Bhel puri chaat is one of the most popular sweet, spicy, and tangy Indian street food made using bhel (puffed rice), sweet tamarind chutney, spicy green chutney, and spices in less than 10 minutes. This quick and easy Indian snack is vegan, can be easily made gluten-free, and is also an excellent street-style recipe for your weight loss diet.
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What is bhel puri?
Bhel puri, also spelled as bhel poori, is a spicy chatpata Indian snack recipe originating from Bombay or Mumbai prepared using puffed rice (bhel or murmura), onions, green chile, sweet, spicy, and tangy tamarind dates chutney, coriander mint chutney, a few spices, crispy papdi or puris, sev, coriander leaves. You have to serve it immediately.
Various interesting snacks and desserts can be made using puffed rice or bhel. We even use puffed rice instead of poha while making South Indian dosa batter. You can add this during your weight loss journey as this is one of the best and most healthy low-calorie snacks.
Types of bhel puri
Every region has its own way of making snacks using puffed rice (bhel, mandakki)
This bhel puri recipe is a Mumbai street style also popular as Bombay bhel puri. If you visit the coastal regions of Karnataka, then try Churumuri bhel or Jhalmuri bhel in Kolkota and Orissa. Love dry bhel or sukha bhel, then skip the chutneys and add all the ingredients. Add the chutneys mentioned for geeli or wet bhel, which is the most loved way of eating bhel.
Love chaats? Next time you are India, don't miss to try some popular street food like pani puri, dahi puri, Bangalore masala puri, papdi chaat or samosa chaat, Bombay pav bhaji, desi burger or dabeli, Maharashtrian vada pav, aloo tikki chaat or ragda pattice.
What are the ingredients for bhel puri?
Puffed rice: Also available as murmura, bhel, churmura, mamra, kurmura,mandakki in any Indian or Asian store.
Chutney: To make any Indian chaat you need two key chutneys one is meethi tamarind dates chutney, also called imli ki chutney, and the other one is green chutney or coriander mint chutney. You can make these chutneys ahead of time and store them in the refrigerator or use store-bought ones. Some also use red garlic chili chutney while making chaats.
Vegetables: Onions and green chilies with some lemon juice and coriander leaves are a must. Some add chopped boiled potatoes, but we skip them.
Spices: Use black salt, roasted cumin powder, red chile powder, chaat masala to get that chatpata flavor.
Peanuts: Add roasted peanuts for additional crunch.
For garnish: Don't miss the papdi or puris and thin sev. I have used homemade sev and papdi in the recipe. Feel free to use store-bought ones.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Step by Step Instructions
- Puffed rice sometimes gets softened when exposed to air. So it is always good to dry roast it ones to make them crispy. You need 2 to 3 minutes on medium-low flame. Let this cool completely before you start making the bhel.
- Bhel mix: Add onions, green chile, lemon juice, black salt, cumin powder, red chile powder, chaat masala, roasted peanuts, coriander leaves, salt, puris, green coriander mint chutney, tamarind dates, chutney and mix well in a large bowl. Taste and adjust any spices.
- In a bowl, add the puffed rice, add masala as needed, and toss until everything is combined.
- Transfer it to a serving plate and garnish with sev, coriander leaves, and onion and sprinkle some chaat masala.
- Serve immediately and enjoy.
- Serving suggestion: Once you mix the puffed rice with the mixture, you can only keep it for a short time as it will turn soggy. So combine the puffed rice with the masala mixture only when you are ready to eat so that you enjoy the best flavors.
Tips
- Use the fresh puffed rice, puri or papdi, and sev, as these may turn soft or become unpleasant over time.
- Dry roast the puffed rice or murmura to make it crispy.
- To make the bhel puri even more nutritious and healthy if you are making it as a meal for your weight loss, add sprouted moong, grated carrots, cucumbers, beetroot,
- You can also make the bhel without onion if you are looking for a no onion, no garlic version or jain bhel puri.
- Love dry bhel puri or sukha bhel? Add all the ingredients and skip the chutney.
- See that the chutney is medium thick and not runny.
- Do not add all the chutney at once. It will make your behl soggy very soon.
- This bhel puri is vegan. Skip puri or papdi to make it gluten-free.
Make ahead and store
You can make the sweet dates tamarind chutney, spicy mint coriander chutney, prep all the ingredients, and keep it ready. Just before you are ready to serve, toss the ingredients.
