Bhel Puri (Mumbai Puffed Rice Chaat)
Local name: भेलपुरी
In short: Puffed rice tossed with potato, onion, tomato, peanuts, crisp wafers, and sweet and green chutneys. Mumbai's crunchy, tangy street snack in minutes. It takes about 35 min in total and makes 4 servings.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Total
- 35 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 230 kcal
Bhel puri is Mumbai's most popular chaat, a quick toss of puffed rice with potato, onion, tomato, peanuts, crisp wafers and two chutneys, one sweet and sour, the other fresh and green. The art is in the contrast between crunchy, soft, tangy and spicy, and in serving it before the puffed rice softens. Everything can be prepared ahead, so the final assembly takes about two minutes. Eat it with a spoon or from a paper cone.
Instructions
- For the sweet chutney, simmer the dates, tamarind pulp, jaggery, cumin, chili powder, salt and water for 10 minutes until the dates are very soft. Blend until smooth, adding water until it is pourable, and cool.
- For the green chutney, blend all the ingredients until smooth, adding the water a spoonful at a time.
- Crisp the puffed rice by toasting it in a dry pan over low heat for 3 minutes, stirring. Cool completely.
- Just before serving, toss the puffed rice in a large bowl with the potato, onion, tomato and peanuts. Add 3 tbsp sweet chutney, 2 tbsp green chutney, the chaat masala, lemon juice and salt and toss quickly.
- Fold in half the sev and the crushed papdi. Serve immediately in bowls or paper cones, topped with the remaining sev and the coriander.
Tips
- Assemble just before eating, because puffed rice softens within minutes once the chutneys go on. Keep everything chopped and ready.
- The sweet chutney keeps for 2 weeks in the fridge and the green chutney for 3 days. Add boiled chickpeas or sprouted moong for more protein.
Questions and answers
What is the difference between bhel puri, sev puri and pani puri?
Bhel puri is a tossed mix of puffed rice. Sev puri has flat crisp discs topped with chutneys and sev. Pani puri is a hollow crisp shell filled with spiced water.
Can I make bhel puri ahead of time?
Make the chutneys and chop the vegetables ahead, but toss everything together right before serving so the puffed rice stays crunchy.
How spicy is bhel puri?
It is mild to medium. The green chutney carries the heat, so you can use less of it and add more sweet chutney for children.
How long does it take to make Bhel Puri (Mumbai Puffed Rice Chaat)?
About 35 min in total: 25 min of preparation and 10 min of cooking.
How many calories are in Bhel Puri (Mumbai Puffed Rice Chaat)?
About 230 kcal per serving, with 6 g of protein, 31 g of carbohydrates and 9 g of fat. These values are estimates.
Nutrition per serving
| Calories | 230 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 31 g |
| Fat | 9 g |
| Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 8 g |
| Sodium | 550 mg |
Estimated values, calculated from the ingredients.
