What is ‘Poori’?
Poori or Puri is the name of deep-fried, traditional Indian bread. It is usually made with wheat flour. There are many versions of the poori recipes like cheese poori, masala poori, or methi poori, and palak puri is one of them. The bright green color of the palak poori comes from the spinach leaves. It gets the crisp texture from the grated boiled potato in the dough. It adds vibrant color to the Indian thali meal. Hence, this green poori is widely popular among food lovers.
How To Get Bright Green Color
The perfect blanching of the spinach gives the poori its bright green color and helps in retaining the nutrients of the vegetable. To blanch the spinach first, clean it and rinse with water to remove dirt particles. Next, place a bowl of ice-cold water next to the stovetop. Boil water in a saucepan with a teaspoon of salt (image 1). Once the water starts boiling, add the cleaned spinach leaves to the hot water (image 2). Cook for about 40 – 50 seconds until the color of the leaves turns bright green. Turn off the heat. Transfer the leaves immediately to the bowl of ice-cold water ( image 4). This step stops the cooking process and retains the leaves’ green color. After this last step, you can use the blanched spinach leaves for making puree.
My Tried & True Tips
Don’t over-cook the spinach – about five minutes is enough. Heat kills the bright green color and most of the spinach nutrients. Always grate the boiled potatoes instead of mashing to avoid lumps in the puri dough. Use ajwain (carom seeds) for a nice flavor and aid in digestion. For a crisp and non-greasy puri, don’t forget to add semolina (sooji/rava). Binding dough for any poori is an art in itself. It should soft, pliable, non-sticky, and firm to touch. (also read: how to make perfect poori) Don’t over-fry the pooris on very high heat, or you will lose the green color, and brown spots might appear. While frying the pooris, gently press them with a spoon to help them puff up nicely.
Serving Suggestion
Can anything else match the feeling of poking a finger into a puffy hot palak puri and then tearing a piece of it to sweep into a Mathura-style aloo ki sabzi or dahi wale aloo? Surely a gratifying and indulging Indian breakfast recipe. Palak Puri compliments most of the Indian main-course dishes. But my personal favorite is chana masala, along with a bowl of chilled mint raita.
Watch Palak Puri Video
More Spinach Recipes
Chana Saag Palak Chana Dal Spinach Egg Curry Oats Spinach Khichdi Creamy Spinach Pasta Subscribe to our weekly newsletter or follow us on Youtube for video recipes.
