Puris are a deep-fat fried bread made from unleavened whole-wheat flour. It has its origin from the Indian subcontinent and typically prepared as a breakfast option.
Blend the spinach, ginger, cumin seeds, and green chili with about ¼ cup of water, use more if needed and set it aside.
In a bowl, mix whole wheat flour, salt, and 2 tablespoon oil. After you get a homogenous mix, add the spinach paste to the flour mix and form it into a firm dough. Add more water if the dough appears too dry. Grease your palm and knead the dough for 1-2 minutes. Cover the dough and let it sit for 10 - 15 minutes.
Divide the dough into small balls and flatten them gently. Lightly oil the surface you want to roll the puris and roll them into a six-inch round (approximately)
Or use puri press - Grease the puri press on both sides and place the small dough balls in between and press gently. (check out the video in the recipe card below)
Heat at least one to two inches of oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. To check if oil is ready, drop a small piece of dough into the oil. The dough should float to the top, without any change in color.
Place one puri at a time in the frying pan and press it with a skimmer. The puris should puff up slowly. Turn the puri over to the other side. Continue to fry the other side until both sides turn light golden color.
Take the puris out and place them on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil. Repeat the process for remaining puris.
Video
Notes
Blanching spinach is an option before blending it. This is a good option if you do not have organic spinach.
Adding raw and chopped spinach directly to the wheat flour without making it into a puree is another way of preparing this. Be sure to chop them really fine if you are doing it this way.
The spinach puree itself is usually enough to prepare the dough and you don’t need any water. If you still feel the dough is very dry, you can always sprinkle a little water and knead it to a soft but stiff dough.
Check the heat of frying oil before dropping the rolled piece of poori dough. Oil should be very hot for the puri to puff up immediately.
Flip the puris only once. Flipping it multiple times will make them absorb more oil.
Place the hot puris on a paper napkin, so that it will absorb the excess oil from puris.
Note: The nutrition values I show here are my best estimates. Please be sure to check your preferred nutrition calculator, if you are relying on accurate calculations in your diet.