I would not recommend storing once the bhel is mixed with the mixture as it will get soggy. So always mix only how much you need.
Recipe FAQS
Bhel puri is considered a healthy snack which low in calories and prepared using puffed rice. You can even make it more nutritious by adding grated vegetables and sprouted moong.
Yes. One of the best recipes, low in calories, high in dietary fiber, and with the addition of more vegetables, you can also make it a light meal.
Simply call it a spicy puffed rice snack.
One serving of bhel puri contains 246 calories with 6g of protein.
More Indian Chaat Recipes
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Recipe card
Bhel Puri Recipe | Bhel Puri Chaat
Equipment
- 2 Bowls
Ingredients
- 3 cups Puffed rice bhel, churmura, mandakki
- 1 Onion small, finely chopped, some for garnish
- 1 Green chile finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon Black salt
- ½ teaspoon Roasted cumin powder optional
- 1 teaspoon Red chile powder
- 1 teaspoon Chaat masala
- 2 tablespoon Roasted peanuts
- 2 tablespoon Coriander leaves, finely chopped some for garnish
- Salt, to taste
- 6 to 8 Puris or Papdis homemade or store-bought
- 4 tablespoon Sev homemade or store-bought
- 2 tablespoon Green coriander mint chutney
- 2 tablespoon Tamarind dates chutney
Instructions
How to make bhel puri?
- Puffed rice sometimes gets softened when exposed to air. So it is always good to dry roast it ones to make them crispy. You need 2 to 3 minutes on medium-low flame. Let this cool completely before you start making the bhel.3 cups Puffed rice
- Bhel mix: Add onions, green chile, lemon juice, black salt, cumin powder, red chile powder, chaat masala, roasted peanuts, coriander leaves, salt, puris, green coriander mint chutney, tamarind dates chutney and mix well in a large bowl. Taste and adjust any spices.1 Onion small, finely chopped,, 1 Green chile finely chopped, 1 tablespoon Lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon Black salt, ½ teaspoon Roasted cumin powder, 1 teaspoon Red chile powder, 1 teaspoon Chaat masala, 2 tablespoon Roasted peanuts, 2 tablespoon Coriander leaves, finely chopped, Salt, to taste, 6 to 8 Puris or Papdis, 4 tablespoon Sev, 2 tablespoon Green coriander mint chutney, 2 tablespoon Tamarind dates chutney
- In a bowl, add the puffed rice, add bhel mix as needed, and toss until everything is combined.
- Transfer it to a serving plate and garnish with sev, coriander leaves, and onion and sprinkle some chaat masala.
- Serve immediately and enjoy.
- Serving suggestion: Once you mix the puffed rice with the mixture, you can only keep it for a short time as it will turn soggy. So combine the puffed rice with the bhel masala mix only when you are ready to eat so that you enjoy the best flavors.
Notes
- Use the fresh puffed rice, puri or papdi, and sev, as these may turn soft or become unpleasant over time.
- Dry roast the puffed rice or murmura to make it crispy.
- To make the bhel puri even more nutritious and healthy if you are making it as a meal for your weight loss, add sprouted moong, grated carrots, cucumbers, beetroot,
- You can also make the bhel without onion if you are looking for a no onion, no garlic version or jain bhel puri.
- Love dry bhel puri or sukha bhel? Add all the ingredients and skip the chutney.
- See that the chutney is medium thick and not runny.
- Do not add all the chutney at once. It will make your behl soggy very soon.
- This bhel puri is vegan. Skip puri or papdi to make it gluten-free.
Nutrition
This post on Bombay bhel puri chaat was first published in Oct 2016. Updated with calorie information, recipe maker, and more details.
swathi
Bhel puri looks delicious very nice.
Kushi
Thank you Swathi 🙂
Nava K
A million yesses to this bhel puri. No one for the matter can resist it.
Kushi
Thank you Nava 🙂
Monica
Love the mix of textures and flavors of this street food! And I love learning how you make it!
Kushi
Thank you Monica 🙂
Karly
This puffed rice business is pretty new to me, but it looks AMAZING! So versatile, and I love the textural element it adds to everything! I've gotta try this soon!
Kushi
Thank you Karly 🙂
Sankalp Packaged Foods
I appreciate that you've included variations and suggestions for personalizing the recipe.