The sight of the vendor’s cane-stand in a nukkad bearing a plastic bagful of crisp, fluffy puris with bowls of mashed potato and chutneys, spicy tamarind water-filled earthen pot, would suffice to tickle the tastebuds to go on overdrive. Its fan following springs transversely through all age groups and social strata. Call it pani puri, puchka or golgappa, it is simply irresistible to skip the welcome attack of multiple zesty pops in the palate.
Origin
It would surprise one to know that pani puri has its origin in the Mahabharat. Draupadi was given a potato leftover and a small roti dough by Kunti, who instructed her to feed all the Pandava brothers. The resourceful Draupadi concocted pani puri. From then on it kept getting better with various additions but remained street food as an answer to one’s 5 pm cravings. The traditional recipe consists of a small, thin fried dough disc, loaded with cooked mashed potatoes, mung sprouts or boondis, mint-chilli and sweet-n-sour chutneys, which is then dunked in cool tangy water, placed on your plate to be devoured pronto in one mouthful lest the puri breaks allowing the water to dribble from the sides of your trap!
Evolution
Today, pani puri is an integral part of chaat counters during Sunday brunches at fine-dine restaurants. Even vodka pani puri shots get served to deliver a heady punch. But nothing can beat the iconic fast food joint Gurukripa in Sion as each large puri explodes with spicy, sweet, piping hot chole and chilled piquant water to release a tsunami of flavours in the mouth.
Misal Pani Puri by The House of Misal |
If dosas have gone Chinese why should pani puris not gang up with continental junk food? At the recent Grand Pani Puri Fiesta at R City Mall in Ghatkopar, several innovative and fancy stuff surprised the enthusiasts. From pizza pani puris to cheese fondue batasha and gelato golgappa, it was a riot. Balaji Pure Veg substituted rasam, kokum and aam panna for tamarind water, while The House of Misal experimented with mung usal and dynamite red chilli gravy with onions and farsan.
Dil mange more
If you fancy that extra crunch head to any of the outlets of Cream Centre for karara alu tikki where a deep-fried tikki gets smashed before diving into the puri, smothered in chutneys, with a dash of yogurt, garnished with sev. The difference between a puchka and the rest is as Vivek K of Via Calcutta located in Powai and Carter Road, clarifies, “Wheat instead of refined flour for the dough, boiled gram along with mashed potatoes with tangy chutney and spiced water go into puchkas.”
Karara Alu Tikki Puri at Cream Centre |
Of late, it has donned the dessert avatar too with Kailash Parbat at Colaba and Bandra serving lip-smacking heavenly blobs like gulab jamun with rabdi/basundi, and chocolate pani puri bloated with chocolate sauce poured over choco flakes, garnished with almond-pista shavings and colourful gems.
Chocolate Panipuri by Kailash Parbhat |
For those who wonder how ice-cream can be incorporated into this crisp street snack, gelato panipuri by Niketu Dedhia of Smiley Pops in Andheri is a must-try. He explains, “A scoop of mint gelato is sprinkled with chat masala, boondi and crushed puris lending it a sweet ambrosial crackle.” Kulfi isn’t far behind either with Worli-based The Sancha House’s kulfi in different flavours sprinkled with boondi, spicy masalas, dipped in pani for a delicious bite.
Looks like it’s time to ditch regular chaats and dig into some of the evolved scrumptious pani puris!
The various names of pani puri
• Pani puri is known by many names
• Golgappa in Delhi, HP, Haryana, Punjab
• Puchka in West Bengal
• Paani ke batashe/ patashi in Central India, Rajasthan, some parts of UP
• Gup Chup in AP, Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Bihar
• Pakodi in the hinterlands of Gujarat and MP
