Farsi Pooris

When Sapna Pandya was growing up in Washington, D.C., her paternal grandmother often made a snack that Pandya and her sister called “crunchy pooris.” The round, crisp treats are known as farsi pooris (farsi is Gujarati for “crunchy”). They are popular during Diwali, the festival of lights, when people welcome guests into their homes by offering a variety of homemade snacks. Pandya’s grandmother, Shardaben Natwarlal Pandya, immigrated to the U.S. from Gujarat, on India’s western coast, when Pandya was a year old and lived with her family before moving to an apartment nearby. She recalls “coming home from school to see the kitchen table, counter and floor space all absolutely covered with rolled-out, cumin-accented, flattened pieces of turmeric-colored dough that had been laid out to dry, lovingly and painstakingly pierced all over with my grandmother’s nails.” (Poking holes in the dough, which we accomplish with a table knife, prevents the pooris from puffing up as they fry.) “The whole family would relish the pooris for days, dipping them in chai, eating them while watching cartoons as a treat after finishing our homework, or sometimes as a quick breakfast,” Pandya said. Her grandmother passed away in 2015, at the age of 95. Though Pandya never tried to make crunchy pooris on her own, she is now up to the challenge and would like to pass along the tradition to her daughter, but her grandmother didn’t leave behind a recipe. So Pandya turned to Milk Street for assistance. We researched farsi poori, then developed this recipe. We roll out each portion of spiced dough so the finished snacks have a rustic, homemade look to resemble Pandya’s grandmother’s pooris. For ease, the dough can instead be divided into fourths, rolled about ⅛ inch thick and cut with a 3-inch cookie cutter (the scraps can be rerolled and cut); fry the pooris as directed. The cookie-cutter pooris will be a little thicker and sturdier—but equally delicious. Whichever method you use, be sure to tape a piece of plastic wrap on your counter before kneading and rolling the dough, as the turmeric can stain the counter. To toast the whole cumin and coriander seeds for this recipe, place them in a small saucepan over medium, stirring frequently until fragrant. Let the seeds cool, then grind in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder.