Bhel Puri Recipe
Updated: September 1, 2022, By Swasthi
Bhel puri! Craving yummy, delicious & exotic flavors of Indian street food? Make this amazingly delicious Bhel puri at home with my easy recipe! Plus I have a bonus – 3 instant chutney recipes you can make in minutes. Tangy and spicy bhel puri is popular Indian street food at its best! Crispy puffed rice is tossed with sweet, sour & spicy chutneys, topped with gram flour vermicelli, known as sev. Bhel puri is a low calorie snack, that’s super addictive, tastes delicious and is flavour-packed. Overall it’s a perfect snack you will enjoy any time of the year!
Bhel puri belongs to a class of Indian street foods popularly known as chaat. A chaat food hits every element of the taste (sweet, sour and tangy) with a melange of flavors & textures. Indians across the world love chaats and bhel puri is one of the most loved by kids and grownups alike.
About Bhel Puri
Bhel puri is a popular Mumbai street food where crispy puffed rice is tossed with sweet tamarind chutney, spicy green chutney, hot pungent garlic chutney, onions, tomatoes, roasted peanuts, sev and chaat masala. Lastly it is garnished with coriander leaves, crunchy sev and crushed papdis.
There are numerous ways a bhel puri is made. The simplest being the dry bhel known as sukha bhel which is made with only one kind of chutney known as sukhi chutney/ dry chutney.
The more popular version known as geeli bhel is made with 2 to 3 basic kinds of chutneys which not only add zing and punch of flavours to the bhel puri but also turns it to a mouth-watering addictive snack.
More often you will find bhel puri made with just 2 chutneys – sweet tamarind chutney and spicy green chutney. The red chutney is just substituted with red chili powder. But actually it is this pungent red garlic chutney that transforms a normal bhel puri to the best.
In this post I share 3 easy chutneys which you can make instantly and the whole recipe from scratch comes together under 30 minutes.
You can also use the store bought sweet tamarind chutney if you have. But fresh green chutney makes a lot of difference so I insist you make it fresh and use up within a day or 2.
Green chutney provides heat so normally the heat level and the flavour of green chilies is more here than the green chutney we usually make to serve with snacks.
For this normally 2 kinds of green chillies are used for the flavour & heat, the spicy kind and the less spicy kind are combined. However you are free to add the regular green chutney like the way I used here.
Jhaal Muri and Churumuri are two similar snacks & are also very popular in other regions of India.
More Similar Recipes
Sev Puri
Masala Puri
Samosa
Veg cutlet
Aloo tikki
Hara bhara kabab
Photo Guide
Preparation for Bhel Puri Recipe
I always prefers serving fresh homemade foods to my family. So I make the chutneys all on the same day I intend to make the chaats. But I do refrigerate the left over tamarind & red chutney.
Use them up to make other kinds of chaat like Dahi vada, papdi chaat & aloo chaat
So for convenience you can very well, make all the chutneys ahead and refrigerate. The recipe of chaat chutneys has been shared below. For detailed versions of the same you can check these posts on Tamarind chutney and Green chutney.
Next roast the peanuts and store them in a air tight jar to retain the crunch.
You can buy the puffed rice, papdis & sev from the Indian grocery stores just like the way I did. Locally made sev & papdis smell & taste fresh.
Just before you begin to make the bhel puri, chop the potato to half inch cubes. Boil them with water in a small pot. Alternately you may simply air fry them until golden and crisp. Meanwhile chop the onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves & green chilies.
Once the above preparation is done, you will finish making bhel puri under 5 mins.
Make Chutney
Green chutney
To make green chutney, add the following to a grinder jar
¾ cup coriander leaves
¼ cup mint leaves
1 to 2 green chili (8 to 10 low heat green chilies if you prefer)
¼ inch ginger
1 small garlic (optional)
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon jeera powder (roasted cumin powder)
1 tablespoon fried gram (or roasted peanuts or coconut)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
Blend it as smooth as possible. Scrape the sides and then pour water as much required to make a thick green chutney.
You should have a thick chutney. Don’t make it runny as we don’t want soft and too moist bhel puri.
Tamarind chutney
To make tamarind chutney or sweet sour chutney, to a small sauce pan, add
2 to 3 tablespoons tamarind paste
3 to 4 tablespoons jaggery
¼ teaspoon red chilli powder
¼ teaspoon salt (or black salt)
½ teaspoon jeera powder
1/8 teaspoon or 2 pinches of ginger powder
1/8 teaspoon fennel powder (saunf powder)
If you do not have tamarind paste, boil 2 tablespoons tamarind in little water until soft. Let cool down and then squeeze & pass through a filter to extract the paste. Use that here to make the chutney.
Then pour 4 tablespoons (¼ cup water) to the pan.
Mix all of them.
Simmer until thick. This takes only a few minutes but this simmering process brings out the flavor of the spices. Taste test and add salt or spice if required. Turn off when the tamarind chutney is thick yet of pouring consistency like shown in the picture below.
