My version of my granny's teekhi puris! I finally got to attempt this loved recipe that reached many homes on my street as I grew up. Better known as “midnight puris”, my granny would make these late at night when everyone had gone to bed, and the next morning when we woke up, huge enamel pots (those green and cream coloured ones) would be filled with fresh puris, ready to distribute to the neighbours after packing them into little greaseproof bags. There were two sizes of bags and the size that each one received would be according to the size of the household – this was one of the ways I learned exactly who stayed at whose house – pretty special hey? :)

As my granny grew older, she could no longer manage the late-night sessions, so I’d get to help her in the afternoons after school or on weekends. She made sure that those “afternoon batches” got distributed while they were still hot and got really upset if I came up with any reason not to go and give them out immediately. It’s only now that I realise the value and appreciation of being on the receiving end of those hot, hot puris – something that rarely ever happens these days.

Teekhi puri is a deep-fried, spicy, savoury snack, almost like crackers, made in most Gujarati households and is best served with a hot cup of masala tea! I remember dunking the puri into the tea and letting the bubbles in the puri fill up with tea, so that when you took a bite, there’d be an explosion of “garam gram chaa” (hot hot tea) in your mouth, together with the soft, spicy dough that still miraculously had the perfect amount of crispy crunchiness. So many memories!

I didn’t know what to name this recipe because my granny was fondly known as “Mrs Rama”, “Aunty Ganga”, “Gangoomasi”, “Gangoofoi”, “Gangookaki”, “Gangoo” and “Gangooben”. I decided to name it after what I called her, “Gamoo”, a name that I had formulated as a child when I was learning to talk. Her name was Ganga and I used to hear people calling her by her various names, which in my head translated to “Gamoo” - and so the name stuck!

As most of you might know, when our grannies made things, there were no measurements - it was just a handful of this and a sprinkle of that. So this recipe came about from a collection of recipes that my granny verbally gave to others. It may not be exact, but it’s somewhere really close to what she used to make. If you’re going to attempt this recipe, my hope is that when you make these puris, you’ll also form beautiful memories of your own, especially with the people you share your creations with! May we always remember that happiness multiplies when it is shared <3

Note: Besides the original version, I made a gluten-free (GF) version as well, and gosh, let me warn you... working with gluten-free flours requires next-level patience! Luckily, I held it together (both the flour and myself) and achieved the task. The gluten-free puri's texture is very different but the taste is on point!

Ingredients

1 ½ cups cake flour OR GF: 1 cup gluten-free flour mix (made of rice flour, potato flour, tapioca, chickpea flour and xanthan gum) + ½ cup chana/chickpea flour
½ cup semolina OR GF: ¼ cup corn flour + ¼ cup coconut flour + 1 Tbsp flax flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 cup milk OR VEGAN: ½ cup coconut cream + ½ cup water
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
½ tsp freshly ground green chilli
¼ tsp freshly ground ginger
¼ tsp freshly ground garlic
3 ½ tsp sugar (I used brown sugar)
1 tsp dhana jeeroo
½ Tbsp cumin seeds
½ Tbsp white sesame seeds
½ Tbsp ghee (omit for vegan option)
50g salted butter OR 50g vegan butter (my granny used to use margarine)
Oil to fry (I used coconut oil)

Method

Sift together cake flour, semolina and baking powder. For the gluten-free version, sift together gluten-free flour mix (from Health Connection Wholefoods), chickpea flour, corn flour, coconut flour, flax flour and baking powder.
In a pot, on medium heat, add milk, turmeric powder, salt, green chilli, ginger, garlic, sugar, dhana jeeroo, cumin seeds and sesame seeds. Stir well.
As soon as the mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat and allow it to cool down slightly.
Add ghee and butter, stir well and allow it to melt.
Gradually add mixture to the flours to form a soft dough. It should not be sticky. Rather have some of the milk mixture left than have a sticky dough.
Break off small balls and roll into small circles. It shouldn’t be rolled too thin. It’s better to roll out the whole batch first before frying because it allows the dough to dry out a bit, which gives it a crispier texture.
Fry on medium heat in oil till both sides are golden. Drain on a paper towel. Allow to cool down completely before storing in a container.

The image below is a picture of my Mum’s version of my granny’s puris. Hers look more like what my granny’s used to look like - you can see she’s had many more years of practice! Notice how they bubble up for perfect dunking in tea! ;)

Gamoo's Teekhi Puri