Big Fly Hygiene Products Ltd.

POORI (FRIED INDIAN FLATBREAD)

Serve this crispy, golden bread with any dish - vegetarian or otherwise - and your favorite pickle. The perfect Poori is pale golden in color and puffed up almost like a ball!

INGREDIENTS

Wholewheat flour
Water to make dough
Salt to taste
Vegetable/ canola/ sunflower
cooking oil or ghee (clarified butter)
for deep frying

PREPARATION

Put the wholewheat flour in a large mixing bowl or platter. Make a well in the center. Add salt to taste.
Now add a little water at a time and start to mix the flour to form a dough.
We need the dough to be medium-soft so, go slow with the water - add it only as needed, as you go along. Instead of water, you can also use yoghurt or milk. This makes for really soft Pooris.
The real secret of soft Pooris lies in the kneading! The dough must be smooth and just the right softeness - medium. Add water/ yoghurt/ milk as required and continue to knead till you get the right consistency.
Once you've got the dough to the right consistency, add 2 tbsps of oil/ghee and continue to knead. The dough will become silky in texture! Cover with a damp cloth now and keep aside in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
Remove from refrigerator and divide the dough into golf ball-sized portions. Roll these portions into balls between your hands till they are smooth and without cracks.
Very lightly flour a rolling board or clean counter surface and roll each ball into a 5" circle (4-5mm thick). For convenience, roll out as many Pooris as you like, stacking them, ready to cook with a layer of cling film between each Poori.
Heat the oil/ghee for deep frying in a thick-bottomed flat pan on a medium flame. Deep fry the Pooris one at a time, pressing very gently on each side with a slotted spoon. This will help the Poori to puff up! Fry one the first side till golden then turn over and fry the same way on the other side. Drain on paper towels and serve hot.