Red chutney
To make red chutney, add the following to a small grinder jar (chutney jar):
1 ½ tablespoon red chilli powder (or 10 soaked and deseeded red chilies)
4 to 5 garlic cloves (small to medium)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cumin powder
Pour 2 to 3 tablespoons water and squeeze 1 tablespoon lemon juice.
Blend until smooth adding more water as required. Taste test and adjust salt, sugar and lemon juice. This red chutney should be pungent, hot, sweet and sour.
How To Make Bhel Puri
1. I usually cut open a fresh pack of puffed rice when I make chaat recipes bhel puri, churumuri or jhaal muri. If the puffed rice is not crispy then dry roast them until crisp. Cool and then add them to a mixing bowl.
2. Add the boiled potatoes. I cube the potato and boil in 2 cups of water until just cooked. Drained the water and cooled completely. Potatoes must be dry and not moist. Then added them here.
3. Then add in onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves & green chilies.
4. Toss them well. Then add tamarind chutney. I begin with a small quantity of chutneys as you cannot undo if it becomes too sour or sweet. I also feel too much chutneys or too thin chutneys will make the bhel too soggy very quickly. So add them as needed after tasting.
5. Add red chutney. If you do not have red chutney just replace with some chilli powder.
6. Next add in green chutney.
7. Mix to coat the chutneys all over the puffed rice. I added more of all the chutneys. Sprinkle chaat masala and salt if needed.
8. Add roasted peanuts, crushed papdis & sev. Gently mix.
Transfer bhel puri immediately to serving plates. Top with more sev and papdis.
Pro tips
These tips will help your bhel to stay crisp for longer. However do note that it tastes best as soon as it is made.
- Firstly ensure puffed rice is crisp if not roast them until crisp. Cool completely before using.
- Secondly keep the consistency of the chutneys thick & not runny. This prevents the bhel puri from turning soggy too quickly.
- Lastly do not add too much chutney at one time. Add a bit mix and then add more only as needed until you get the taste you desire.
- Always add the crispies – sev, peanuts & papdis towards the end.
- Taste test sev and papdis first before using to ensure they don’t smell rancid.
Related Recipes
Recipe Card
Bhel Puri Recipe
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- 2 cups puffed rice
- 2 tablespoons onions (finely chopped)
- 3 to 4 tablespoons tomatoes (ripe, firm, chopped)
- 3 to 4 tablespoons boiled potato cubed ( 1 small)
- 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (finely chopped)
- 1 green chili chopped
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon chaat masala (or amchur powder or lemon juice)
- 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts
- 10 papdis
- ¼ cup nylon sev (thin sev or farsan)
- 1 to 2 pinches salt (if needed)
- 1 tablespoons green chutney (recipe below)
Tamarind Chutney (or Use ¾ to 1 Tbsp Store Bought)
- 2 to 3 tablespoons tamarind paste (or 2 tablespoons tamarind soak in hot water)
- 3 to 4 tablespoons jaggery (adjust to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon roasted jeera powder
- ⅛ teaspoon ginger powder
- ⅛ teaspoon fennel powder
- 4 tablespoons water
Red Garlic Chutney (or Use ¼ to ½ Red Chilli Powder)
- 1½ tablespoons red chilli powder (or 10 to 15 soaked deseeded red chilies)
- 4 to 5 garlic cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- 1 teaspoon sugar ( to balance the pungent taste)
- ¼ teaspoon cumin powder (or jeera/ cumin)
- 2 to 3 tablespoons water (adjust as required)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (to balance the pungent taste)
Spicy Green Chutney
- ¾ cup coriander leaves
- ¼ cup mint leaves
- 1 to 2 spicy green chilli (adjust to taste)
- 8 to 10 green chilies (low heat kind)
- ¼ inch ginger
- ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder
- 1 tablespoon roasted gram or peanuts or desiccated coconut
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice (adjust to taste)
- 2 tablespoons water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Tamarind Chutney
- To a small sauce pan, add tamarind paste, jaggery, salt, red chilli powder, ginger powder, fennel powder, cumin powder and salt. Pour water and make a smooth mixture.
- Bring this to a rolling boil and reduce the heat. Let simmer until thick. (check the step by step pics for consistency)
- Cool the tamarind chutney completely.
Green Chutney
- Add ¾ cup coriander leaves, ¼ cup mint or pudina leaves,1 to 2 green chilies , 8 to 10 less hot chilies (optional), ¼ inch ginger piece, ¼ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon jeera powder, 1 tablespoon fried gram, 2 teaspoons lemon juice & 2 tablespoons water to a blender jar.
- Blend everything until smooth. Scrape the sides and pour more water only as required and blend to a thick chutney.
- Taste and add more salt and chili if needed. green chutney is ready to use for bhel puri.
Red Chutney (Optional)
- To a grinder jar, add red chilli powder, garlic cloves, sugar, salt and 2 to 4 tablespoons water. If you want to use red chilies, boil half cup water and soak 10 to 15 deseeded red chilies. When they soften remove them from the water and add to a blender jar.
- Blend all the ingredients until smooth & thick, adding more water as required. Add little lemon juice.
