Bhel Puri Chaat (Indian Street Snack)

Bhel Puri Chaat is a popular Indian street-style snack made using puffed rice as its base ingredient. This tangy, spicy, and very slightly sweet chaat can be made in just 10 minutes if you have the ingredients ready. Here is my easy recipe to make at home (vegan, low-cal).

If you love street food like me, try some of my best recipes – Samosa Chaat, Papdi Chaat, Aloo Tikki Chaat, Dahi Puri, and Chana Chaat.

Jump to:

• About Bhel Puri
• Ingredients
• How To Make Bhel Puri Chaat
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Pro Tips By Neha
• You Might Also Like
• Recipe Card

About Bhel Puri

Bhel Puri Chaat is one of the most popular street food in India. It is a delicious and flavorful medley of puffed rice, chutneys, and an array of spice powders traditionally served in paper cones.

This Mumbai street-style chaat uses puffed rice (murmure) as its base ingredient. Cilantro mint chutney, tamarind chutney, and spices are added to create a flavor burst.

If you venture out on the beaches of Mumbai or go to any Indian markets, you will find street vendors selling this popular snack on street carts along with other chaats like pani puri, sev puri, jhal muri, etc.

Bhelpuri is sweet, salty, and spicy with a little hint of tanginess, and it is low-calorie and nutritious too. The best part is that you can customize it to suit your taste.

You can make it dry (sukha bhel) or wet (geela bhel). The dry version is made without chutneys, while the wet one has spicy and sweet chutney added to it.

I like the one with chutneys added, as they greatly elevate this savory snack’s flavor.

You will find many variations of bhelpuri in India. In West Bengal, it is called jhalmuri and in Karnataka, it is called churmuri. Each version is slightly different from the others but delicious in its way.

One portion (Approx. 1 cup) of bhelpuri has approximately 125 calories. It is a fairly healthy dish, keeping you full for a long time.

When I want to serve my family a quick, healthy, yet delicious evening snack, bhelpuri is my savior.

This Indian street food is vegan, low in calories, and gluten-free (if papdi is not added). You can easily double or triple the recipe for a crowd.

Ingredients

You will get all the ingredients to make bhelpuri in Indian grocery stores. You can also find the ingredients online.

Puffed Rice – Puffed rice (Murmure) are very light and low on calories, making them a delicious guilt-free snack. Make sure they are perfectly crispy and not soggy.

Fresh Ingredients – Crispy puffed rice is mixed with fresh tomatoes, red onions, boiled potatoes, cilantro (fresh coriander leaves), and green chilies.

Adjust the green chilies as per your taste.

I used Indian green chilies, but you can also use Serrano peppers, Thai green chilies, or jalapenos.

Chutneys – To make geeli bhelpuri, you will need two chutneys, sweet tamarind chutney and spicy green chutney.

You can make these chutneys at home or buy them. If you are not pressed with time, I suggest making the chutneys at home as they are much more delicious than the store-bought bottles.

If you like it to make spicy bhelpuri, you can add some red garlic chutney to it. I am not a big fan of red chutney in my Mumbai bhel puri but feel free to use some if you like it.

I am sharing the recipes to make these chutneys in the post below.

Spice Powders – You will need everyday spice powders such as salt, Kashmiri red chili powder, and chaat masala spice mix. While red chili powder adds a nice spicy kick, chaat masala adds to the tanginess.

Lime Juice & Sev – Finish it with freshly squeezed lime juice and garnish it with fine sev (a vermicelli-like snack made from chickpea flour). These fine sev are also called nylon sev. If you do not have the fine sev, add any sev you prefer.

You can also add some roasted or fried peanuts for a nice crunch.

Mixed Sev Mixture (Misal Farsaan) and crushed papdi also work great in this popular Indian street food recipe.

Add chopped green raw mango if they are in season. They add a lovely crunch and crunch to the bhel poori.

Top the bhel puri with pomegranate seeds for a pop of color and a lovely crunch.

How To Make Bhel Puri Chaat

Preparation

Boil The Potatoes

Boil the potatoes, peel, and cube them. You can boil them in an instant pot, a traditional pressure cooker, or over the stovetop.

1. Traditional Pressure Cooker – Wash and scrub the potatoes nicely. Add the potatoes to the cooker with 2-3 cups of water. Close the lid of the pressure cooker and cook for 1 whistle on high heat, then lower the heat to medium-low and cook for another 2 more whistles. Remove the cooker from heat and let the pressure release on its own.

2. Instant Pot – Add the potatoes and 1 cup of water to the pot. Press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 5 minutes at high pressure. Set the valve to the sealing position and let the timer finish. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then move the valve to release the remaining pressure. Open the lid.

3. Pot – You can also cook the potatoes in a pot over the stovetop. Cut the potatoes in half. Heat water in a large pot. Add the potatoes and cover and cook on medium-low heat until they are softened.

Make The Chutneys

Cilantro Mint Chutney (Green Chutney)

Add

• 2 cups of cilantro (packed)
• 1 cup of mint leaves (packed)
• 3-4 chopped green chillies
• 1-inch piece of ginger (chopped)
• 3-4 peeled garlic cloves
• ¼ teaspoon asafetida
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 ice-cubes

to a blender, along with 2-3 tablespoons of cold water.

Blend until smooth. Scape the sides of the blender a few times while blending.

Check for salt and add more if required.

Check out my detailed cilantro mint chutney recipe here.

Tamarind Chutney

Add ½ cup tamarind paste and 2 cups water to a saucepan and mix well.

Add

• 1 cup crushed jaggery
• 2 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon fennel powder
• ½ teaspoon asafetida
• 1 teaspoon black salt
• 1 teaspoon regular salt

to the pan and mix well.

Cook the mixture on medium heat for 10-12 minutes.

Add ¼ cup raisins and cook the chutney for 15–20 minutes. Keep stirring very frequently. Remove the pan from the heat and cool the chutney.

Check out my detailed tamarind chutney recipe here.

Other Preparation

Chop the red onions, tomatoes, green chilies, and cilantro.

If the puffed rice has become soggy, then roast it in a pan until crisp again.

Mix The Ingredients

In a large bowl, mix

• 3 teaspoon coriander mint chutney
• 3 teaspoon tamarind chutney
• ½ cup chopped red onions
• ½ cup chopped tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon chopped green chilies
• 3 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
• ½ cup boiled and cubed potatoes
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon chaat masala powder.

Add 2 cups of puffed rice and 1 tablespoon lime juice to the bowl and mix the contents of the bowl.

Transfer immediately in shallow serving bowls and garnish with fine sev. Serve immediately.

Once you mix the puffed rice with other ingredients, serve it immediately.

Frequently Asked Questions

Pro Tips By Neha

Serve it as soon as you make it; otherwise, it will turn soft and soggy, which won’t taste great.

Prep is important! Keep all the ingredients ready before assembling the bhel puri.

To keep the bhelpuri crisp for a little longer, dry roast the puffed rice and cool it down completely.

Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients only when ready to serve.

The chutneys and other ingredients can be at room temperature or chilled.

You can also make variations and add veggies such as grated carrot, grated beetroot, chopped cucumber, etc.

Adjust the chutneys and spice powders as per your personal preferences.

This is a great snack to carry for your picnics. Just pack each ingredient separately in small boxes. Once you are ready to serve, mix everything in a large bowl and serve immediately.

This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.

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