorbs water while you knead. So if the dough looks sticky, then don’t worry. Continue to knead and the stickiness will go away. The dough should not be too soft but a little stiff and tight.
Cover and allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes again knead the dough lightly.
rolling and frying poori
Make small to medium sized balls of the dough. Cover and keep aside.
Now take a dough ball. With your palms slightly flatten it and apply oil to it on both sides.
Gently roll to a small or medium sized poori or circles which is neither too thin nor thick.
You can roll the poori and fry it simultaneously or place the rolled poori in a plate and later fry them. Do cover with a clean kitchen towel, so that they don’t dry up.
Heat oil in a deep frying pan or kadai.
When the oil is sufficiently hot then add one poori at a time.
It will rise gradually on top and begin puffing up.
Gently nudge with the slotted spoon so that it puffs up very well.
Once the oil has stopped sizzling, gently flip and fry the other side.
Once both sides are crisp, golden and fried well, remove them with a slotted spoon. Drain on kitchen paper towels.
Serve poori hot or warm with any potato curry or any veg curry.
All our content & photos are copyright protected. Please do not copy. As a blogger, if you want to adapt this recipe or make a youtube video, then please write the recipe in your own words and give a clickable link back to the recipe on this url.
Then do follow and SUBSCRIBE to us on youtube to get the latest Recipe Video updates.