Puri Bhaji is made by pairing a lightly spiced potato dish called Batata Bhaji with crisp, deep-fried puri. The bhaji is semi-dry and flavored with ginger, green chilies, coriander leaves and basic Indian spices. This classic Maharashtrian combination is commonly enjoyed for breakfast or as street food. Serve hot puri with batata bhaji for a hearty meal.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 25 minutes
  • Total time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Breakfast, Brunch, Main Course
  • Cuisine: Indian, Maharashtrian

Ingredients

  • 4 potatoes (- medium-sized)
  • 1 cup onion (chopped or 1 large onion)
  • 1 teaspoon chopped green chillies (or 1 green chilli)
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1.5 teaspoon urad dal ((husked and split black gram))
  • ⅓ cup water (or as needed)
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder ((ground turmeric))
  • 1 pinch asafoetida ((hing))
  • ½ cup coriander leaves (- chopped, divided)
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger (or 1 inch peeled ginger)
  • 12 to 15 curry leaves
  • 2 or 3 tablespoons peanut oil (or sunflower oil)
  • salt (as required)

Method

Boiling Potatoes

  1. First rinse the potatoes thoroughly in water.
  2. Boil the potatoes in water till they are cooked completely and are fork tender.
  3. You could opt to cook potatoes in a stovetop pressure cooker, steamer pan or the Instant Pot.
  4. Once they are warm or cool down, peel them and chop.

Making Batata Bhaji

  1. In a pan, heat the peanut oil. Add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and urad dal.
  2. Fry till the mustard crackles and starts making sound and the urad dal begins to turn brown.
  3. Add the chopped onions. Fry on low to medium-heat until they become soft and translucent.
  4. Next add the chopped ginger and green chilies. Fry for some seconds on low heat.
  5. Add the curry leaves. Stir and fry for a few seconds.
  6. Add the turmeric powder and asafoetida. Stir to mix on low heat. Don't burn the turmeric.
  7. Next, add the chopped potatoes, and half of the coriander leaves.
  8. Stir to mix and add water. Season with salt. Stir to combine evenly. Cover the pan with lid.
  9. Let the batata bhaji simmer for 5-6 minutes on a low heat.
  10. There should be some moisture in the bhaji and it should not be very dry.
  11. Turn off heat and add the remaining chopped coriander leaves.
  12. Stir to mix. Serve the Batata Bhaji hot with Poori, chapati or dosa.

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.