Phuchka (Spicy water balls) - a.k.a Gupchup, Pani puri, Golgappa, Fulki

Date: 07-August-2020

Thought: Being a big time phuchkaholic person, I thought why not make the authentic bangali phuchkas at home in this pandemic situation. So, to all phuchkaholic people like me: "Let's get started without wasting much time."

Spicy water balls are known by various names across the globe like Phuchkas (in West Bengal), Golgappas (in Northern part of India) , Gupchup (in Odisha), Pani puris, Fulkis (In Western part of India) , etc.

Ingredients:

For aloo masala

• 2 large size boiled potatoes
• 1 Cup black grams or kala chana boiled
• 3-4 tsp of roasted cumin-coriander powder
• 2 tsp of roasted chilli flakes
• Some chopped green chillies and coriander leaves
• salt or black salt as per taste
• 1 medium onion finely chopped (optional)

For spicy tamarind water:

• 1/2 cup Tamarind pulp 
• 1/2 litre water
• lemon juice as per taste
• 2-3 tsp of roasted cumin-coriander-chilli powder
• salt and sugar as per taste
• ice cubes as per requirement
• 2-3 slices of lemon

For the phuchka balls:

• 1 cup all purpose maida
• 1 tsp of oil
• 1 tsp of baking powder or baking soda
• salt as per taste
• water to make the dough
• oil to fry the balls

You can also buy the ready made phuchka ball packs available in the market and just fry them.

Method:

For aloo masala: Mix all the ingredients.

For spicy tamarind water: Mix all the ingredients.

For the phuchka balls: Mix all the ingredients and make a soft dough. Make small balls from the dough and fry it in a pan full of oil.

Finally, serve and eat the phuchkas. 

You can add dahi and bhel instead of tamarind water and make dahi phuchkas or dahi golpappas we well. 

Also, if balls are not round enough you can just crush them and add the masala aloo and a little tamarind water to make the authentic bangali jhotpot or phuchka chaat.