- Taste it and add more salt or sugar if needed. Red chutney is ready for bhel puri.
How To Make Bhel Puri
- Optional – Boil potato just until done without making it mushy. I usually cube them and cook in a small pot until fork tender. Drain the potatoes. Cool them & air dry completely. You can also air fry the potatoes and use.
- If your puffed rice is not crisp then dry roast them in a pan until crisp. Cool completely.
- Add them to a mixing bowl along with boiled potatoes, onions, tomatoes, chilies & coriander leaves. Mix them up gently.
- Then add in tamarind chutney, green chutney, chaat masala & red chutney (or red chilli powder).
- Do not add a lot of chutney at one time, add only little by little as needed to prevent the bhel puri from turning mushy.
- Gently mix well to coat the puffed rice with chutney.
- Taste this and add in more chutney & salt as needed.
- Crush the papdis and add them along with peanuts and sev. Give a good stir.
- Garnish bhel puri with more sev and peanuts. Serve immediately.
Notes
- For tamarind chutney, if using tamarind, soak it in hot water and extract the paste
Video
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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Comments
Bhel puri recipe
Tried today and came out very good. All family members liked it. Thanks.
Sooooper ??
Great,i found your explanation of making food, specially chintey’s in bhel making was awesome. Because as gravy is important in pulse or lentil making,chuntey is important in bhel making. You people sincerely shared actual food making.keep it up, please don’t let your viewers down(feel low).
Hi Swasthi,
First, you have a beautiful sanskari name. I often have a craving for some quick snacks and I remember how my elder brother would always make this bowl for a quick evening snack for me and my younger brother. This recipe is all that one needs to make a delicious homemade snack. I cannot thank you enough for sharing a tastier version of this recipe. Thank you once again. Jane.
Hello Roopa
Thank you so much! Glad you like this!
🙂
very detailed and clear recipe
Hi Swathi,
Thanks for sharing the detailed tips for bhel recipe. Although from Mumbai, I still can’t manage to get the taste of Bhel made by street waalas. For green chutney, is “fried gram” same as dalia ( what we use for whites coconut chutney) or do we need to fry Chana dal & use.
Hi Shri
You are welcome! Yes it is dalia. Don’t need to fry it. You can also skip it since it’s used only for binding. Hope you enjoy it
Thanks for clarifying. I will surely try the green & red chutneys & update here. I also see you have posted pakora recipe in comments section. What is “ fried gram flour”… just powder dalia, or is it available in stores?
Yes it is just powdered dalia
Dear Sir,
I was searching start food business after lock down situation, in this crises i take loos my business. Durning searching new business i saw your recipe of bhail puri, I think it is excelent.May i preserve it in polly bag small like shahe pack. How it will be possible and what i have to add or not in your recipe .please let me know and help me in this regards.
Can you please suggest making medu pakoda which I felt very tasty in chennai recently.
It is not available in our place. Thanks
Leela vijayawada
Hi Leela,
I haven’t shared the recipe on the blog. Here is the recipe for a small batch:
¼ cup rice flour
¼ cup besan or gram flour
¼ cup fried gram flour (putnalu pappu)
2 tbsps onions
little ginger
fine chopped curry leaves
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp saunf powder
¼ tsp garam masala
4 to 6 cashews chopped
salt to taste
coriander leaves little
Mix everything and pour 1 tbsp very hot oil. Mix everything by sprinkling water little by little. Dough must be stiff like pakoda dough yet must bind well. Make balls and fry them in oil. Hope this helps.
Thanks for sharing. Turned out great even without the garlic chutney.
All the chutneys came out awesome. AAhhaa… the red chilli chutney is my favorite. Getting ready for an event to be hosted tomorrow. We will be making your bhel puri and lassi. Wish me luck. Hope it comes out good.
Hi Balesh,
Yes I am sure you will make good bhel puri. Wishing you the best!. Would love to know how it turns out.
Hi Swasthi
? for helping me. As you mentioned bhel puri turned out very very good. I bought a large pack of farsan from a near buy Indian store and believe me it turned out the best. Everyone went crazy and was finished in no time. Thanks for making this possible. Now I am confident I can make your kolhapuri chicken on Sunday.
Hi Balesh,
You are most welcome. Happy to know you could impress your guests. Thanks for the comment. Hope you enjoy the kolhapuri chicken!
Grt cooking with Ur recipes….tk u so much
Welcome Malini,
thank you so much!
Thank you very much for all the yummy re Inez. I made your mutton korma jeera rice today. I hit so many compliments for the dishes. Pls share nawabi chicken and garlic naan
Hi Jhanvi,
you are welcome. Thanks for trying. Yes I can share nawabi chicken and naan.
🙂
Hi swasthi, would love to try this soon. How many servings will the chutney recipes make? Will be making bhel puri for 6 of us. Pls suggest? TIA
Hi Tia
The tamarind chutney and red chilli chutney will be good enough to make about 8 servings of bhel puri. I am not sure about the green chutney if it would be enough. So Please follow the link to green chutney to make a bit more. You can find it in the recipe card.
What is friedGram flour