Puchka is basically a version of panipuri which is a famous street food in Kolkata. This Kolkata style Puchkas are easy to make and tastes delicious.
It's the pani , in Puchka that makes all difference . It is a spicy ,tangy and thirst quenching street food that is loved by all generations, throughout India.
If your are interested in trying out authentic regional chaat / street food at home then you must try one of the best Masala Puri Chaat Recipe from Karnataka, Kolhapuri Misal Pav and the famous Pav Bhaji from Mumbai
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About this recipe
Puchka is the name given for ubiquitous panipuri in East India. How is this different from regular pani puri ? It is the filling and pani that makes all the difference. Filling used here for puchka is black chickpeas and potatoes.
Puchka gets its taste and flavors from the special spice blend called Muri masala that is mixed along with potato and black chick pea filling .
But in this recipe , I have not used muri masala because I didn't had. Instead , I have added different spices to bring out the flavors which are very near to that of authentic Puchka. Here assortments added with potato and black chickpeas are truly optional , it depends on your taste.
Few adds chopped cucumber along with onions and few while others likes to eat it with just imli pani and boiled channa. It's all up to your choice.
Difference between Pani Puri , Golgappa and Puchka?
Pani Puri is the generalized word and is vaguely used on all other versions of it.
Though it seems like Gol gappa and puchka are different regional names given to Pani puri , the filling used in all the 3 versions ( pani puri , gol gappa and puchka ) are different.
For Puchka the main filling inside puri is black chick peas and tamarind water with spices and assortments.
While for gol gappe its potato filling with mint corinader pani along with or without boondi .
And for classic pani puri its green / white peas filling along with assortments and mint coriander spicy pani and tamarind jaggery sweet pani added.
These are my close observations on our most favorite street food , Pani Puri.
It's worth trying this delicious Puchkas at home during weekends to enjoy with whole family. I have tried Puchka by using store bought Puri's , you can try with homemade puri's too.
Apart from the deliciousness of this chat , did you know the imli pani or water with all spices are loaded with medicinal properties and works wonders on your digestive system.
Roasted jeera powder with black salt , green chili paste and tamarind juice , everything helps in better digestion.
Hence you can enjoy this puchka pani as your drink at times as a home remedy for your digestion related issues.
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How to make Puchka :
Wash and soak black chickpeas / kala chana for 6 -8 hrs. If soaking for 4-5 hours then use hot water.
Take ¼ cup (40 grams) of tamarind and soak it in a 1 cup of hot water for 30 minutes or more.
After 30 minutes, extract the juice, strain and discard the residue.
Make a paste from 2 green chillies ,I used mortar and pestle for this.
Add ¾ teaspoon red chilli powder, ½ teaspoon salt, roasted jeera powder, green chilli paste, black salt, chopped coriander leaves ,green chilli paste and chopped mint leaves to the tamarind juice and also add 2- 2.5 cups of chilled water.
Refrigerate the pani mixture until you are ready to serve.
Pressure cook Black Chana with pinch of salt and a cup of water for 2-3 whistles. Drain water (reserve and use it for anything you cook later , as it is nutritious) and keep chana aside.
Steam or boil 2 potatoes.
Peel skin, mash and keep it aside.
In a bowl ,take mashed potatoes, add ½ teaspoon red chilli powder,salt, jeera powder , chat masala ,black salt and mix everything. 
Add boiled chickpeas to it and mix well .
Tap the Puri at the center lightly to make a half inch hole in it.Add about 1 teaspoon of the potato chickpea filling into the puri.
Fill the puri with spicy tamarind water and serve.
Recipe Card
Puchka - Kolkata Style Pani Puri
Ingredients
For Filling
- 2 Medium size Potatoes ,boiled
- ½ cup Dry Black Chickpeas ,boiled
- ½ Tsp Red chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon Black salt
- ½ teaspoon Jeera powder
- ½ Tsp Dry mango powder
- ½ teaspoon Chat masala
- ½ teaspoon Salt or as required
For Pani
- ¼ cup Tamarind - , refer notes
- 3.5-4 cups Water
- 2 Green chilli crushed to paste
- 1 tablespoon Chopped coriander leaves
- 1 teaspoon Chopped mint leaves
- 1 teaspoon Roasted Jeera powder
- ½ teaspoon Red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon Chat masala powder
- 1 teaspoon Black salt
- ¾ teaspoon Salt or as required
Instructions
For Pani
- Take ½ cup (40 grams) of tamarind and soak it in a 1 cup of hot water for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, extract the juice, strain tamarind juice and discard the residue.
- Add 2- 2.5 cups of chilled water to the tamarind juice.
- Add ¾ teaspoon red chilli powder, ½ teaspoon salt, roasted jeera powder, green chilli paste, black salt, chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves.
- Refrigerate the pani mixture until you are ready to serve.
For Filling
- Wash,rinse and soak black chickpeas / kala channa for 6 -8 hrs.
- Pressure cook Black Chana with pinch of salt and a cup of water for 2-3 whistles. Drain water (reserve and use it for anything you cook later , as it is nutritious) and keep chana aside.
- Boil 2 potatoes, peel skin, mash and keep it aside.
- In a bowl ,take mashed potatoes, add ½ teaspoon red chilli powder,salt, jeera powder , chat masala ,black salt and black chick peas, mix everything.
For Serving Puchka
- Tap the Puri at the center lightly to make a half inch hole in it
- Add about 1 teaspoon of the potato chickpea filling into the puri.
- Fill the puri with spicy tamarind water and serve.
Video
Notes
- If Tamarind is too sour then use¼ cup and in case if its sweet, use ⅔ cup of tamarind. Actual taste varies depending on the sourness of tamarind , so please test and use tamarind accordingly.
- No Sweet Chutney is used in Puchka , if you want you can use it.
- No Onion and sev are used for authentic Kolkata Puchka, its optional.
- There is no exact measurements for the spices used, as it is altered suit their taste.
Varsha Baikar
Looks interesting and yummy 🙂 Thanks for sharing 🙂
Muktha
Welcome Varsha ,if u try let me know ,how it turned out for u.
Anonymous
Thank you for this! We have missed having phuchka after coming to USA. Impossible to get authentic Kolkata phuchka here.
Muktha
You are most welcome , if you have tried my recipe , I would love to know how it turned out for you. Thank you 😌
Wei C.
We are Hakka from Kolkata, now living in Canada. We tried your recipe and it was absolutely perfect! We always add cucumber, onions, coriander as well to the mix but the flavours were spot on from what I remember growing up. Thank you so much!!
Muktha
Yeah I got few more comments
on adding cucumber for authentic taste. Thanks for letting me know. I'm so glad that you liked the taste
Muktha
Pani Puri is the generalized word and is vaguely used on all other versions of it. Though it seems like Gol gappa and puchka are different regional names given to Pani puri , the filling used in all the 3 versions ( pani puri , gol gappa and puchka ) are different. For Puchka the main filling inside puri is black chick peas and tamarind water with spices and assortments. While for gol gappe its potato filling with mint corinader pani along with or without boondi and for actual pani puri its green / white peas filling along with assortments and mint coriander spicy pani and tamarind jaggery sweet pani added. These are my close observations , Hope I have answered your queries. Thank You