Bhel Puri Recipe (Mumbai Style Bhel)

ByDassana Amit Updated on
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Bhel Puri is a very popular Mumbai street food snack made with puffed rice, puri, boiled potatoes, onions, various chutneys, herbs, ground spices and sev (fried gram flour vermicelli). This dish is easy to make at home. It is a tasty snack having a lot of flavors and textures – sour, tangy, crispy, sweet, salty, crunchy. This Mumbai street style Bhel recipe comes together in under 45 minutes with three real quick chutney recipes.

About Bhel Puri Recipe

Bhel Puri is one of the most popular street food recipes from Mumbai which is now available in other parts of India in various avatars.

This is a wet bhelpuri recipe where spicy, tangy and sweet chutneys are included.

bhel puri served with a side of crisp baked puri in a red rimmed white bowl

The three chutneys are:

  1. Sweet & sour chutney
  2. Green chutney
  3. Spicy red chutney

In this bhelpuri recipe, I am sharing these three quick chutney recipes. So you don’t have to hunt around for ingredients to make these chutneys and the bhelpuri can be made in less than 45 minutes. The three chutneys are very easy to make and do not take much time.

Apart from the three chutneys, puri or papdi and sev are also added. You make the puri and sev at home or buy from the market. I have here used baked papdi which I made at home.

Some people prefer bhel poori with chutneys and some without it. Bhel is eaten with papdi or crispy fried poori. At least this is how I have them at home. But you can even have them with a spoon. It makes for a delicious evening snack.

Two Main Varieties

1. Wet Bhel Puri

Wet bhel or bhel puri is called as ‘geela bhel’ in Hindi. This is a wet bhel poori where chutneys are added with onions, tomatoes and boiled potatoes.

This variant can be made spicy, sweet or both spicy and sweet, depending on the quantity of chutneys added while mixing all the ingredients.

2. Dry Bhel Puri

Dry bhel puri is called as ‘sukha bhel‘ in Hindi. In a dry bhel puffed rice is mixed with roasted peanuts, masala chana dal, spice powders, puri and sev. 

In the dry bhel recipe you simply do not include any liquid chutneys. So it is more easier to prep and make.

Two regional variations of bhel puri that are popular are Jhal Muri from Kolkata and Churumuri from Karnataka.

Both these recipes also use puffed rice but are made with different spices and seasonings. E.g. Jhal Muri features mustard oil.

bhel puri served with a side of crisp baked puri in a red rimmed white bowl

How to make Bhel Puri

Cook Potatoes

1. Rinse the potatoes very well in fresh water. Then boil 1 large potato or 2 medium sized potatoes in a 2-litre pressure cooker or in a pan with enough water.

If using a pressure cooker, then pour water just about covering the potatoes. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon salt and pressure cook for 4 to 5 whistles.

Once the pressure settles down on its own in the cooker, then only open the lid. Drain the water and place the potatoes in a bowl.

Let them cool or become warm. I was making some other snack as well, so I cooked more potatoes.

boiled potatoes in a steel bowl

Make Green Chutney 

2. Rinse and roughly chop ½ cup fresh coriander leaves (or ¼ cup mint leaves + ¼ cup coriander leaves). Place the coriander leaves in a small grinder jar.

Also add ½ inch ginger (peeled and roughly chopped), 1 to 2 green chillies, ½ teaspoon chaat masala and ¼ teaspoon salt or as required.

coriander leaves, ginger, green chillies, salt and chaat masala in a blender

3. Add ½ teaspoon lemon juice for a tangy taste in the chutney.

lemon juice being added

4. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons water or as required and grind or blend to a smooth chutney. Don’t make the green chutney thin. Remove the chutney in a bowl and keep aside.

green coriander chutney for bhel puri

Make Spicy Red Chutney

5. Peel 16 to 18 medium to large sized garlic cloves. Rinse them with water and place in the same grinder jar.

Also sprinkle 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder and ¼ teaspoon salt or according to taste.

peeled garlic cloves, salt and kashmiri red chilli powder in a blender

6. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons water or as required and grind or blend to a smooth consistency. Remove red chutney in a bowl and keep aside.

red chutney ready to make bhel puri recipe

Make Sweet Chutney

7. In a small pan take the following ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons jaggery
  • 3 teaspoons amchur powder (dry mango powder)
  • ¼ teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder
  • ¼ teaspoon roasted cumin powder
  • 1 to 2 pinches dry ginger powder (optional)
  • 1 to 2 pinches black salt or regular salt or as required
spice powders and salt in a bowl

8. Add 3 tablespoons water.

water added

9. Stir and mix very well.

spice powders mixed with water with a steel spoon

10. Keep this pan on the stovetop and heat on a low flame.

mixture being heated

11. Let the mixture gently heat on a low flame.

sweet chutney mixture being heated

12. When the mixture comes to a boil and thickens slightly, then switch off the heat. Keep aside. Check the taste and if required you can add more jaggery or mango powder if required.

sweet chutney mixture boiling

More Prep

13. Peel and chop the potatoes into small cubes. Finely chop 1 small to medium-sized onion and 1 medium-sized tomato.

You can also chop 1 green chilli if you want. Chop some coriander leaves too.

chopped onions, tomatoes, boiled potatoes on a white chopping board

14. Take 2 cups puffed rice (murmura, pori, mandakki) in a pan. On a low heat stirring often dry roast the puffed rice.

This is not an essential step and you need to roast the puffed rice if they are not crisp. If they are crisp and crunchy, then you do not need to roast them.

puffed rice being roasted in a kadai

15. Roast the puffed rice stirring often for 2 to 3 minutes till they become crisp. You don’t need to brown them. Let the puffed rice cool at room temperature.

lightly roasted puffed rice to make bhel puri

Make Bhel Puri

16. Assemble everything before you begin. Keep the chutneys in a bowl. These chutneys stay well for about a week in the fridge. So you can keep the leftovers in the fridge.

chutneys kept in three glass bowls for making bhel puri recipe

17. In a bowl now take the chopped boiled potatoes, onions and tomatoes. You can also include some boiled moong beans or steamed moong bean sprouts at this step.

chopped onions, tomatoes and boiled potatoes in a large steel bowl

18. Add sweet chutney, green chutney and red chutney. You can add the quantity of chutneys as per the taste you want in a bhel puri.

For a spicy bhel puri recipe, include more of the red chutney and green chutney. For a sweet taste add more of the sweet chutney.

three chutneys added

19. Sprinkle ½ to 1 teaspoon chaat masala and ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder. Also, sprinkle some black salt as per taste.

If you do not have black salt, then use pink salt, edible rock salt or regular white salt.

chaat masala, salt and cumin powder added

20. Drizzle ½ to 1 teaspoon lemon juice or according to taste.

lemon juice being added

21. Stir and mix very well.

ingredients mixed evenly

22. Now add 1 tablespoon masala chana (optional) and 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts (optional). At this step, you can also top up with some crushed puri or papdi.

roasted peanuts and masala chana dal added

23. Add puffed rice.

puffed rice ahead

24. Add ¼ cup sev (fried gram flour vermicelli).

sev added

25. With a spoon, just swirl the whole mixture together well and be quick.

bhel puri done and ready to serve

26. Serve bhel puri immediately in individual bowls or plates. Top up with some sev, puri or papdi and more coriander leaves if you want.

If you don’t serve bhelpuri immediately then the puffed rice will become soggy and you won’t enjoy it. So be quick in serving. Assemble this dish only when you want to serve or eat it.

If there is any leftover chutney then refrigerate them for 1 to 2 days. Enjoy them as a dipping sauce with any Indian snacks.

bhel puri served with a side of crisp baked puri in a red rimmed white bowl

Expert Tips

  • Soggy bhel: Bhel poori has to be served as soon as it is made and immediately. Serving even after a couple of minutes will make the whole bhel puri mixture soggy and you won’t enjoy it.
  • Assembling: Keep all the ingredients ready before you start mixing everything for making bhel puri.
  • Roasting: The puffed rice should be crisp. If not crisp then roast them for some minutes in a pan on a low heat till they become crisp.
  • Variations: You can even include grated vegetables like carrots and beetroot. When raw mangoes are in season then you can even include them. Adding raw mangoes gives a very nice tangy taste and crunch.
  • Spicing: Spice powders and the chutneys can be adjusted as per your taste buds. You can make chutney at home or even use readymade ones. Best is to use homemade chutneys as you can make them as per your taste and they are fresher.

