Poori Bhaji

Poori Bhaji or Puri Bhaji, a popular Maharashtrian combination of aloo bhaji or batata bhaji with fluffy, golden whole wheat breads called pooris, is eaten at picnics, weddings and everywhere in between. It is a delicious dish and it sits at the very top of India's long list of comfort foods.

Poori Bhaji (puri bhaji) is about as delicious as Indian food gets: and by that I mean pick-your-fingernails-with-your-teeth-to-devour-every-last-crumb delicious.

This is pure comfort food: the kind that gets made at every festive occasion in an Indian kitchen, no matter where in the world that kitchen is. The kind that kids carry to picnic lunches, the oil from the poori making transparent blotches on the newspaper it’s wrapped in. And the kind I feel like eating when I will settle for nothing short of pure perfection at the dinner table.

It wouldn’t be stretching the truth to say that there are perhaps as many versions of Poori Bhaji as there are Indian cooks. Although the poori, or the puffy, deep-fried bread, remains more or less the same except the addition of spices in some cases, the bhaji, or the vegetable component, varies drastically. It’s almost always made with potatoes but everyone puts their own delicious spin on the versatile spud: gravied, dry, spicy, mild, tangy with lemon, or alive with the spicy pungency of curry leaves.

When I lived in Bombay, one of the most popular places to go to if you were craving a plate of Poori Bhaji was Pancham Puriwala, a famously crowded and unpretentious dhaba/restaurant that sits not far from the grand Victoria Terminus railway station. According to Busybee, the now-dead but still-entertaining chronicler of Bombay’s eateries, it predates the British-era VT building and was started by an immigrant from Agra in north India who singlehandedly cooked and sold his Poori Bhaji more than 150 years ago.

The Pancham I was familiar with had grown into a much bigger establishment, but it still sold nothing but poori bhaji. Hundreds of people who worked around the busy Fort area would pour into the restaurant for lunch. It was -- if I remember correctly-- a salt-of-the-earth establishment with hardy wooden tables flanked by long benches. There’d be some pickles at the center of the table to spice up the meal. The place was intensely noisy and crowded and hot and humid -- a microcosm of the city itself-- but you could be sure to get your order fast from one of the super-efficient waiters for a truly nominal price.

I loved the atmosphere, but I never really acquired the taste and fascination for Pancham Puriwala that some of my friends had-- perhaps because I had tasted better in my mom’s kitchen.

We Maharashtrians tend to make a dryer version of the potato bhaji-- at my parents’ house, the Bhaji was always an ultra-simple, yellow-hued delicacy specked with the green fire of fresh chillies, the lemony bite of coriander, and the smokiness of cumin seeds. It was a dish you couldn’t help but love.

I’ve posted a detailed tutorial on how to make poori before, so I am just going to send you to that link. My poori bhaji is exactly like the one my family made, only for the bhaji, instead of adding the curry leaves whole and then discarding them as some people do, I chop them into small bits and saute them along with the onions because I love how they complement the potatoes in each bite. And I also mash my potatoes a little because that way they are perfect to scoop up with the pooris. The potatoes also get a little bit crusty that way.

Here it is, a recipe that can make any day-- however humdrum-- just a little more special. Enjoy!

Try these recipes next:

• Pav Bhaji
• Tawa Pulao
• Jeera Aloo (Stir-fried Potatoes with Cumin)
• Crispy Baked Potato Vadas (No added fat)
• Easy Vegan Grilled Naan

Recipe card

Poori Bhaji

Vaishali · Holy Cow Vegan

Serve this delicious potato subzi with hot, puffy pooris for a delicious and easy meal.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Side

Cuisine gluten-free, Indian, Indian Vegan, Indian Vegetarian

Servings 6

Calories 171 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 5 medium potatoes (boiled in their jackets and diced. You don't have to peel the potatoes if organic. Russets or yellor or red potatoes are all fine--russets will mash more easily and will become crustier)
• 1 tablespoon avocado oil or any neutral oil
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• A pinch asafetida or hing (hing)
• 1 medium onion , finely diced
• 2 green chili peppers (like jalapeno or serrano, minced)
• 1 tablespoon ginger (grated)
• 10-15 curry leaves (chopped)
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• Salt to taste
• ¼ cup cilantro
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

For serving

• Pooris

Instructions

 

• Heat the oil in a skillet.
• Add the cumin seeds and asafetida. When the seeds sputter, add the onions and curry leaves and green chillies and saute until the onion turns transparent, about five minutes on medium heat.
• Add the ginger and turmeric and saute a few more seconds. Add the potatoes and stir them in to combine with the oil and spices.
• Mash down the potatoes with a potato masher or a heavy ladle so some of the pieces break up but others remain mostly intact. You want the potatoes to start turning slightly golden and crusty at the bottom of the pan.
• Add salt and lemon juice and mix well. Garnish with the coriander seeds or, if you like, some grated coconut.

Notes

Nutrition info is for the potato bhaji and doesn't include the pooris.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 171kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 4gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gPotassium: 807mgFiber: 4gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 125IUVitamin C: 71mgCalcium: 43mgIron: 2mg

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