Nothing matches the comforting feeling of a crispy hollow ball filled with spicy potatoes and topped with hot and tangy tamarind water!
It is said that the best joys in life don’t’ come with a hefty price tag. Nothing matches the comforting emotion of crispy hollow ball made of semolina, filled with spicy potatoes and topped with hot and tangy tamarind water, giving a burst of an array of flavours. Panipuri is that innocuous street snack that is also a great leveller, as one will notice every section of the society, every age group queuing up in front of the vendor, waiting for their turn.
Panipuri has an interesting history that is often missed like any other popular street snack. However, the story of its origin has different representation and all of these are equally interesting.
Story behind the origin of panipuri
While on folklore has it that panipuri originated in Magadh, the other says that its birth happened way back during the Mahabharat era and was first time made by the queen of Hastinapur, Draupadi herself. The story has runs behind is, when the Pandavas were on exile and Kunti wanted to test if her daughter-in-law is capable of managing household with limited resources, she asked her to feed the entire family with leftover food. This is when Draupadi cam with the idea of making puri, stuffing it with little sabzi and filling the rest with flavoured water. That is how pani-puri was born and was blessed with immortality.
Panipuri and their regional varieties
The dish travelled around the world and changed according to the native palate. As a result ,panipuri has acquired dozen of varieties and names. The central and southern states call is panipuri. In Maharashtra were people love their food on the spicier side add hot peas curry tinside the puri. In Karnataka, boiled moong is added before adding. The tamarind water.
In north India, it is known as golgappe, paani ke batashe, gup chup or phulkis. A spicy stuffing of potato and chickpea is made accompanied with a really tangy water made from mint leaves. The puris are made of flour as well as suji (semolina). In Uttar Pradesh five different kinds of water are added. In Gujarat nylon sev is a must to top the puris.
Gol Gappe finds a whole new meaning entering West Bengal where is it called ‘phuchka’. The puris are made bigger, and crispier, usually with a mix of wheat and semolina. The stuffing is watery made from potatoes, chickpeas and white peas. All kinds of spices go into the filling. The water is made flavourful usinga special kind of lime, ‘gondhorajlebu’ and the puris are served in biodegradable dried sal leaf bowls.
