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> “Poori” the word itself is enough to bring a craveable thought in your mind. I always thought that making pooris is very tough ,especially since it involves deep frying. But gradually with time and practice , I found there are almost 100 varieties of poori which you can make and enjoy at any time. It is an Indian puffed bread which is prepared by making dough and then deep frying.
Everyone in my family loved this partly because of the paneer stuffing that it contains.(My hubby is a die-hard fan of paneer). There are other varieties too like Peshawari poori,where we stuff it with nuts and dry-fruits, Aloo ki poori,Bedmi poori(made with ground Lentils), Palak Poori (made with spinach) etc. For pooris , the stuffing has to be dry and if is wet like for raddish,carrots , bottle gourd,cauliflowers then it is grated and mixed in the flour while kneading it. Since the dough needed for poori is a little stiffer than the chapati’s dough , hence the stuffing should be a dry one or else it would come out while frying. Also as in the case of parathas, you cannot add stuffing between two rolled layers. Since as soon as the poori goes in oil for frying these layers will open up from all ends. So stuffing amount is lesser than the parathas. >

INGREDIENTS:
1. Whole wheat Flour (Atta) – 4 cups
2. Cooking Oil – ¹⁄₄ + 1 cups
3. Carrom seeds(ajwain)- 1 tsp
4. Salt – ¹⁄₂ tsp
5. Water – 1.5 cups or as required for kneading
For the stuffing:
1. Cottage cheese ( Paneer)grated – 125 gm or 1 cup{ You may use store-bought or home-made here.If you are using home-made paneer make sure to dry it completely before using .}
2. Salt to taste – ¹⁄₂ tsp
3. Cilantro cut/Coriander leaves(dhaniya) – ¹⁄₂ cup
4. Green Chillies chopped finely (hari mirch) – 2
5. Black pepper – ¹⁄₂ tsp or to taste
6. Coriander powder(dhaniya) – 1 tsp
7. Fennel powder(saunf)- 1 tsp

METHOD:
| Preparation time : 20 mins | Cooking time : 10 mins | Makes 20-22 pooris |
1. Add flour in a paraat(shallow bowl) . Make a well in the center and now add the cooking oil, salt and ajwain in it .Mix them well till it forms knots(guthliyan) in the flour.
2. Now slowly add water in it and start combining it. Stop when you see the dough is binded well and try to add as little water as possible. The dough formed should be stiff enough such that when you try to poke it, deeply you still see only ¹⁄₂ cm depression in it. But it is not as hard as we use for mathri, it is softer than that ,and harder than chapati’s dough.
3. Cover it and keep it aside for 15- 20 mins. In the meanwhile, prepare the stuffing.
4. For this grate the paneer and mix it with cilantro,chopped chillies and some salt,black pepper,coriander and fennel powder. Add less salt than required ,since the salt will make the stuffing wet because salt is an absorbing agent.
5. Heat oil in a wok on medium heat. Check the oil by dropping a small bit size dough in the oil. If it comes up instantly ,then the oil is ready.
6. Now take a lemon size portion(loi) from the dough and make a ball out of it between your palms. The size of the ball(pedha) for this poori is almost the same we need for chapati. Since this is rolled thicker than rotis.

1. Flatten it between your palms and roll it slightly .Use oil to help the rolling.
   
2. Add a spoonful of stuffing in the center and close on all sides by lifting up the corners.Bring them together and seal them on the top.
   
3. Press the stuffed loi(ball) between your palms and roll it to ¹⁄₂ cm thickness. Don’t press hard while rolling or the poori might get torn. if it happens ,just stick some more dough on the torn area.
   

4. Gently pick up the rolled poori and slide in the hot oil throught the side of the wok.

5. Let it bubble for 30 seconds. Use your slotted spoon for moving the oil in a circular way and touch the poori slightly with it so that the poori puffs up in the oil.
   

6. Turn it over with the slotted spoon and let the other side cook as well.
   

7. Once both the side are golden brown in color, and you get a crisp look like that of kachori ,take it out.
   

8. Serve hot with aloo matar, Pickle (achar), Aam ki chutney or with any dry or wet side or withmint Chaach.