The name of this dish is enough to make us drool. Light, spicy, tangy, mildly sweet, and absolutely yummy, this snack is a famous streetfood in all parts of the country. In fact, this dish has crossed the borders and made its presence known in the western countries as well.
In simple terms, the dish is named after the name ingredient used to prepare it. Bhel is a Marathi word that means puffed rice. Puri is a deep-fried flatbread. The special ingredient of this dish is ‘sev’, which is made using chickpea flour. It is basically golden-colored, deep-fried strings of chickpea batter that are crushed to add crunch to the dish.
The History of Bhel Puri
To be honest, no one really knows where and how this savory dish became a part of our life. According to one source, it was first prepared at Vithal, a restaurant near Victoria Terminus in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Based on another theory, it was first created by the Gujarati women who added different flavors to the north Indian chaat and also shared the recipe with Sindhis and Mangaloreans who made more changes and created another version of the dish.
Just as it has various recipes, it also has different names based on the region. The Bengalis know it as Jhalmuri (spicy puffed rice) while it is called Churmuri in Mysore and has a different taste.
Apart from puffed rice and sev, onions, tomatoes, and green chilies are common ingredients in all variants of this dish. The tanginess is either due to the tamarind sauce or raw mango or dried mango powder (amchur). The sweetness usually comes with the tamarind sauce or the dark sauce, which includes soaked and ground dates.
Green chutney is yet another sauce used to prepare this dish. Made from freshly ground coriander leaves, green chilies, and mint leaves, it adds that additional flavor and heat to the dish.
It is the complexity of flavors that made this snack so famous that there is hardly anybody who has not tasted it in their lifetime. Every person has a favorite streetfood stall that according to them serves the most delicious bhel puri.
If you are hygiene conscious, you can easily prepare this dish at home. Adding your twist to the original recipe can spice up the dish and enhance the taste. Serve it immediately after you prepare as it tends to get soggy after a while.
In many places, this dish is served in a paper folded to form a cone. Do you know you can add yogurt to this dish? It is known as Dahi (yogurt) bhel puri and is famous in its own way.
