BHEL PURI/CHURMURI

Bhel puri is a typical north Indian snacks or chat.  These are now available at all parts of India and are very popular.  The south Indian version of bhel puri is called churmuru.  Bhel means puffed rice.  The main ingredient is bhel as the name suggests.  The bhel is mixed with some veggies and a particular kind of sauce or chutney and is topped with sev (vermicelli made from basan flour/gram flour) and coriander leaves.  Mix the bhel with other ingredients just before serving.  You can add any vegetables as per your taste.  Basically bhel puri contains broken papdies and boiled potatoes.  I just avoided it in this recipe.  I always add a lot of vegetables that can be eaten raw.  This makes a very good evening time snack for the children as it has full of vegetables.  The tamarind sauce prepared once can be refrigerated for 1 week.  Here is the way how I make this fabulous chat…….

Ingredients

For 4 servings

Puffed rice – 3 cups

Tomato chopped – 1

Onion chopped – 1

Salad cucumber chopped – 1 cup

Carrot chopped – 1 small

Coriander leaves chopped – ½ cup

Fresh green peas boiled – ¼ cup

Red chilly powder – ½ tsp

Oil – 1 tbsp

Salt – to the taste

Sev - 1 cup

Lime juice – 1 tbsp

Roasted pea nuts – ¼ cup (optional)

For sauce/chutney

Jaggery syrup – ½ cup (50 – 75 gm jaggery)

Tamarind juice – ½ cup (juice of a small ball of tamarind)

Black salt – a pinch

Roasted jeera powder – ½ tsp

Red chilly powder – 1 tsp

Salt – ½ tsp or to taste

Method

In a sauce pan pour tamarind juice, jaggery syrup and bring to boil.  Add red chilly powder and black salt.  In a low flame cook until the sauce becomes thick.  Just before turning off the stove add roasted cumin seeds and salt to taste.

In a large mixing bowl add chopped vegetables, peas, and salt.  Before adding salt, taste the puffed rice. Some times the bhel has more salt in it.  Mix well.  Add ½ of the sev and coriander leaves.  Add lime juice, oil, chilly powder and mix along with puffed rice.  Immediately serve it in quarter plates and pour 1 or 2 tsp (according to your taste) of sauce and garnish with some sev, coriander leaves and chopped onion.  Serve at once.