💬 Made dahi puri at home on Saturday and my mother thought I bought it

Last Saturday I got a craving for dahi puri at 5 pm and the shop near my house was shut. So I tried making it. I'd always thought it was one of those things only street vendors can do. I had a packet of ready puris, some boiled potatoes, curd, tamarind chutney from a bottle and sev in the cupboard. How hard could it be? That's what people say right before it gets hard. My mother was at my aunt's place till 8, so I had the kitchen to myself. That's the only reason I tried. If she'd been home she would have taken over in 5 minutes and I'd have learned nothing at all. My younger brother stood at the door with his phone, filming in case I burned the house down. He still has the video. I've asked him to delete it 4 times. The first batch was a disaster. I poured way too much chutney and the puris went soggy before I sat down. It looked like a plate of wet paper. My younger brother tasted it and said, it's fine. He lies badly. Second round I learned. Fill the puri only when it's time to eat. 1 spoon of potato, a bit of curd, a drizzle. Sev goes on at the end, not before. The crunch stays. That one change fixed almost everything. I made 12 altogether. My brother ate 5, I ate 6 and the last one just disappeared. It wasn't the same as the stall near Charminar. The curd was a bit thin and I'd forgotten the chaat powder. But it was close enough that my mother asked which shop I'd bought it from. I took that as a win. Next weekend I'm trying the puris from scratch. I've already bought the semolina. Wish me luck.

12 puris in one evening is a good start, my first attempt at chaat gave me 3 edible ones. Thin curd is easy to fix, hang it in a clean cloth for 20 minutes and it thickens. A pinch of chaat powder on top and a little roasted cumin changes the whole taste. Make the full set for your mother next time and see if she still asks the shop name.

Pav bhaji from scratch was my project last week. Mashing the vegetables took ages, far more than it looks. I used too much butter on the first batch and nobody in my family complained at all. Your soggy first batch sounds like my pav, which sat in the bhaji and went to mush. Next time I'm adding more chilli. Filling the puri late is a tip I'm stealing.