Bhelpuri

Bhelpuri (Marathi भेळ) is a savoury Indian snack, and is also a type of chaat. It is made out of puffed rice, vegetables and a tangy tamarind sauce.

Bhel is often identified with the beaches of Mumbai, such as Girguam or Juhu. Bhelpuri is thought to have originated within the Gucafes and street food stalls of Mumbai, and the recipe has spread to most parts of India where it has been modified to suit local food availability. It is also said to be originated from Bhadang (भडंग), a spicy namkeen from Western Maharashtra. Dry Bhel is made from Bhadang, The Kolkata variant of Bhelpuri is called Jhaal Muri (meaning "spicy puffed rice"). A native Mysore variant of Bhelpuri is known as Churumuri or Churmuri in Bangalore. A dry variant of Bhelpuri popularly known as Bhadang is consumed after garnishing with onions, coriander and lemon juice.

History

There is no clear mention of when and where bhelpuri was first prepared, but it likely originated in cafes and street food stalls of Mumbai. Bhelpuri belongs to the food family of chaats, which are salty and spicy snacks sold on carts throughout India.

Puri

Puri ( listen ) (Odia: ପୁରୀ) is a city and a Municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, 60 kilometres (37 mi) south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is also known as Jagannath Puri after the 12th-century Jagannath Temple located in the city. It is one of the original Char Dham pilgrimage sites for Hindus.

Puri is known by several names since the ancient times, and was locally known as "Shrikhetra" and Lord Jagannath temple is known as "Badadeula". Puri and the Jagannath Temple were invaded 18 times by Hindu and Muslim rulers, from the 4th century AD till the early 19th century with the objective of looting the treasures of the temple. Odisha, including Puri and its temple, were under the British Raj from 1803 till India attained independence in August 1947. Even though princely states do not exist in India today the heirs of the Gajapati Dynasty of Khurda still perform the ritual duties of the temple. The temple town has many Hindu religious maths or monasteries.

Puri (disambiguation)

Puri may refer to:

Puri (food)

Puri (also spelled poori) is an unleavened deep-fried Indian bread, commonly consumed on the Indian subcontinent. It is eaten for breakfast or as a snack or light meal. It is usually served with a curry or bhaji, as in Puri bhaji.

Puri is most commonly served at breakfast. It is also served at special or ceremonial functions as part of ceremonial rituals along with other vegetarian food offered in prayer as prasadam.

Name

The name puri derives from the Sanskrit word पूरिका (pūrikā), from पुर (pura) "filled". It has a similar name in many Asian languages including: Assamese: পুৰি (puri), Hindi: पूरी (pūrī),Marathi: पूरी (pūrī), Kannada: ಪೂರಿ (pūri), Malayalam: പൂരി, Burmese: ပူရီ (pūrī), Nepali: पूरी (puri), Odia: ପୁରି (puri), Punjabi: ਪੁੜੀ (pūḍī), Tamil: பூரி (pūri), Telugu: పూరి (pūri), and Urdu: پوری‎ (puri). Puri (პური) also means bread in Georgian.

Ingredients

Puri is prepared with wheat flour, either atta (whole wheat flour), maida (refined wheat flour), or sooji (coarse wheat flour). Maida flour is the most common flour used in making Puris. In some recipes, cumin seed are also added to the dough. A dough of flour and salt is either rolled out in a small circle or rolled out and cut out in small circles and deep fried in ghee or vegetable oil. While deep frying, it puffs up like a round ball because moisture in the dough changes into steam which expands in all directions. When it is golden-brown in color, it is removed and may be served hot or saved for later use (as with the snack food pani puri). The rolled puri may be pricked with a fork before deep frying to get a flat puri for chaat like bhel puri. A punctured puri does not puff when cooked because the steam escapes as it cooks.