Experiment with flours like teff or chestnut flour for unique baked goods and pastries.
Verki Puri is a flaky and crispy deep-fried tea time snack made with flour, cumin seeds, carom seeds, black pepper, salt, and ghee. The mildly spicy flavors and crispiness of this snack makes a sensational companion for coffee, or tea.
This crispy savory snack has a beautiful flaky texture that comes from the use of ghee and flour mixture. It is very flavorful and addictive with a hint of crushed black pepper, cumin and carom seeds.
Make this easy and delightful snack for your family and it will become their new favorite evening snack because it has that appeal that both kids and grownups like.
This snack is usually made during festivals of Diwali and Holi, but it can be served at any time of the year.
Like Cabbage Spinach Thepla, Veri Puri aka Laccha (layered) puri is also a great snack for picnics and road trips. It’s because it can be made in advance and can be stored for up to 1 month.
Pack it in your lunch box as an evening office/school snack or carry it for your long road trips. Whenever you feel hungry, just pair verki puri with your favorite beverage and it would make a satisfying brunch or snack anywhere.
What is Verki Puri?
Verki Puri, also known as lachedar mathri or layered puri, is a crispy and flaky savory snack from Indian Cuisine. This tea time deep-fried snack is traditionally made using maida (all-purpose flour), ghee, and some spices.
What are the ingredients used in making Verki Puri?
Verki Puri is prepared using very basic easily available ingredients.
These ingredients are:
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All-Purpose Flour (Maida)
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Semolina (Rava)
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Oil/ghee
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Cornflour
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Salt
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Crushed Black Pepper
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Carom Seeds
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Cumin Seeds
You can also try some deep-fried jar snack recipes:
How to make Verki Puri?
The process of making verki puri is similar to Rajasthani Meetha Khaja or Sweet Chiroti from Karnataka. To me, it is more like preparing khaja (a sweet pastry which I grew up eating) but in a salty version. Making verki puri is not very complicated.
You only need to pay attention while layering sheets and rolling layered pieces. That’s it.
This is how you make perfect Verki Puri:
Step 1: Knead Dough - Mix all the dough ingredients and knead to make a semi-stiff dough. Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Step 2: Make Ghee Cornflour Paste - Combine melted ghee and cornflour in a bowl and make a smooth lump-free paste. The paste should be of flowing consistency.
Step 3: Roll And Shape - Divide the dough into 7 pieces and roll them into balls. Flatten each ball and shape them into thin sheets. Brush a rolled sheet with cornflour paste and dust with some dry flour.
Place the 2nd rolled sheet on it and brush it with ghee and flour paste. Then sprinkle with dry flour. Do this with all the remaining sheets. Start folding and shape into a log. Roll the log and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Flatten each piece and roll with the gentle hands.
See the video recipe on this page for more clear instructions on this.
Step 4: Deep Fry - Heat oil in a pan and deep fry on medium-low heat until puris are golden and crisp.
Check out the detailed written recipe in the recipe box on this page.
How to serve verki puri?
Verki puri tastes best when served along with some hot chai or coffee. To me, verki puri and some masala chai is a match made in heaven. Pure bliss.
To make it more flavorful, pair verki puri with some samosa roll, green coriander chutney, red garlic chutney, chili pickle or even ketchup.
Can I make chaat with Verki Puri?
Yes, you can easily make verki puri chaat. This is how you do it:
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Crush some verki puris and arrange them on a plate.
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Top with boiled, peeled and sliced potatoes, chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, chopped green chilies, and chopped coriander leaves.
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Drizzle with a generous amount of whisked plain yogurt, some green chutney, and some tamarind chutney or tomato ketchup.
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Finally, sprinkle with some black salt, red chili powder, cumin powder, and chaat masala powder.
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A sprinkle of sev, chopped coriander leaves, and some more crushed verki puri. And you are done! :)
You may like to see other popular Indian snacks recipes:
Tips to make perfect verki puri recipe:
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I used ghee for making dough and also for layering. You can replace ghee with oil, but if you want the best tasting flakiest puri then opt for ghee. Use of ghee in Verki puro will not create much difference in the taste profile, but would certainly be the flakier than the oil version.