Step by Step Photo Guide Above

bhel puri served with a side of crisp baked puri in a red rimmed white bowl.

Bhel Puri Recipe (Mumbai Street Style)

Author: Dassana Amit
4.90 from 29 votes
Bhel Puri is a crispy, sweet, tangy, spicy dish made with puffed rice, onions, tomatoes and assorted chutneys. This Mumbai street style Bhel recipe is easy to make and includes real quick recipes for the three chutneys that are added to this street food snack.
Print Rate
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings3
CourseSnacks
DietVegan
CuisineIndian Street Food

Ingredients

For cooking potato

  • 1 potato – large or 2 medium-sized potatoes
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • water – as required

For sweet tangy chutney

  • 3 tablespoons jaggery
  • 3 teaspoons dry mango powder (amchur powder)
  • ¼ teaspoon Kashmiri Chilli Powder or sweet paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon Roasted Cumin Powder
  • 1 to 2 pinches dry ginger powder – optional
  • 1 to 2 pinches black salt or regular salt
  • 3 tablespoons water

For spicy red chutney

  • 16 to 18 garlic cloves (medium to large-sized)
  • 2 teaspoons Kashmiri Chilli Powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons water or add as required for grinding

For green chutney

  • ½ cup coriander leaves or ¼ cup mint leaves + ¼ cup coriander leaves
  • ½ inch ginger – roughly chopped
  • ½ teaspoon chopped green chillies or 1 to 2 green chillies
  • ½ teaspoon Chaat Masala
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon lemon juice
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons water or add as required

Other ingredients

  • 2 cups puffed rice (murmura, mandakki, pori)
  • 1 onion – finely chopped, small or medium-sized
  • 1 tomato – finely chopped, medium-sized
  • 1 tablespoon masala chana – optional
  • 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts – optional
  • ½ cup boiled moong beans or boiled moong bean sprouts – optional
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon lemon juice or add as required
  • ¼ cup sev
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon Chaat Masala
  • ½ teaspoon Roasted Cumin Powder
  • 5 to 6 papdi or puri broken in pieces – optional
  • black salt as required

For garnish

  • 2 to 3 tablespoons sev
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons coriander leaves – chopped, (cilantro)
  • 2 to 3 papdi or puri

Instructions

Preparation

  • Cooking potatoes – Rinse the potatoes very well in fresh water. Then boil 1 large potato or 2 medium sized potatoes in a 2 litre pressure cooker or in a pan with enough water. 
  • If using a pressure cooker, then pour water just about covering the potatoes. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon salt and pressure cook for 4 to 5 whistles.
    Once the pressure settles down naturally in the cooker, then only open the lid. Drain the water and place the potatoes in a bowl. 
  • You can also cook the potatoes in the Instant Pot or in a pan adding water as required.
  • Let the potatoes cool or become warm at room temperature.

Making green chutney

  • Rinse and roughly chop ½ cup fresh coriander leaves (or ¼ cup mint leaves + ¼ cup coriander leaves). 
  • Add the coriander leaves in a small grinder jar. Also add chopped ginger, green chillies, chaat masala, salt and lemon juice.
  • Add 2 to 3 tablespoons water or as required and grind to a smooth chutney. Avoid making green chutney thin. Remove green chutney in a bowl and keep aside.

Making spicy red chutney

  • Peel 16 to 18 medium to large sized garlic cloves. Rinse them and add in the same grinder jar. 
  • Also add kashmiri red chili powder and salt.
  • Add 2 to 3 tablespoons water or as required and grind or blend to a smooth consistency. Remove red chutney in a bowl and keep aside.

Making sweet-tangy chutney

  • In a small pan take jaggery, amchur powder (dry mango powder), kashmiri red chilli powder, roasted cumin powder, dry ginger powder (optional) and black salt or regular salt.
  • Add 3 tablespoons water. Mix very well.
  • Keep this pan on the stove top and heat on a low flame.
  • Let the mixture gently heat. When the mixture comes to a boil and thickens slightly, then switch off the heat. Keep aside.
    Check the taste and if required you can add some more jaggery or mango powder if required

Prepping veggies

  • Peel and chop the potatoes. Finely chop 1 small to medium sized onion and 1 medium sized tomato. You can also chop 1 green chilli if you want. Chop some coriander leaves too.

