Bhel Puri: A Favorite Indian Snack

By
Petrina Verma Sarkar
Petrina Verma Sarkar
Food writer Petrina Verma Sarkar is a native of India with extensive knowledge of the country's regional cuisines.
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Updated on 09/3/21
Tested by
Diana Andrews
Diana Andrews
Tested by Diana Andrews

Diana has served as head recipe developer and editor for the Emmy-nominated PBS series Moveable Feast, food editor and test kitchen manager at Fine Cooking Magazine, and recipe developer and product tester at Food Network. 

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Bhel Puri: A Favorite Indian Snack

The Spruce / Preethi Venkatram
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Total: 35 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Yield: 5 3/4 cups
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
312 Calories
9g Fat
51g Carbs
10g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 312
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 9g 12%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 261mg 11%
Total Carbohydrate 51g 19%
Dietary Fiber 6g 21%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 10g
Vitamin C 114mg 569%
Calcium 197mg 15%
Iron 11mg 59%
Potassium 1329mg 28%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

A snack with almost iconic status in the western region of India, bhel puri (or bhelpuri) is a low-fat, nutritious, and delicious food. It is a chaat, which is a spicy food that is typically sold via street carts throughout the region.

Bhel puri a puffed rice snack that can be eaten by the spoonful or scooped onto a flatbread or chip. Some places serve it in a paper cone and it's eaten directly from there. Bhel puri is enjoyed both hot or cold, either way, it is a tasty snack. 

In general, bhel puri is made with puffed rice and sev (a vermicelli-like snack made from gram flour), both of which are available at Indian markets. These dry ingredients are then mixed with onions, potatoes, and chutney. It is spicy, but also sweet, tart, and salty and can be adapted to enhance any of those characteristics. The versatility in taste is the beauty of bhel puri.

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Click Play to See This Bhel Puri Puffed Rice Snack Recipe Come Together

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"Indian street food at its best, this recipe is an exploration of authentic flavors such as puffed rice, chutney, sev, and papdi. These ingredients are tossed together with more traditional ingredients to make an irresistible snack that you will make again and again." —Diana Andrews

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Ingredients

  • 3 cups puffed rice

  • 2 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled, and chopped into tiny cubes

  • 1 large onion, finely chopped

  • 1 large tomato, finely chopped

  • 1 3/4 ounces (50 grams) coriander, about 1/2 bunch, finely chopped

  • 1/4 cup peanuts, roasted and salted

  • 1 green chili, finely chopped, or more to taste

  • 2 tablespoons tamarind chutney, or mint-coriander chutney, more to taste

  • Kosher salt, to taste

  • 1/3 cup sev, for garnish

  • 1 handful papdi, coarsely crushed

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Bhel Puri snack ingredients

    The Spruce / Preethi Venkatram

  2. In a large bowl, mix the puffed rice, potato, onion, tomato, coriander, peanuts, and green chilies together.

    Mix the puffed rice, peanuts, potato, onion, tomato, coriander, and green chilies

    The Spruce / Preethi Venkatram

  3. Add the tamarind chutney or mint-coriander chutney according to your own taste preferences.

    Add the tamarind chutney or mint-coriander chutney to the ingredients in the bowl

    The Spruce / Preethi Venkatram

  4. Mix the contents of the bowl together. Add salt to taste and toss again.

    Mix bhel puri ingredients

    The Spruce / Preethi Venkatram

  5. Garnish with the sev and papdi. Serve and eat immediately. Enjoy!

    Bhel Puri: A Favorite Indian Snack

    The Spruce / Preethi Venkatram

Tips

  • Assemble the bhel puri just before you are going to eat it to prevent the puffed rice from getting soggy.
  • To make this snack even more quickly, simply store the puffed rice, sev, and papdi (savory biscuits made from flour) in air-tight containers. Pre-make and either refrigerate or freeze the chutney. This allows you to toss the wet and dry ingredients together on a whim and prevents that unwanted sogginess.
  • Various chutneys give bhel puri different flavors. A saunth chutney, for instance, is a dark, sweet chutney derived from tamarind and dates. In contrast, a green spicy chutney uses green chilies and coriander that leaves for a very distinctive taste. If you have another favorite chutney, try that as well.

Variations

Try adding 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoons of chat masala when mixing the puffed rice, peanuts, potato, onion, tomato, coriander, and green chilies together for any extra boost of flavor.

Bhel Puri Goes by Many Names

Some say that this snack originated in Mumbai, which, according to research, is a common belief. The dry version of bhel puri is known as bhadang, which is spiced with lemon juice, coriander, and onions. The Kolkata version is called jhaal muri. Another kind is known in Bangalore as churumuri or churmuri.