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I have used corn flour and ghee paste for layering. This is because the application of this paste helps in separating the layers. You can also use plain flour or rice flour instead of cornflour.
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The cornflour ghee paste should be of flowing consistency which is easy to apply. So if you think it is too runny then add some more cornflour, and add more ghee if it is too thick.
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When folding rolled sheets into a log, make sure that you roll it as tightly as possible. And once the roll is formed, make sure to make it thin by rolling it further using your palms. You can see the video for reference.
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Always roll dough balls as thin as possible. This step ensures the perfect layers.
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After cutting the log into 1/2-inch pieces, press them slightly with the bottom of your palm to make it flat. And try to seal the edges. Then roll gently with light pressure, this would prevent layers from sticking to each other.
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I use all-purpose flour (maida) for making verki puri, but you can also use whole wheat flour or the combination of both flours.
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I have added 2 tablespoons of semolina (suji) to the flour mixture. The addition of semolina gives it a nice crispier texture. However, if you don’t want to add semolina then you can surely skip this.
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While frying the puris, make sure the oil is neither too hot nor too cold. Always deep-fry puris on medium-low heat until they are golden from all sides.
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Semolina (rava) absorbs the water while dough resting time. So make sure that you don’t knead the dough very stiff. Otherwise, it would be hard to roll the dough into sheets.
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This is a layered snack, so a good amount of layers are required here. Thus, I have divided my dough into 7 pieces to get good layers. However, you can also increase or decrease the number of layers. The choice is entirely up to you.
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If you want evenly cooked puris, then do not overcrowd the pan while deep-frying puris. Fry only 4-5 puris at a time if you are using a broad pan like me.
Verki Puri - Crispy Tea Time Snack (Step-by-step photo instructions)
How to Make Verki Puri Dough //
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, semolina, cumin seeds, salt, and carom seeds, and hot ghee or oil.
- Using your fingers, rub the ghee and flour mixture. The ghee is hot, so be careful while mixing.
- Keep mixing until it ghee is well incorporated in all of the flour. This would take about 4-5 minutes. At this point, it resembles breadcrumbs and holds shape. To check, take some flour mixture between your palm and make a fist. If it holds the shape then you have added enough fat. If the dough falls to pieces, that means you need to add more oil/ghee.
- Start by adding the water little by little and knead it into a semi-stiff dough. Semolina absorbs water while resting, so don't knead it too firm.
- Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Make Ghee Flour Paste //
- In a small bowl, add melted warm ghee and cornflour.
- Stir well to make a smooth and lump-free paste. The paste should be of flowing consistency. So feel free to adjust the amount of ghee/flour. Keep it aside.
Roll and Shape Verki Puri //
- After 30 minutes, knead the dough again.
- Divide dough into 7 pieces and shape them into balls.
- Dust each ball with dry flour and roll them as thin as possible. Try to roll all the sheets of similar sizes.
- Place a rolled sheet on the work surface and generously slather it with the prepared ghee and flour paste. Sprinkle with some dry flour.
- Place the 2nd rolled sheet on it and brush it with ghee and flour paste. Then sprinkle with dry flour. Do this with all the remaining sheets.
- When 7 rolled sheets are stacked on, apply the same ghee and flour paste and sprinkle with some flour.
- Start rolling up tightly from one corner to another. Roll it further until all the edges are sealed tightly.
- Trim the edges and cut them into 1 to 1/2-inch pieces from the log.
- Flatten each piece slightly using your palm and roll with gentle pressure.
Deep-fry Verki Puri //
- Add enough oil to broad pan or Kadai and heat over medium heat. When the oil is hot, drop the rolled poori and fry them on medium-low low heat.
- Keep stirring occasionally, and deep fry puris until they are golden and crisp from both sides. Frying would take some time, so be patient.
