Rajgira Poori or Amaranth Poori are deep fried puffy breads made from amaranth flour, boiled mashed potatoes and edible rock salt. It also happens to be naturally gluten-free and vegan. Amaranth flour or seeds are usually eaten during the Hindu fasting or vrat season in India.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 25 minutes
  • Cook time: 25 minutes
  • Total time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 2 cups amaranth flour ((rajgire ka atta))
  • 1 potato (- large)
  • rock salt (edible and food grade) ((sendha namak) as required)
  • water (- as required to knead the dough)
  • some rajgira atta (or amaranth flour - for dusting)
  • oil (- for deep frying, as needed)

Method

Boil Potato

  1. Boil the potato with water almost covering it in a pan or pot.
  2. The potatoes can also be peeled first and then halved or quartered or cubed and later boiled in water.
  3. Once fork tender, drain all the water. Let the potato cool completely.
  4. Peel and mash it finely in a bowl. There should be no chunks in the mashed potatoes. You could also opt to cook the potato in a steamer pan or in a stovetop pressure cooker or an electric pressure cooker like the Instant Pot.

Make Dough

  1. Add rajgira flour and salt to the mashed potatoes. First mix the whole mixture well.
  2. Then add very little water, just about ½ to 1 teaspoon and begin to knead the dough.
  3. Again add ½ to 1 teaspoon of water and knead so that there is no dryness in the dough.
  4. Remember to add water as needed while kneading the dough.
  5. The dough should not be sticky or look floury or dry. If the dough feel sticky add some amaranth flour and again knead. If it looks floury, add in some water and knead.
  6. Keep aside covered for 15 minutes.

Roll & Fry Rajgira Puri

  1. Pinch portions of th dough and roll to small to medium-sized balls. Keep aside covered with a lid or a cotton napkin.
  2. On a flour dusted work surface, roll each ball to medium-sized poori, neither thin nor thick. Fry them in medium hot oil in batches until puffy and golden.
  3. Remove the rajgira puri with a slotted spoon and place them on kitchen paper napkins to remove excess oil.
  4. Serve Rajgire ke Poori hot or warm with a satvik vegetable curry/sabzi or paneer curry.

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.