Masala puri is a popular Indian street food where delicious green peas curry is served over a bed of crispy puri, later topped with onions, tomatoes and sev.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 30 minutes
  • Total time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Snack
  • Cuisine: Karnataka

Ingredients

  • 1 cup dried green peas
  • 1 medium potato
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric
  • 3 cups water (to pressure cook)
  • 1½ to 2 tablespoon oil
  • ½ to ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon fennel seeds ((adjust to taste))
  • 1 inch ginger ((peeled and sliced))
  • 2 to 3 garlic cloves ((sliced if large))
  • 1 green chilli (slit (skip if making for kids))
  • 1 medium onion ((½ cup sliced))
  • 1 medium tomato ((½ to ¾ cup chopped))
  • ¾ to 1 teaspoon salt ((adjust to taste))
  • ¾ to 1 teaspoon chilli powder ((kashmiri or byadgi))
  • ¾ to 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • ½ cup coriander leaves (with tender stalks (tightly packed cup))
  • 15 to 20 mint leaves ((Pudina, you may skip if you don't like))
  • 1 cup water ((to bring to consistency))
  • 1 teaspoon jaggery ((to balance the taste, optional))
  • 30 to 40 puris ((or papdi, I use store bought ready to fry puri papads))
  • 1 small onion (finely chopped)
  • 1 small tomato ((deseeded and fine chopped))
  • 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (fine chopped)
  • ¼ cup tamarind chutney ((or refer notes to make your own))
  • ¼ cup nylon sev ((or any other like mixture or farsan))

Method

Prepare Green Peas

  1. Add green peas to a pot and rinse them well under running water a few times. Cover them with fresh water and soak for 6 to 8 hours.
  2. Later drain the water and rinse them well with fresh water. Wash and peel a potato. Add that as well to the bowl and pour 3 cups water.
  3. Pressure cook these for 4 to 5 whistles or 20 minutes on a medium heat.

How to make Masala Puri

  1. While the peas and potatoes pressure cook, heat oil in a pot or pan.
  2. Add fennel seeds and cumin seeds. They will begin to splutter, add ginger garlic and green chilli.
  3. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes to bring out the aroma of ginger and garlic. Then add onions sand saute until transparent.
  4. Add tomatoes and salt. Saute until the tomatoes soften and the raw smell disappears.
  5. Slide the onions and tomatoes to a side and add red chilli powder and garam masala. Mix and saute until the masala begins to smell, for a minute or so.
  6. Cool this completely and add to a grinder jar.
  7. Meanwhile check the peas. When the pressure releases naturally open and check. They should be soft cooked, almost mushy & partially holding shape.
  8. Take 2 tbsps of the cooked peas, cool them and add to the grinder. I usually take the top portion of the cooked peas, which mostly has the loosened skin from the peas. Also add the coriander and mint leaves.
  9. Grind all of these to a smooth paste without adding water.
  10. Add this back to the hot pan and saute for a few minutes until aromatic. This takes about 4 minutes.
  11. Next transfer the boiled peas, potato and stock (the water in which the peas and potatoes cooked).
  12. Mash the potato with a spatula and mix everything. I don't mash the peas as they are already mushy.
  13. Pour 1 cup more water and cook on a medium heat until thick. Add jaggery and tamarind if desired.
  14. Once it came to a boil I cooked for about 7 to 8 minutes. The raw flavor of the mint and coriander leaves goes away by then. Taste test and add more salt if needed. Turn off the stove.

Assemble Bangalore Style Masala Puri

  1. Before assembling ensure you keep everything ready. Chop onions, tomatoes, lemon and coriander leaves. You can use make without tamarind chutney too. But if you want you can check my easiest tamarind chutney recipe here.
  2. Crush 7 crisp puris or papdis and add them to a serving plate or bowl. Pour masala puri as much as you want.
  3. Add tamarind chutney, onions, tomatoes and coriander leaves. Add sev and more crushed puris if you prefer.
  4. Serve masala puri immediately as the crunchies soften after a while.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.