Roasting puffed rice

  • Take the puffed rice (murmura) in a pan. On a low heat stirring often dry roast the puffed rice. If your puffed rice is already crispy and crunchy then you don't need to roast them.
  • Roast the puffed rice for 2 to 3 minutes they become crisp. You don’t need to brown them. Let the puffed rice cool at room temperature.

Making bhel puri

  • Assemble everything before you begin. Keep the chutneys in a bowl. These chutneys stay well for about a week in the fridge. So you can keep the leftovers in the fridge.
  • In a bowl now take the chopped boiled potatoes, onions and tomatoes. You can also include some boiled moong beans or steamed moong bean sprouts at this step.
  • Add sweet chutney, green chutney and red chutney. You can add the amount of chutneys as per the taste you want in a bhel puri.
  • Sprinkle ½ to 1 teaspoon chaat masala and ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder. Also add some black salt as per taste. If you do not have black salt, then use pink salt, rock salt or white salt.
  • Drizzle ½ to 1 teaspoon lemon juice or according to taste. Mix very well.
  • Now top with 1 tablespoon masala chana (optional) and 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts. At this step you can also add some crushed puri or papdi. 
  • Add the puffed rice and cup sev (fried gram flour vermicelli).
  • With a spoon, just swirl the whole bhelpuri mixture together well and be quick.
  • Serve bhel puri immediately in individual bowls or plates. Top up with some sev and more coriander leaves if you want.
    If you don’t serve bhel immediately then the puffed rice becomes soggy and you won’t enjoy it. So be quick in serving.

Notes

  • Adjust the spices like green chillies and red chilli powder in the chutney recipes according to your preferences. 
  • You can prep the chutneys a day ahead and refrigerate them. 
  • If the puffed rice is crispy and crunchy, then no need to roast them. 
  • Recipe can be scaled easily.

Nutrition

Calories: 251kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 1411mg | Potassium: 636mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 8052IU | Vitamin B1 (Thiamine): 1mg | Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin): 1mg | Vitamin B3 (Niacin): 7mg | Vitamin B6: 1mg | Vitamin C: 6mg | Vitamin E: 11mg | Vitamin K: 37µg | Calcium: 124mg | Vitamin B9 (Folate): 20µg | Iron: 15mg | Magnesium: 57mg | Phosphorus: 137mg | Zinc: 2mg

Bhel Puri recipe from the archives was first published on August 2012.

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Dassana Amit

I am Dassana Amit, a vegetarian chef and baker with decades of experience, professionally trained in Indian and continental cooking and baking. I’m also a certified pastry chef, trained at Le Cordon Bleu in plant-based patisserie. For over 16 years, I’ve shared trusted, strictly vegetarian recipes with step-by-step photos, expert tips, and practical guidance. Bringing together tradition, technique, and a love for honest, soulful vegetarian cooking.

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84 Comments

  1. Adding raw mango in the season is also a great way of elevating the flavors in this bhel puri. I do it often.5 stars

    Reply

  3. Only you can find such a detailed and aesthetic description of the recipes. One pleasure is on this page.5 stars

    Reply

  4. Thank you so much for such a yummy recipe with pictures. I love the little tips you give. It truly helps. Although I dint have all the ingredients it turned out well. The chutneys tasted yum.

    Reply

    1. Hi Dassana – I wasn’t sure what you meant by “no English tradition for bhel puri” but thought you might like to know that there used to be two restaurants in London actually called The Bhel Puri House back in the 70s where people queued to eat the bhel puri amongst other wonderful things! One of the restaurants is still there but the food not as good as it used to be. Your recipe looks wonderful and authentic so I’m going to give it a try. I love bhel puri!5 stars

      Reply

      1. gerladine, i meant english translation and not tradition. by translation i meant there are no words for translating the words bhel puri in english. thanks for sharing this info. i have read earlier about the bhel puri house earlier somewhere.don’t remember where.
        yes you do try the recipe. i am sure you will like it.

        Reply

  8. Dassana, this is my absolute top fav type of chaat. Always ate it in restaurants, never thought I’d be able to make it at home. Now there are no good Indian restaurants near me (I’m in the US), but thanks to you, I can!! Thank you as always!!

