We’ve seen these crispy little Indian shells, traditionally used to make Pani Puri, taking over our TikTok feeds. With endless variations, depending on region and the chaat snack being made, we had to learn more and try making them ourselves.  

 WHAT IS PANI PURI?  

Pani Puri is a popular street food or chaat snack that originates in India. (Other types of chaat include samoosa, aloo tikka and vada pav.) Pani means water in Hindi and Puri is flatbread, which in this case is fried until crispy. 

This fabulously fun dish consists of three parts: 

1. Crispy-fried hollow shells (recipe below)
2. Filling (often using ingredients like potatoes, chickpeas or chutney)
3. Flavoured water (you can think of this as a savoury tea or broth, for lack of a better word)

 Served together on a plate, the small shells fit in the palm of your hand and are eaten in a single bite. Each guest can assemble their own as they eat by cracking open the top of the shell with their fingertips, adding filling inside and then scooping up the flavoured water inside the shell.  

 There are many different flavour variants, with each region making their own version – some spicier, some sweeter, some topped with egg. Thanks to TikTok, the snack stepped out of its traditional setting and people have come up with inventive ways to change up the street food snack.  

Did You Know: 

Puri is an Indian flatbread. Similar to a roti, it is served as a side next to a main course, however this flatbread is deep-fried to create a crispy, bubbled outside and chewy inside. While it is also deep-fired and puffs up, it should not be confused with the puri shells made below. (You can watch local foodie Denisiya make the flatbread on TikTok here.)  

 MAKING GOLDEN PANI PURI SHELLS 

Ingredients:  

¼ cup (60ml) cake flour
1 cups (500ml) semolina
¼ tsp (1.25ml) baking powder
½ tsp fine salt
125-150ml water
2-3 cups sunflower or canola oil, for frying

Method: 

1. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, mixing to distribute evenly.  
2. Start adding water in a thin stream while mixing well with your hand. Add just enough water for the dough to come together. 
3. Once dough comes together in a ball, turn it out on a lightly floured surface and knead for about 3-5 minutes until smooth. Cover and leave for 15 minutes to rest. (Letting it rest at this stage prevents the dough from springing back after rolling out.)  
4. Divide dough into 4 portions. Roll each portion out to about 1mm thin, or paper-thin. Cut out 5cm circles using a cookie cutter. 
5. Heat oil until shimmering hot. To test if it is hot enough, drop a pinch of dough into the oil. If it immediately starts bubbling, it is ready to fry.  
6. Add 3-4 discs at a time and deep-fry for about 30-45 seconds, spooning hot oil over the top of the discs to encourage pudding up. (If it doesn’t immediately start to puff up, your dough was likely not rolled thing enough.) 
7. Turn the partially inflated or puffed discs over and continue frying until golden all around.  
8. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Continue with the remainder of the dough.  
9. Serve hot for best result as part of a spread with fillings such as curried potato and flavoured water    

Good Idea:   

You can also make the shells in the airfyer. Brush with oil and air-fry for 4 minutes at 180°C. See the result here on TikTok. 

Recipe & Styling: Liezl Vermeulen

Photographs: Zhann Solomons