Bedmi Poori Recipe, Old Delhi Style

Bedmi poori is an Old Delhi breakfast poori of wholewheat atta stuffed with a dry, coarse urad dal masala. The dal is soaked four hours, ground grainy and cooked until it crumbles, then sealed into stiff dough, rolled to 5 inches and fried at 180 C to 190 C.

What is bedmi poori and how is it different from a plain poori?

Bedmi poori carries a cooked urad dal masala inside the dough. A plain poori is only atta, salt and water. The dal layer makes bedmi thicker, firmer and chewier, and it stays crisp for hours instead of going limp.

A plain poori inflates because steam is trapped between two thin gluten sheets. Bedmi puffs into a rounder, uneven dome because dal sits between them. If your frying is not yet steady, learn the thin version first with the poori recipe that puffs every single time. Delhi stuffs the dal inside; Agra kneads it into the flour, which cannot leak.

What do you need to make bedmi poori?

You need 240 g atta, 100 g dhuli urad dal, whole spices crushed rather than powdered, and 750 ml oil. This makes 16 pooris of roughly 5 inches.

For	Ingredient	Indian measure	Grams / ml
Dough	CressPure Premium Atta	2 cups	240 g
Dough	Fine sooji	1/4 cup	40 g
Dough	Salt, oil or ghee (moyan)	1 tsp, 2 tbsp	6 g, 24 g
Dough	Water	about 2/3 cup	150 to 160 ml
Stuffing	Dhuli urad dal	1/2 cup	100 g
Stuffing	Saunf and coriander seeds, crushed	1.5 tsp, 1 tsp	7 g
Stuffing	Ginger and green chilli	1 inch, 2 chillies	18 g
Stuffing	Red chilli, hing, garam masala	1 tsp, 1/4 tsp, 1/2 tsp	5 g
Stuffing	Salt and oil	3/4 tsp, 1 tbsp	4.5 g, 12 g
Frying	Neutral oil	3 cups	750 ml

Sooji keeps the surface crisp in a tiffin. Under the FSSAI Food Product Standards for cereals, atta must carry at least 6.0 per cent gluten on a dry basis and under 14.0 per cent moisture. CressPure Premium Atta tests at 11.46 per cent, so the dough takes water predictably.

How do you soak, grind and cook the urad dal?

Soak 100 g dhuli urad dal in 400 ml water for four hours, drain fully, and grind coarse with no more than 2 tablespoons of water. You want grainy wet semolina, not smooth idli batter. Over-grinding releases starch and turns the stuffing gummy.

1. Rinse three times, soak four hours. Do not soak overnight in Mumbai humidity; the dal ferments and turns sour. Drain 10 minutes, because wet dal makes a masala that will not seal.
2. Grind in 4 to 5 second pulses. Urad dal carries roughly 23 g protein per 100 g in the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017, and that protein sets the stuffing.
3. Heat 1 tbsp oil, add hing, then crushed saunf and coriander. After 20 seconds add ginger and chilli, then the dal paste.
4. Cook 6 to 8 minutes on medium-low until it leaves the pan as one mass. Add chilli powder, garam masala and salt only in the last minute; early salt makes the dal weep. Cool on a plate for 20 minutes, because warm stuffing is the biggest cause of burst bedmi.

How do you roll bedmi poori without it bursting?

Make a stiff dough, rest it 20 minutes only, then divide into 16 balls of 26 g with 12 g stuffing each. Roll outwards from the centre to 5 inches at about 3 mm.

1. Mix atta, sooji and salt. Rub in 2 tbsp oil until a squeezed fistful holds shape, then add water in stages. The dough should dent under a thumb, not sink.
2. Rest 20 minutes, covered. A longer rest relaxes the gluten too far and the dome collapses, the opposite of kneading atta for soft rotis.
3. Flatten each ball into a 2.5 inch disc with a thicker centre. Place 12 g masala in the middle, gather the edges like a potli, pinch shut and flatten the knot. Rest seam down for 5 minutes.
4. Grease the board with oil instead of dry atta, which burns and darkens the oil. Roll to 12 to 13 cm with light, even pressure. If dal shows through, stop: exposed dal bursts.

At what temperature should you fry bedmi poori?

Fry at 180 C to 190 C. A pinch of dough should sink briefly, then rise within 2 seconds. Below 170 C the poori drinks oil; above 195 C it colours before the dal is hot.

Dough test	Temperature	Result
Sinks, stays down	Below 160 C	Greasy, flat
Rises in 4 to 5 sec	165 to 175 C	Partial puff
Rises in 2 sec	180 to 190 C	Full golden dome
Rises instantly	Above 200 C	Dark, raw inside

1. Slide the poori in from the side of the kadai, never from a height. Press the centre with a slotted spoon for 5 seconds to start the puff.
2. Fry 35 to 40 seconds, flip once, then 30 seconds. Drain over the kadai, then rest on a wire rack, not on paper.

Frying safety. Fill the kadai no more than halfway, keep ladle and hands dry, turn handles inwards, keep children away. If oil catches fire, switch off the gas and smother it with a metal lid. Never use water. The FSSAI guidance note on used cooking oil bars oil above 25 per cent total polar compounds and advises reheating three times at most, ideally once. Discard dark, thick or sharp-smelling oil.

What do you serve with bedmi poori?

The Old Delhi plate is bedmi poori with a thin, tangy aloo ki sabzi, sooji halwa and nimbu achaar. The sabzi is deliberately runny so the poori can be torn and dipped.

Cook the masala the night before. Flour that has absorbed moisture behaves differently, so storing atta properly in humid cities matters in Mumbai. Once the seal comes easily, the atta kachori recipe uses the same skills at lower heat.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make bedmi poori without stuffing it?

Yes. Knead the cooled urad dal masala into the atta along with the water, in the Agra and Mathura style. You get a speckled poori that tastes almost the same and cannot leak, which makes it the safer method for a first attempt.

Why does my bedmi poori not puff up?

Three usual reasons. The dough was too soft to hold steam, the poori was rolled unevenly so steam escaped at the thin spot, or the oil sat below 170 C. Test the oil with a pinch of dough and roll to an even 3 mm.

How long does bedmi poori stay good?

Bedmi holds far better than plain poori. It stays good for six to eight hours at room temperature on a wire rack, which is why it travels well in a tiffin. Do not box it while warm, because trapped steam makes the base soggy.

Which dal is used in bedmi poori?

Dhuli urad dal, the split and skinless black gram, is traditional. Some households use dhuli moong dal for a lighter, less chewy result. Chana dal is avoided because it stays grainy and will not bind. Whichever you pick, soak four hours and grind coarse.

Can I make the urad dal masala in advance?

Yes, and it improves. Cook the masala, cool it fully and refrigerate in an airtight box for up to two days. Cold masala is firmer and easier to stuff without tearing the dough. Bring it to room temperature first, but never stuff warm masala.