Golgappa Recipe (Paani Poori)

Golgappa is the most favourite and famous street snack of India. Indian cinema industry has also contributed to its popularity by showing it often in the movies. Having said that, its recipe is also the most preserved secret among the street snack vendors. No one seems to be knowing its secret - how much ever one tries it does not match the street golgappas!! And to add to that, nobody wants to take the risk of preparing at home as it would never come out "round". Well, I have tried preparing at home and have been fairly successful to get the same shape and taste. Scroll down to unveil the secret!!!

Ingredients:

• Semolina (Suji) - 3/4 cup
• All purpose flour (maida) - 1/4 cup
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Oil for frying

Procedure:

1. Mix (dry) Semolina, all purpose flour and Salt in a big bowl. [fig.1]
2. Add water little by little and knead to make a soft dough. The dough has to be kneaded thoroughly. The more it is kneaded, the more soft it will be and the more round shaped the Golgappas would be! for me it took around 25 mins to knead it properly. [fig.2]
3. Once kneaded, form lemon sized balls from the dough and roll it into Chapati. [fig.3,4] Make sure that the chapati has even thickness at all the places.
4. Use a round shaped lid and press the chapati to cut out smaller round shapes. [fig.5]
5. Heat oil in a vessel and once it is hot enough drop the small chapatis into the oil to fry. [fig.6] Use a frying spoon to move around the golgappas in oil slowly so that they get fried evenly at all sides.
6. Once the golgappas are wheat coloured take them out and drop in a suitable box. You can use tissue papers or Kitchen towels to absorb oil out of the golgappas. It is preferable to use an air-tight container to store it so that they don't lose their crispiness.
7. Prepare paani (click here) and enjoy your golgappas!!