    Reply

    1. thanks a lot anjali. bhel puri can easily be made at home. its our favorite chaat too. but we are in india and we do have access to the chaat stalls. but best it to make at home ?

      Reply

  11. Very nice recipes. Very well explained. The photos help a lot. Thanks for such wonderful recipes.5 stars

    Reply

  17. oh my god!!that was simply mouth watering…..cant get through it till now……….
    i must say that its a perfect page to learn up delicious and marvellous recipes4 stars

    Reply

  20. thankyou for this great recipe. We knew the basics .. but all the extras you recommended . made it sooooo much better.5 stars

    Reply

  21. Yum! My neighbor friend is always talking about how delicious street food in Mumbai is. I need a big spoon to scoop up this delicious goodness! 😉

    Reply

  22. This really looks fantastic and I would love to make this dish. Your photos are truly appetizing as well.

    Reply

  23. Very Nice. Chat items are everyone’s favourite. I would suggest you to make your own recipe videos, that will fetch you huge traffic.

    Reply

    1. thanks dr pushkar for your kind words. i have tried making videos but they were not good. but i am keen on starting my own videos… just waiting for the time and space for it to happen soon.

      Reply

  24. Hi,
    You have a wonderful space with very simple and neat clicks…..Love them..
    Congrats..:)
    Bhel puri looks very tempting…love them..

    Reply

  25. HI,
    Just loved all ur receipes and tried some of them….really grt and proud of u…
    Keep going on!!!

    Reply

  26. Congratulations Dasanna!!! You do deserve it !!!!!

    Love the pictures….I never added Moong beans before…I should give a try!

    Reply

  29. My mouth is seriously watery now after looking at the picture. At times even the thought of such treats like chat and bhel puri makes me drool 🙂

    Reply

  30. Hello Dassana,

    Congratulations!!!! Totally well deserved, I must say… I love ur website and visit it whenever I want to make any dish. I only go to other websites when I dont find the dish here.

    More power to you!! Keep them coming, want lots more dishes from you!

    Reply

  32. Street foods are always my favorite. I always fill my tummy with the street foods when I visit India. I like the idea of adding ‘moong’ and peanuts. Great recipe and gorgeous pictures as usual.

    Reply

  35. Congrats dassana.. u totally deserve to be on that list…
    things are complicated in this vitrual world.. i thought a “like” was enough….
    lovely clicks.. u ahve a hand model too this time…!!!
    as usual dassana .. great clicks…

    Reply

    1. thanks renu. things are complicated in the virtual world… as a blogger one has to be in touch with newness the web world keeps on offering at all times.

      Reply

  38. A favourite of my children and always featured in their birthday parties since all the kids loved this and sandwiches. Make a shortcut murmura mix now, time I made it again with chutneys et al!!!!

    Reply

  39. Congrats for getting featured dassana…I love Mumbai sukha bhel and regular bhel…As you said even I love to eat bhel wid those papdis they serve..looks delicious n nice fotos…
    reg the wet grinder I use the ultra table top wet grinder which I m using from almost 5 yrs and it is quite good and enough for a family of 2-4 ppl.Its easy to clean and not heavy.I suggest you to go for that..if its not available then u can go for butterfly wet grinder too..

    Reply

    1. thanks pratibha. also thanks for the info on the wet grinders. i will check them out here. missing idlis and dosas for a long time now…

      Reply

  43. Congratulations Dassana! That is awesome news! I love bhel puri. We had this guy outside my college in delhi that sold the most amazing bhel puri. You brought back memories of my college days with this post. I have never tried making bhel puri at home, but it’s been on my list for a long time! Thanks for the reminder and for evoking the trip down memory lane!

    Reply

    1. thanks shumaila. even i have had some great bhel puri in mumbai. all i would wonder then was what is their secret recipe of making the chutneys… but now i don’t 🙂

      Reply

  46. bhel puri is one of my favourite snacks! I learned how to make it a few years ago when I was taking cooking classes. So delicious! I love your variation. Sounds like it has a lot more flavour! Cannot wait to try it out 🙂

    Reply

  47. Not a big fan of bhel puri but can have it once in a while…looks so tempting with all those lovely clicks!!

    Reply

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