This evening, we had dinner with Carolyn, the backpacker. Carolyn is currently on contract working with Caroline. With nothing going on this Labor Day weekend, we took some time to have a bite to eat and to talk about travel. For dinner, I prepared a dish popular on the beaches of Bombay – Pani puri. Pani Puri is part of the chaat family of foods and is also known as Golgappa and Foochka in other parts of India. This extraordinarily tasty food is a rarity in America; I was taught by Jay Patel how to make this particular version:

RECIPE:

Soak overnight 1 ½ cup Kala chana (available in Indian grocery stores, or use dried garbanzo beans – chickpeas)

Soak overnight 1 ½ cup moong bean (a.k.a. mung bean)

Early in the day, prepare the pani as follows:

5 bunches of mint

5 bunches of cilantro (you need equal amounts of mint and cilantro)

3-6 jalapenos

1 ½ tsp amchur powder (mango powder – available in Indian grocery stores)

3 tsp black salt (available in Indian grocery stores)

1 ½ tsp cumin seed

1 ½ tsp fennel seed

2 tsp salt

2-3 limes

8 – 10 cups of cold water

Tomato Relish:

2 Tomatoes

½ bunch of chopped cilantro

½ finely chopped red onion

Puri:

2 – 50 count bags of puris (available in Indian grocery stores)

Thoroughly rinse mint and cilantro and chop off stems.

You will have to mix the following in batches, as blenders are not large enough to mix all of this in one go. Place a handful of mint and a handful of cilantro in the blender. Add half the jalapenos, which should be chopped, leaving the seeds and veins intact. Add amchur powder, black salt, cumin seed, fennel seed, salt, juice from one lime, and enough water to almost fill the blender.

Blend varying between pulse and high until all ingredients are pureed, about a minute and a half.

Filter the contents of the blender through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, saving the contents of the sieve, which you will need to place back into the blender.

With the materials you just filtered back in the blender, add more mint and cilantro to nearly fill the blender; it’s ok to press these down into the blender and add the juice of another lime; you may add a third lime for a fruitier flavor, add the rest of the jalapeno, and add more water, to again nearly fill the blender, and pulse and mix on high again until thoroughly blended about one and a half minutes. As before, filter the contents, saving the very green water in the bowl, and place the material from the sieve back into the blender.

Repeat until you have used all of your cilantro and mint and the entire 8 cups of water. The green water you have created should have a sharp bite to it with a snap of tanginess. Do not worry too much about the spiciness, as it blends with the finished meal and seems to taper off as it chills. Place this green water (pani) into a sealable container and refrigerate.

Later in the day, about 1 hour before eating, it is time to prepare the rest of the ingredients. Rinse Kala chana, place in a pressure cooker, and cover with water; you should have approximately five times more water than Kala chana but please be aware of the manufacturer’s instructions. Cook the Kala chana for 11 minutes on high pressure, do a quick release, and set it to the side.

While the above is cooking, you can prepare the moong bean. Rinse the soaked beans and place them in 3qt. saucepan. Cover with water and boil until beans are just soft and starting to split. You must be careful here, as moong beans will dissolve if cooked too long. When beans are soft yet a bit firm, remove from heat, drain, and put to the side.

Peel six medium potatoes and chop them into small pieces, about ½ inch squares or smaller. In a medium saucepan, cover potatoes and bring to a boil; cook until soft, remove from heat, drain, and place in a bowl to the side.

Make the relish now. Finely chop tomato, cilantro, and onion, mix thoroughly, and place in the refrigerator.

In a wok or large pan, place 3 tbsp oil; I use grapeseed oil. Heat on high and add 2 tsp cumin seed. Heat until cumin starts to pop and sizzle, add Kala chana and moong bean, and turn the heat down to medium-high. Add 1 to 2 tsp of salt to taste. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often.

Bring everything to the table, pour the pani into individual bowls, and get ready for the tricky part. This dish is finger food and is a bit messy. First, take one of the puri in hand and tap on one side to poke a hole about half the size of the puri itself. One side of the puri should be thinner than the other, and after poking holes in a few, you should get the hang of this task.

With puri in hand, grab a pinch of the Kala chana/moong bean mixture and place it into the puri; fill to about half full. Add a potato or two, leaving enough room for a small pinch of the tomato relish. Now dip the filled puri into the bowl of pani, allowing the fluid to fill the rest of the nooks and crannies in the puri, and pop the entire thing in your mouth. If the dipping doesn’t work right away, spooning the pani into the puri is another option.