Puchka - Kolkata style

Kolkata is known for its sweets and its hard-to-miss sandesh shops at almost every corner. The rest are practically taken over by street food vendors a.k.a the neighborhood Puchka wallas and 4th generation Jhal-muri wallas. Of all the street food Kolkata is famous for - Jhal-muri, Radha-Vallabhi, Kulfi, Pyaji, Beguni and even Kati Rolls, Puchka wins hands down. A trio of textures unite to result in a mouth watering delight called the Puchka. It comprises of a crunchy semolina puri with soft potato filling dipped in tangy sweet mint water.

Almost every part of India has its variation of this street food, made with its slight twist and known by a different name. Its called 'Gol-gappey' in Delhi, 'Pani puri' or 'Gup-chup' in Gujarat-Maharashtra and ofcourse, 'Puchka' in Kolkata. I've had long, almost heated debates in my hostel room with friends from Delhi and Mumbai who claimed that the Delhi Gol-gappey or the Mumbai Pani puri tasted better than Kolkata Puchkas. Having tried all the variations - I think the Kolkata Puchkas are the best! My mom even made the puchka puris at home. She always made a Jain version for Baa using raw bananas instead of potatoes for the filling - Strangely, the Jain version was always more appealing to me. I tried to make a slightly healthier version of her recipe by replacing part of the potato filling with green bananas/ plantains. Here it goes -

Potatoes and plantain for the filling

Serves: 4 persons
Preparation time: 30 minutes


Ingredients
30-40 puchka puris (mine were store bought)
Filling
2 large potatoes, boiled
1 plantain, boiled
1/2 cup black chick peas/ lal chana, boiled
Salt
1/4 tsp rock salt
1 tsp roasted cumin powder
1 tsp red chilli powder

Mint leaves

1/4 cup coriander leaves, chopped
Spicy water
4-5 cups water
1-2 tsp tamarind pulp
1 cup mint leaves, chopped
1/2 cup coriander leaves, chopped
2 green chillies
2 tsp cumin powder
1-2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp rock salt
2 tbsp date-tamarind chutney (optional)

Method
1. Filling

• Mash the potatoes and plantains together in a medium sized bowl. Ensure that there are no lumps of potato or plantain. Sometimes, I grate the potatoes for a more even texture. 
• Add the remaining spices and salt to taste and mix well. 
• Add the black chick peas and coriander leaves and mix again. Set aside.

2. Spicy water

Soaking tamarind pulp in water

• Soak tamarind in a large bowl with 4-5 cups of water for 15-20 minutes. 
• In a blender, add mint, coriander and green chillies with salt and blend into a paste. 
• Add some of the tamarind water, cumin powder, red chilli powder, rock salt and blend. Taste before you add salt, because the rock salt and tamarind add saltiness to the mixture. 
• Now, add this mint-coriander paste to the remaining tamarind water and mix well. Refrigerate till ready to serve. If you want a sweet-tangy taste, add the date-tamarind chutney. I usually leave it out, and add it while eating.

Spicy mint water

3.  Serving (or eating!)

• Make a 1/2 inch hole on one of the sides of the puchka puri. Fill a teaspoon of the potato filling.
• Add a drop or two of the date-tamarind chutney. 
• Dip the potato filled puri in a bowl of spiced water and serve or eat immediately!! 

Puchka- Kolkata style

Bon Apetit!
Hetal from Houston