The taste of India

India is a big country. And home to cultures as diverse as chalk and cheese. And the diversity just begins at culture. It veers on to the economy, education, information and myriad spheres. But nothing levels this diversity like....aaah...not cricket...I'm talking about the humbler, but far more popular paani-puri/golgappa/puchka/whatever you might call it. Here's my presumption of the stats. More than 80% of the people of the country would have eaten it atleast at one point in their life. And a majority of that do so regularly. I might even be talking about an industry worth a few crores, though mostly in the unorganised sector.

A paani-puri/golgappa/puchka is a small puffed ball of flour filled with a part solid mixture-part spiced water filling. The filling is the beauty here - it differs from region to region. But the fervour is the same - be it for golgappas in the north, puchka in the east and paanipuri in the west and south. Also worth mention is the assortment of other snacks, colloquially and collectively called chaat. Needless to say, the chaat varieties too vary from region to region. Yours truly has been lucky enough to have tasted it in different parts of the country. And this is my tribute to the snack that exemplifies India. A strong unit despite the diversity.

My first tryst with this wonderball was at Faridabad, now almost a satellite town bordering Delhi. I wasn't even into double figures then, chronologically speaking. Every evening, a golgappa vendor would walk through the noisy sector 10 lane where I stayed. And roaring business he did. I remember waiting impatiently for him to reach the vicinity of my house while he'd be busy serving his loyal customers at the beginning of the lane. The golgappas of the north are not for the weak hearted. The filling is made of mashed boiled potatoes mixed with boiled chickpeas, spiced up to the max. The water too, is spicy. One though, has the option of tempering it down with the meethi chutney, a delicious sweet-n-sour sauce made of tamarind, dates and jaggery. And at the end of the golgappa course, the vendor fills up your saucer with a cup of the paani to wash it down with. The golgappas are followed by chaat, the choice being between aloo-ki-tikki (a spicy potato cutlet), dahi bhalla (flour dumplings in whipped curd) and papdi (puris that don't puff while frying). The choice is then topped with the meethi chutney, teekhi chutney (a mint-coriander-chilli chutney) and whipped curd. This is then sprinkled with various spices. The king of north indian chaats, the Aloo-ki-tikki is also served with chhole (a mouthwatering chickpea preparation). Some outlets up north also give you the option of sooji ki puri (puris made of semolina). These are crispier than their atta counterparts.

Although the snack has many names, the most popular among them would be paani-puri. Maybe its the Bombay connection. And till recently, when the vada-pav took over, paani-puri shared the top spot on the snack podium in Bombay with its country cousin, Bhelpuri. Paani-puri in the west is much more mellow as compared to the north. The filling consists of sprouted green gram with a hint of salt and the paani is less spicy with a stronger mint flavour to it. The west is also where the custom of eating your paani-puri with finely chopped onion finds its origin. An alternative filling is ragda (dried white peas boiled in a mellow gravy and left simmering over a low flame). The bonus at the end is a puri sans paani but with the filling and spices sprinkled on top. This is called masala waali puri. The chaats here are different from the north. You get to choose between sevpuri (puris filled with boiled potatoes, meethi and teekhi chutney and garnished with sev, an indian snack I find somewhat difficult to explain); dahipuri and chutneypuri (the same sevpuri with an extra shot of whipped curd and chutney respectively). Then you have ragda-pattice - a potato cutlet topped with ragda and the chutneys. But the royal chat of the west would be bhelpuri. Its a hotchpotch of puffed rice, chopped onions & tomatoes, chopped boiled potatoes, crushed puris and sev, laced with 3 distinct chutneys - the ubiquitous meethi and teekhi chutney with a new partner, a garlic chutney that forms the base of the hotchpotch. Some new age garnishes popular with some outlets in the west are slivered beet and pomegranate seeds.

Puchka is what the wonderball is called in the east. Haven't been lucky enough to have it at a regulation outlet but I did have it at a friend's place, who's usually quite authentic with her bengali dishes. The filling was mashed potatoes and boiled chickpeas and the water a bit on the tangier side. A different, but likeable flavour. And yeah...have eaten at a smattering of bong/bihari roadside stalls in Bangalore as well as Hyderabad. Which brings us to the south. Though its not a snack native to the southern parts, paani-puri has firmly established itself in this region too. The know-how comes from the localised marwari population, that has seeped through to the locals over the ages. Paani-puri in hyderabad has somewhat dampened my passion for it due to the excessive use of tamarind in the paani. That makes it irritatingly sour. And to add onto it, the ragda here is bland...to say the least. Even the chaats are a misnomer - anything and everything looks the same. Its either a hollow samosa or a potato cutlet mashed beyond recognition; sauteed with a scoop of ragda and topped with onions, crushed puris and curd. But then, there are some outlets that do serve you a decent enough fare, though nowhere in the league of what you get in other parts of the country.

Well...that kinda concludes my round up of paani-puri. However, it might seem incomplete without a look into the evolution of this snack from its humble origins to a rage. What exemplifies this metamorphosis the most is a small snippet I came across a year or so ago. It talked about some upmarket pub having hit upon a novel idea. They have liquor puris on their menu. Nothing jazzy...just that the paani has been replaced by a shot of your favourite liqour. And vodka-puris have become one of the top-selling items on their menu.