Perfect Puffed Poori Recipe – Pooris (Puri) / Indian puffed breads, are made up in varying flavours. Taste of Puri will vary based on ingredients used to make it. The most common form of poori is Ajwain or Carom Seeds Poori. My recipe covers this ajwain poori here. In this recipe below, I will share my tips on how to make Khasta / Crunchy Ajwain Poori. Ajwain poori is probably the simplest kind of poori to make. It is likely one of the best poori as well.
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Poori, every Indian would know this word. I have been an ardent fan of puffed pooris since childhood. I would remember that my mum will make poori at home for almost every celebration. To get perfect puri (poori) is an art and needs a little trial. I remember trying to make puri first time when I was 15year old. My poori that time was flat and a bit hard too. Since then I have came a long way and now all my pooris will be puffed. Based on that learning, I am scripting this recipe to help others, who may struggle with making perfect poori.
What is ajwain poori
Ajwain puri is simply made by kneading wheat flour with carom / ajwain seeds along with oil. These pooris have distinctive aroma and flavour due to ajwain seeds. Ajwain puris are traditionally consumed more in the Indian subcontinent. People will eat this for breakfast or as a light meal, as well as form part of main meal, hence is versatile part of meal.
These pooris are part of breakfast / snack item in roadside stalls / dhaba in northern part of india.
What is ajwain / carom seeds
Ajwain is called ‘Vamu‘ in Telugu, ‘Omam‘ in Tamil, ‘Ayamodakam‘ in Malayalam, ‘Om Kalugalu‘ in Kannada, ‘Ajmo‘ in Gujarati and ‘Ova‘ in Marathi. Carrom seeds are useful in getting rid of Acidity, Constipation and Kidney disorder, however main objective of adding these seeds here in poori is for digestive reasons. Ajwain seeds helps in digestion too
Method to make best poori
- In a mixing bowl, sieve together flour and Semolina. Add Ajwain, salt and 1 tablespoon of oil to it and mix well.
- With the help of Luke warm water, knead it into a tight dough. Spread 1/2 tablespoon of oil all over and let this dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Divide the dough into equal parts and make round balls of it.
- Roll these dough balls with a rolling pin into a circle of 3-4 inch diameter.
- Heat the oil over medium flame and then deep fry the pooris till they are nice golden in colour.
- Carefully take out poori and put it on a tissue to soak away any excessive oil.

Trick to make these perfect puffed ajwain puri is subject to how you have knead the dough, how you fry them and at what temperature.
How to make best puri / poori
The secret of a puffed poori or puri is as follows
- Dough : The dough for the puri needs to be tight and not sticky or loose.
- Thickness of Poori : Get the thickness of puri correct. Too thick puri won’t get puffed and too thin will become like papad.
- Fresh Dough : I will suggest that you should use fresh dough and not rested (dough from previous day) dough.
- Quantity of ajwain: Use just the right amount of ajwain in puri.
- Frying on low to medium heat : I will recommend doing a small dough test. Do a dough test by dropping a small pinch of dough in hot oil, the fried dough should come to surface of oil. In case oil is too hot, puri will not puff and get burnt. If oil is cold, puri won’t puff at all.
Poori lover?
If you are a Poori lover, you may like to try out some other variants that I have shared:
Serving suggestion
Serve this poori with Indian curries, such as Peas Potato Curry, Kadai Paneer, etc. Some of readers will relate this poori to their favourite meal in long train journeys in india where you can find Poori with Stuffed Karela / Bitter Gorud.
Recipe Card
Crunchy Ajwain Poori
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Semolina (Sooji)
- 1.5 Tablespoon Carom Seeds
- 1.5 Tablespoon Oil
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 Cup Luke Warm Water
- Oil For Deep Frying
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, sieve together flour and Semolina. Add Ajwain, salt and 1 tablespoon of oil to it and mix well.
- With the help of Luke warm water, knead it into a tight dough. Spread 1/2 tablespoon of oil all over and let this dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Divide the dough into equal parts and make round balls of it.
- Roll these dough balls with a rolling pin into a circle of 3-4 inch diameter.
- Heat the oil over medium flame and then deep fry the pooris till they are nice golden in colour.
- Carefully take out poori and put it on a tissue to soak away any excessive oil.
- Serve them hot and enjoy…
Notes
- Always knead a tight dough for poori.
- Ensure temperature of oil is not too high or too low, just medium flame to get right sort of temperature.
- To get puffed poori, gentle stroke sides of poori with ladle on sides while frying (carefully not to break poori), and you will find poori getting puffed in seconds.