Pani puri doesn’t need an introduction. This famous street food has many names in every region of India. While some enjoy this tangy, spicy, sweet and salty pani puri occasionally, there are many (just like me) who don’t need an occasion to enjoy this dish. Well, although I avoid the traditional ones, I can eat my healthy panipuri for lunch, snacks and dinner. And with this super healthy panipuri recipe, I don't worry much about my caloric goals or dietary needs.
Well, the dish itself is very complex considering the amount of ingredients goes in preparing one. What makes this dish so popular and palatable is its complexity of flavors, diverse texture and an assortment of flavors that bursts in your mouth each time you take a bite. Spice lovers always enjoy this dish without any sweet chutney. However, it’s your personal preference to add the sweet chutney or enjoy this famous Indian snack as it is.
If you have read my first post, then you must know that I had gestational diabetes during my first pregnancy. Pani puri was a strict no-no in my diet back then.
That's because the dish is carb rich and loaded with unwanted calories that a diabetic person may not be able to digest while keeping his/her blood sugar levels sane. Keeping that in mind, I came up with this simple, yet satisfying healthy panipuri recipe that ditches the fried, carb-rich puris and high-glycemic potatoes.
Calories and nutrition of Healthy Panipuri:
A Regular serving of pani puri (6 puris) is close to 480 calories, which include the calories from potato stuffing, fried puris and other ingredients used. The carb in a single serving of pani puri exceeds 50g, which include minimal dietary fiber and loads of calories from fat. Unlike the traditional pani puri, this healthy panipuri has only 220 cal per serving, and only 36g of complex carb out of which 25g comes from the low glycemic vegetables used in the recipe.
High dietary fiber in this healthy panipuri will keep your hunger satisfied and blood sugar controlled too. Plus, this dish has a crunch in every bite, loaded with fibers and all green goodness that you can expect to eat while on a diet or any time if you wish. Without any further discussion, let’s jump into the recipe.
📖 Recipe
Diet, Low-carb, and Healthy Pani Puri
Ingredients
For the puri and stuffing
- 2 cucumbers, peeled, cut in to 1 inch discs and cored to make each one like a cup
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas, pressure cooked with salt
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- ½ carrot, grated
- 1 small tomato, finely chopped
- 1 tsp chaat masala, Add salt in the end as chaat masala has salt in it
- ½ tsp roasted cumin powder
- 1 tbsp thin sev
- ½ tbsp savory bundi
For pani
- ¼ cup cucumber pulp
- 1 cup cilantro, washed
- ½ cup mint, washed
- ½ inch ginger, washed and peeled
- 2 green chilis
- 1 tbsp chaat/pani puri masala
- 1 tsp black salt
- 1 lime, juice only
- 1 tbsp tamarind pulp, optional
- 1 glass water
Keto Stuffing
- 1 cup blanched and riced cauliflower rice
- ½ cup shelled peanuts - roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoon chopped red onions
- 2 tablespoon chopped tomatoes
- 1 green chili chopped
- ½ teaspoon chaat masala
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon hempseeds as topping
Instructions
- Wash and peel the cucumber. Cut them into 1-2 inch disks depending on the size of the cucumber. By using a small spoon, core the cucumber disks from one end to create a cup.
- Be careful while doing it, as we don't need holes in the base of the cucumber cups. In that case, the puris will not be able to hold the pani when you add it.
- For the stuffing: Smash ⅔ of the boiled and cooked chickpeas finely with a potato masher. Keep the rest to use as a topping. If you want, you can add some black chickpeas or kala channa too, In addition to the white ones.orMix all the keto stuffing and prepare the pani puri stuffing.
- Now mix in the chopped onions, tomatoes, grated carrot, chopped green chili, and the spice powders listed.
- NOTE: chaat masalas are available in all Indian grocery stores. You can, however, make the roasted cumin powder at home just by dry roasting a spoonful of cumin in a skillet under medium it and then coarsely grinding them to a powder. Now add the thin sev and bundi, and adjust the taste of the stuffing by adding salt or extra spices as per your need.
- For the pani: Take all the ingredients in a blender and blend them with half a glass of water to make a smooth paste. Now add the rest water to make it to thin and watery juice like consistency.
- Add some savory bundis to finish. Adjust the taste by adding more salt, sugar(or sugar-free if diabetic) and your pani is ready.
- Assembling the pani puri: Add a spoonful of the prepared stuffing in each cucumber puri and serve it with the tangy and spicy pani. Enjoy this healthy pani puri recipe on a hot and humid day or any time if you wish.
Notes
- Use fresh and young cucumbers.
- Make the cucumber cups fresh each time for this recipe.
- Storing the cups will make them lose water and become soft.
- Adding tamarind pulp is always optional. I like my pani very savory and tangy, so I always add it.
Calories per serving 210 Serving per recipe 2 Calories from Fat 40 Total Fat 4.5g Saturated Fat 0g Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 0mg Total Carbohydrate 36g (Carbs from vegetable 25g) Dietary Fiber 10g Sugars 12g(no added sugar) Protein 10g
Nutrition
And some more healthy recipes for your snacking!
Stoneflower
Wow this recipe looks so awesome... a very healthy option to curb chaat cravings. Thanks so much for this recipe.
Sophie
Thank you Kalpana!
Gauri
what an innovative idea! loved the recipe.