Jeera puri or farsi puri is a hand rolled, crispy, deep fried, spicy flat teatime snack. These were always in the snack jars at Mum’s, it was these types of snacks that would tide you over until dinnertime as a kid.  

These puri’s are studded with black pepper, cumin and carom seeds.  As with almost every Gujarati snack, each household adds their own twist to the recipe, some use a mix of semolina and all- purpose flour, some knead it with oil or butter.  

This is my Mum’s recipe, and I love the way the peppery spiciness balances well with masala chai.  I also eat these as I did whilst growing up, with a scoop of lasanyu marchu or spicy mango pickle.

Over the years, I have adapted it slightly to make the Flaxseed puri, cut into squares, almost like crackers, which my kids absolutely love.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups/ 645 gms plain white flour
• 3/4 cup oil /margarine/ salted butter
• 3 tsp. Pink himalayan salt/ use less if the butter is salted.
• 1 tsp. Ajmo/Carom seeds
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. coarsely ground/crushed black pepper
• 4 cups of warm water ( may need less)
• * 3 tbsp heaped whole Flax seeds (Alsi)
• Oil for deep frying

Making Jeera puri

1. Roast the cumin seeds for about 2 mins. on a low flame.
2. Using a  mortar-pestle, crush the whole bacl pepper coarsely.
3. In a large bowl, add flour, salt, roasted cumin, ajmo, crushed balck pepper and oil or butter (melt the butter)
4. Rub the flour mixture together using fingertips untill the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. When you take some flour between your finger and palm and form a fist and open your hand, the flour  should hold shape .
5. Adding a little water at a time,  start kneading the dough, it should be stiff not soft.
6. Cover the dough and rest for at least 20-30 minutes.
7. After rest period, knead the dough again and divide into equal balls. 
8. Roll the dough into a ball between your palms and flatten it out then roll it into medium 2.5 and sized disc. – I just press it out so it all all jagged edges.
9. Using the fork, prick the surface of the puri and repeat with the remaining dough balls. 
10. Heat the oil in a wok/karai on medium-low heat for deep frying.
11. Carefully add the puri’s into the oil and fry the puri to a pinkish/light brown color.
12. Remove them with a spider spoon and place on a  wire rack to drain.

Making Flaxseed puri

4 cups/ 645 gms plain white flour

3/4 cup oil /margarine/ salted butter

3 tsp. Pink Himalayan salt/ use less if the butter is salted.

4 cups of warm water (may need less)

3 tbsp. whole Flax seeds (Alsi)

Canola or sunflower oil for deep frying

1. For this you will only need flaxseeds (no crushed black pepper, cumin and carom seeds)
2. Follow the steps for Jeera puri, but leave out the black pepper, cumin and ajmo, insead add the flaxseeds and knead the dough. 
3. divide the dough into two parts.
4. Roll one part into a large circle and prick all over with a fork- then using a pizza cutter or a shape knife ( I used my mum’s shakarpara velan) cut into diamond shapes or squares about 1 inch wide. 
5. Fry the squares and drain on a wire rack.