- Using a slotted spoon, shake off excess oil and remove from oil.
- Place them over a kitchen paper-lined plate to remove excess oil.
- Let them cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Verki Puri stays fresh at room temperature for up to 1 month.
- Serve verki puri with tea or coffee.
Recipe Card
Verki Puri - Crispy Tea Time Snack [Recipe]
★★★★★
(Rating: 5 from 18 reviews)
Prep time 🕐 | Cook time 🕐 | Total time 🕐 |
---|---|---|
1 hours 10 mins | ||
Category ☶ | Cuisine ♨ | Serves ☺ |
Snacks | Indian | 12 |
Nutrition Info ⊛ | Serving size ⊚ | |
145 calories | 1 Puri |
INGREDIENTS
For Verki Puri Dough //
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour (maida) + 3 tablespoons for dusting
- 3 tablespoons semolina (rava)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- Salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain), slightly crush between palms
- 2.5 tablespoons hot ghee or oil + 1/4 teaspoon for greasing dough
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed black pepper (kali mirch)
- Warm water for kneading dough
For Paste //
- 2 tablespoons melted Ghee
- 2 tablespoons cornflour, or more if needed
For Cooking //
- Oil for deep frying
INSTRUCTIONS:
How to Make Verki Puri Dough //
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, semolina, cumin seeds, salt, and carom seeds, and hot ghee or oil.
- Using your fingers, rub the ghee and flour mixture. The ghee is hot, so be careful while mixing.
- Keep mixing until it ghee is well incorporated in all of the flour. This would take about 4-5 minutes. At this point, it resembles breadcrumbs and holds shape. To check, take some flour mixture between your palm and make a fist. If it holds the shape then you have added enough fat. If the dough falls to pieces, that means you need to add more oil/ghee.
- Start by adding the water little by little and knead it into a semi-stiff dough. Semolina absorbs water while resting, so don't knead it too firm.
- Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Make Ghee Flour Paste //
- In a small bowl, add melted warm ghee and cornflour.
- Stir well to make a smooth and lump-free paste. The paste should be of flowing consistency. So feel free to adjust the amount of ghee/flour. Keep it aside.
Roll and Shape Verki Puri //
- After 30 minutes, knead the dough again.
- Divide dough into 7 pieces and shape them into balls.
- Dust each ball with dry flour and roll them as thin as possible. Try to roll all the sheets of similar sizes.
- Place a rolled sheet on the work surface and generously slather it with the prepared ghee and flour paste. Sprinkle with some dry flour.
- Place the 2nd rolled sheet on it and brush it with ghee and flour paste. Then sprinkle with dry flour. Do this with all the remaining sheets.
- When 7 rolled sheets are stacked on, apply the same ghee and flour paste and sprinkle with some flour.
- Start rolling up tightly from one corner to another. Roll it further until all the edges are sealed tightly.
- Trim the edges and cut them into 1 to 1/2-inch pieces from the log.
- Flatten each piece slightly using your palm and roll with gentle pressure.
Deep-fry Verki Puri //
- Add enough oil to broad pan or Kadai and heat over medium heat. When the oil is hot, drop the rolled poori and fry them on medium-low low heat.
- Keep stirring occasionally, and deep fry puris until they are golden and crisp from both sides. Frying would take some time, so be patient.
- Using a slotted spoon, shake off excess oil and remove from oil.
- Place them over a kitchen paper-lined plate to remove excess oil.
- Let them cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Verki Puri stays fresh at room temperature for up to 1 month.
- Serve verki puri with tea or coffee.
WATCH RECIPE VIDEO: Click the play button and video will load ...
NOTES:
- Always roll dough balls as thin as possible. This step ensures the perfect layers.
- I use all-purpose flour (maida) for making verki puri, but you can also use whole wheat flour or the combination of both flours.
- While frying the puris, make sure the oil is neither too hot nor too cold. Always deep-fry puris on medium-low heat until they are golden from all sides.