Puri Sabzi Kanpur UP Street Breakfast

Method

1. 1

   Make the puri dough: Combine wheat flour, oil and salt. Add water gradually. Knead 5 minutes to a smooth, medium-firm dough. Rest 15 minutes.

2. 2

   Make the aloo sabzi: Heat 2 tbsp oil. Add cumin seeds — crackle. Add asafoetida. Add ginger paste and green chilli — stir 1 minute. Add tomatoes — cook 5 minutes. Turn low. Add spice powders — stir 2 minutes. Add roughly mashed potato. Add 1.5 cups water. Stir. Simmer 5 minutes. The UP street puri sabzi should be noticeably thin — more liquid than a typical curry. Add amchur and salt. Scatter coriander.

3. 3

   Divide puri dough: Divide into 12 balls.

4. 4

   Roll each puri: Roll into rounds about 10 to 11 cm wide and 2 to 3 mm thick.

5. 5

   Heat oil for frying: Pour oil to 5 cm depth. Heat on medium-high. Test: a dough piece rises within 2 seconds.

6. 6

   Fry the puri: Slide one puri into the oil. Press gently with a slotted spoon — it will puff within 5 to 8 seconds. Fry 30 seconds per side until light golden.

7. 7

   Drain: Remove and drain on paper towels.

8. 8

   Fry all puris quickly: Fry all puris in batches and serve immediately — hot puris are the essential experience.

9. 9

   Plate the sabzi: Ladle the thin aloo sabzi into deep bowls.

10. 10

    Serve together: Place 3 hot puri alongside each bowl of sabzi. Break the puri and dip into the thin curry. The thin curry soaks into the puri from underneath.

11. 11

    Note: Puri-Sabzi is the morning street food of Uttar Pradesh — sold from early 5 am at roadside dhabas, station platforms and temple areas across the state. The UP version uses a thinner, more liquid potato sabzi (sometimes called aloo ki tehri) compared to North Indian puri-sabzi from other states. The thinness is deliberate — the liquid sabzi both soaks into the puri and is drunk directly from the bowl after finishing the bread.