Pani Puri in Hyderabad
Pani Puri is a traditional street food snack widely eaten in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. The name comes from two of its constituent ingredients; Pani or sweetened water and Puri, a deep fried bread puff.
The Puri itself is a crisp, hollow ball of bread that is filled with sweetened water, tamarind chutney, chilli, potato, masala spices, onions and chickpeas. Each one is bite-sized and intended to be eaten whole by popping it into your mouth and biting into it to release the different flavours.
While they can be served on a large leaf holding half a dozen, the most popular way to eat them is to stand around the vendor, chatting away to your fellow customers while the Pani Puris are prepared and served one at a time. The vendor of course needs to keep track of how everyone likes their Pani Puris to be filled and of course how many they have had.
In Hyderabad the regional variation sees the potatoes replaced with more chickpeas, making the filling lighter and it is served with spiced water.
Pani Puri itself is just one of many different types of street food known collectively as Chaat, all based around fried dough with a variety of different fillings.
Dahi Vada
These fritters, made from a batter of flour, chickpeas (or potatoes), curry leaves, green chilli and onions are deep-fried and look uncannily like savoury doughnuts. They are served with thick yogurt and often garnished with coriander, mint, cumin, coconut or any of several other spices.
Bhel Puri
Originating on the beaches of Bombay, Bhel Puri has spread throughout India. This savoury snack is made from puffed rice, crispy noodles, vegetables and tamarind chutney. The puffed rice and Sev – thin, crispy fried noodles – are mixed with potatoes, onions, masala spices and tamarind chutney, often with tomatoes and chillies to give it a kick and achieve a balance between sweet, sour, salty and spicy.
Dahi Puri
Similar to Pani Puri, this dish is based on the same deep fried bread puffs with a similar chickpea or mashed potato filling, then topped with tamarind and green chilli chutneys before being smothered in yoghurt and garnished with Sev noodles and coriander leaves.
Sev Puri
Yet another variation on the Puri theme. In this instance the Puris are loaded with diced potatoes and onions and flavoured with tamarind, chilli and garlic chutneys before being given an extra crunch with a topping of crispy Sev noodles. When the fruit is I season it will often be topped with raw mango or a squeeze of lemon on other occasions. Variations include the addition of spinach, mint chutney or paneer curd cheese.
Papri
Originating in Northern India and Pakistan, Papri are deep fried wafers made from white flour and oil. To make Papri Chaat, the wafers are served with boiled potatoes, chickpeas, chillies, yoghurt and tamarind chutney.
With so much on offer it is worth venturing out from your Hyderabad hotel and down to your nearest street corner to see which variation of Chaat is on offer; they’re all delicious.
About the Author
Recently James went on a food vacation, in an attempt to discover food that is offered in various locations. He hopes to write about as many of the locations as possible to allow future travellers to learn the best local cuisine experience possible.
