Years ago, a good friend of mine went travelling for many months in India.   I had not travelled there yet myself, and when this friend returned he thoughtfully brought me the perfect gift…a story about food.  He spun a tale about being served this odd and exciting crunchy, tangy, spicy, fresh salad like thing called Bhel-Poori.  I was living in Queens at the time, where there are a lot of authentic, regional Indian restaurants.  So I set about to find one that served this mysterious Bhel-Poori dish.  I found it and I loved it.  It is made from crisp rice puffs, little crunchy chick pea noodles and bits of poori (puffy fried bread) tossed with tomatoes, onions, mango, cilantro and two kinds of spicy chutney (tamarind chutney and green chutney).  I can think of absolutely no comparable American dish.  The closest thing I can think of would be if someone made a salad using check party mix…but that sounds awful…bhel poori is not awful…its delicious!

Years later, I finally travelled to India myself and spent part of the trip staying in the home of the beautiful and gracious Sangeeta Kumar.  We did quite a lot of cooking, and somehow it came up that I loved Bhel-Poori, but that I had stopped eating it because I was not sure if it had gluten in it.  Sangeeta called her mother to check if “The little numkeem things in Bhel-Poori were made from wheat flour”.  Her mother said no, the crunchy things were sev (made from chick pea) but I should avoid the bits of poori (puffed bread made from wheat).  Sangeeta’s mother also scolded her for feeding her guest junk food, so I feel that I should mention that in addition to showing me how to make Bhel-Poori, Sangeeta taught me how to make butter chicken, which is quite gourmet.

Bhel-Poori falls in to the category of “Indian dishes that are not typically served in restaurants in North America”, like Savoury Indian Dumpling Cake and Tiny Potatoes steamed in Fenugreek Greens and Butter.  It also falls into the catagory of “tasty snacks that Erin likes but that some people might find a little bit gross” like jalapeno poppers, fried pickles and Pineapple and Ham Pizza.

Side note- I was recently introduced to the blog Edible Geography which has articles on such topics as the fine line between gross and gourmet food and street food in India.  SO, obviously I’m obsessed with this blog right now and if you are still reading this post you might like it too!  Here is the link!

Sangeeta and I had made Bhel-Poori from a mix, which I can actually get in NYC, but it comes complete with the bits of poori and I am really, really allergic to wheat.  Now granted, Bhel-Poori is not really the kind of food that one eats for their health, but my reaction to wheat is bad enough that it even ruins the fun of eating junk food.  I can pick the poori out, but it’s still probably going to make me sick.  SO I got it in my head recently to make it from scratch, without the poori.  This project required a major trip to the Indian Market, but it satisfied my craving for.  I found one ready-made bhel-mix that used corn flakes instead of poori and it worked really well!

BHEL-POORI WITHOUT POORI (GLUTEN-FREE)

• 1 cup sev noodles
• 1/2 cup puffed rice
• 1/4 cup corn flakes
• 1/4 cup roasted shelled peanuts
• 1/3 cup chopped onion (I like to rinse them under cold water to take the bite out)
• 1/3 cup diced tomato
• 1/3 cup  diced mango (green would be more authentic, but mine was ripe)
• 1/3 cup green coriander chutney (store-bought or use the recipe below)
• 1/3 cup tamarind chutney (store-bought or use the recipe below or sweet and tangy fruit chutney)
• fresh hot green chilies, minced (optional or to taste)
• a handful of fresh cilantro for garnish

1. Combine the sev, puffed rice, corn flakes and peanuts in a large bowl and set aside
2. Prep all of the chutneys and chop all of the fruit, vegetables and herbs.
3. Combine the dry and wet ingredients and serve it right away or it will get soggy!