Today’s recipe is a classic breakfast in South India – Poori. Served with a simple potato curry (Kezhangu), Poori Kezhangu is quite famous. I have fond memories of Poori from my childhood days. Mostly on Sundays, our Amma would set out to make Poori for breakfast. The sister and I would help her in rolling the dough into small circles. Amma would spread newspapers around us and we could make whatever mess we wanted to 🙂 Dad would be helping Amma with the frying and once done, we all would sit down together to devour the tasty Pooris. I wish I could go back to those happy days once again.
I was not a big fan of oily food growing up and that continues till date. It was the family tradition I loved the most as I realize now. As I have mentioned a number of times on this blog, the husband is a big time lover of deep fried stuff. Sometimes I wonder if I deprive him of the joy of best kind of food he loves, may be I do. Not only I detest having oily food, I hate making it too. Call it the fear of deep frying and the hot oil spilling or the smell of hot oil, I cant make this kind of food with ease. But Poori is one of the favorite things for my husband and I learnt to make it perfect for him. And you know, when things work out correctly, making these to puff up perfectly is easy and can be done in less amount of time.
To bring in a bit of health factor into it, I only use whole wheat flour and not all purpose flour. That also means that the Pooris are soft and stay like that for hours. There are a few tips to make any Poori puff up perfectly. First – never let the dough sit out. Prepare the dough and make Pooris right away. This would reduce Pooris from absorbing more oil. Make smaller sized Pooris, say 8-10 cm in diameter. That way, not much oil is needed for deep frying. Always, have little extra oil for frying and that way, not much oil would be absorbed by the Pooris. To get a great color on the Pooris, a teaspoon of sugar in the dough would help. The oil for deep frying should be neither too hot or too cold – maintain a medium flame all the time once after getting the oil hot. Press down the Poori using the slotted spoon to help puff it up. And one last thing – use a tbsp. of hot oil while kneading the dough. Follow these steps religiously, you would have fail-proof Pooris. So, here is the recipe.
How to Make Whole Wheat Poori
📖 Recipe
Poori | Whole Wheat Poori Recipe with Step by Step Pictures
In a large bowl, add whole wheat flour, salt, and sugar along with hot oil. Roughly mix everything together. Sprinkle water little by little and knead the dough until it comes together. Continue to work on the dough until it is smooth and pliable. It has to be firm and not too soft.
Cut the dough into equal sized portions and roll into balls. Take a ball of dough and flatten it slightly. Dust it with whole wheat flour on both sides and roll into a circle of diameter 8-10 cms. The rolled out dough should be neither too thick nor thin. Try avoiding dusting the dough with too much flour. Repeat the same with rest of the dough.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a deep pan. Once the oil is hot enough, set the flame on medium. Do a little test by dropping a tiny piece of dough into the oil and if it immediately raises to the top, oil is ready. Carefully slip a rolled out Poori into the oil and as it begins to raise up, press it gently with the slotted spoon. The Poori would begin to puff up, quickly turn it to the other side and cook until golden brown. Remove onto a tissue paper. Repeat the same with rest of the rolled out Pooris.
Serve hot with Potato curry or Kurma of any type.
Recipe Notes
Never let the dough sit out or rest. Prepare the dough and make Pooris right away. This would reduce Pooris from absorbing more oil. Make smaller sized Pooris, say 8-10 cm in diameter. That way, not much oil is needed for deep frying. Always, have little extra oil for frying and that way, not much oil would be absorbed by the Pooris. A tip I have learnt from my mom. To get a great color on the Pooris, a teaspoon of sugar in the dough would help. The oil for deep frying should be neither too hot or too cold – maintain a medium flame all the time once after getting the oil hot. Press down the Poori using the slotted spoon to help puff it up. Use a tbsp. of hot oil while kneading the dough to get soft yet crispy Pooris. Roll out all the Pooris and then set out to frying them all in a row, saves a lot of time. Don’t dust the Pooris with a lot of flour while rolling – oil used for deep frying would be spoilt with burnt flour at the bottom. One can use a little oil if the dough is sticky while rolling.
I would be delighted to know if you have tried this recipe, don’t forget to share your feedback and comments below. If you have any questions, you can e-mail me! I am also available on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter 🙂
