The irresistable Paani puri

I doubt if there is anyone in this Universe who dislikes Paani puri.  Known by various names like Puchkas and Golgappas, this is a complete treat on its own.  Kudos to the creator of this awesome chaat and one can go on with puris after puris as it is very light on the stomach too.  It is an art to break a small portion of the puri, fill it with all goodies and dip it straightway in the paani and gulp it.  This is one such dish where even the elite and sophisticated stuff their mouth with the puri without giving it a delicate bite.  To be frank, the roadside ones are quite delicious and if one is not too fussy about the hygiene part, I would recommend to give it a try.  Each one has their own filling and now there are flavours of Paani too like Nimbu, Adrak, Pudina exclusive etc etc.  But, I personally prefer our good old original flavour.  Here goes the recipe.

Ingredients:

Puris -20 nos.
Potatoes - 4 to 5 (boiled and mashed)
Black chenna - 1/2 cup (Boiled)
Assorted Sprouts - 1/2 cup
Boondhi - 1/4 cup
Coriander leaves - finely chopped
Onions - finely chopped (optional)

Ingredients for 'Paani'

Mint leaves - 1 cup chopped
coriander leaves - 1 tbsp
Tamarind - 1/2 cup
Jeera - 1 tsp roasted  powder
Adrak
Black salt
Normal salt

Sweet Chutney preparation

Dates - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup
Tamarind - 1/4 cup
Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Salt

Paani preparation: Squeeze out the pulp from the tamarind after soaking it in 3/4th cup of water.  Strain the water through a fine sieve to obtain very clear water without any sediments.  Blend this pulp with Coriander leaves, Mint leaves, Adrak, Jeera till it is done.  Transfer this mixture to a big vessel and add about 5 to 6 cups of water. Add black salt and check the taste.  This paani is to be chilled for a couple of hours at least, for the flavours to blend in nicely.

Sweet chutney preparation:  Deseed the dates and add it alongwith tamarind, jaggery and set it to boil in 3 cups of water. Add the chilly powder and salt and allow the mixture to simmer for 20 minutes till a thick concoction is obtained.  Sieve the mix and check for taste.

Stuffing preparation:

Boil the potatoes, mash and add salt.  Sprout lentils of your choice. Boil kaala chenna with salt and set aside.  Salted boondhi, finely chopped coriander leaves and onions to be kept ready.

Paani puri :

Crack open the puri and make a hole of diameter 3/4 inch.  The first item to enter would be the potatoes, then the sprouts, black chenna, salted boondhi, coriander leaves, half teaspoon of sweet chutney and the onions.  Now, this stuffed puri has to be dipped in the Mint paani and to be consumed immediately.  To be prepared fresh as and when one is ready to eat.

It was fun with each one enjoying their puri according to their taste.