Panipuri

The Hindi word means 'water', referring to the watery chutneys used in the dish, and puri refers to rounds of deep-fried dough. The term panipuri (or pani puri) is used in most parts of India, The dish is called in Delhi and surrounding parts of North India, including Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, parts of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir. In Rajasthan, parts of Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, the term is , meaning 'spherical snacks with water'. In Chhattisgarh, southern Jharkhand, parts of Odisha, and Telangana (including Hyderabad), it is called , which may be an onomatopoeia. The term is used in Nepal, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat, and is used in Madhya Pradesh and inland Gujarat. The term is specific to Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. The translation water balls is sometimes used in Britain. == Preparation and serving ==

Ingredients and preparation s, which are made of circles of dough that inflate while frying. Panipuri is based on puri, a fried wheat flatbread. The puri used in panipuri is made using a thin circle of dough, about in diameter, which inflates during frying to form a hollow spherical shell that holds its shape. The puri itself may be referred to as a pani puri, golgappa puri, or phuchka puri. Each puri is punctured with a finger, then filled, taking multiple bites is seen as improper. The puri is most commonly made of semolina flour, though it may also be made of wheat flours, including maida and atta, Some vendors serve panipuri directly from their hands to the hands of the customer, which is not done with other street foods, while some vendors use leaf plates. People consume panipuri quickly—to prevent it from becoming soggy—and then leave, unlike with other street foods. When served at restaurants, the dish may be served with the filling on the side, for the customer to add, or already filled in the puri, though the pani is always added after serving. As a street food, panipuri is rarely eaten at home. However, among the Marwari people, panipuri and other chaats may also be homemade. The same year, this agency found 16% of samples in the city of Chennai to be unsafe for consumption. To avoid health risks, many street vendors use mineral water, and the fast food chain Haldiram's serves the dish using a sealed bag of puris. == Variations ==

Regional variations Eastern Indian subcontinent and topped with shredded eggs. The phuchka made in the eastern Indian subcontinent is distinct from panipuri as the puris are made of atta, the green water is especially spicy, and the tamarind water is sour rather than sweet. According to chef Vikramjeet Roy, many Kolkatans prefer for the snack to be more fragile. North India A spiced filling of potatoes and black chickpeas is used in both the golgappa of Delhi and pani ke batashe from in and around Uttar Pradesh. In Gujarat, the traditional filling for panipuri is diced potatoes and boiled mung beans, while the pani contains dates and boondi. The city of Bangalore has both mashed potato panipuri, widely served by North Indian migrants at small stalls, and chickpea panipuri, served by locals at carts that also sell other chaats. Onion is often added to panipuri in Bangalore. , eaten in parts of southern and eastern India, uses a chickpea filling without potatoes. as well as non-vegetarian fillings. Chef Manish Mehrotra stated that panipuri is versatile, with infinite options for ingredients. == History ==

Origin and spread It is not known when or by whom panipuri was invented. potatoes were not introduced until after the Columbian Exchange. One theory recounted by the National Geographical Journal of India in 1955 states that the small, crunchy version of puri originated in Varanasi, with the remaining ingredients of panipuri added during the Mughal Empire. Phuchka spread to Bangladesh after the 1947 partition of India. Modern variations and international popularity Modern variations of panipuri arose sometime around the 1990s, according to Sanghvi. One of the chefs developing variations of the dish was Sanjeev Kapoor, working at a restaurant in New Zealand in the 1990s, During the COVID-19 lockdown in India, homemade panipuri became popular as street foods were not available. In the five weeks following the first lockdown order on 25 March 2020, Google searches for panipuri recipes doubled, and the food was a common topic on social media. According to Condé Nast Traveller, online virality led to a wave of new interpretations of panipuri—as well as other street foods such as Maggi noodles—in 2020 and 2021. These included a panipuri set on fire, which was created at Chaska Chaat in Nagpur before being imitated elsewhere, and a large, overloaded variation called , served at Chirag ka Chaska in Nagpur. viral phenomena included including shawarma panipuri served by carts in Hyderabad and phuchka chops served by a vendor in Kolkata. Chaats such as panipuri surged in popularity in South India—including in rural areas and around the cities of Madurai and Coimbatore—in the 2020s. They overtook the popularity of local snacks. Panipuri, like other Indian dishes, became popular in China in the 2020s, inspiring the hashtag #IndianCrispyBall and being depicted in the video game Genshin Impact. The popularity of panipuri also grew in the United States, with the dish being served at the White House several times by 2024. == Consumption ==

Panipuri is the most popular street food in the Indian subcontinent. It is a highly popular fast food in India and in Nepal. Many panipuri wallas achieve fame within their neighbourhoods for the ways they prepare the dish. Panipuri is popular in both urban and rural areas Stores sell pre-packaged puri shells for panipuri. According to ethnographer Arindam Das, phuchka is culturally associated with Bengali identity; for example, the 1981 film 36 Chowringhee Lane depicts an Anglo-Indian character eating the food with Bengali friends to represent the intermingling of their cultures. In Kolkata, the most famous phuchka vendors include those of the Vivekananda Park neighbourhood, and the city's ITC Royal Bengal hotel serves the dish more than any other hotel in India. In Bangladesh, panipuri and chotpoti are served by the same street vendors. In Mumbai, panipuri is popular on beaches. In Pakistan, golgappe were historically served from street carts, although snack restaurants have become more popular. Panipuri is also served as a street food in South India, requiring less cost and labour than regionally traditional snacks such as paniyaram. Panipuri and other chaats are also popular in the South Indian city of Mysore, alongside dishes more local to the region, having historically been sold by migrants from Uttar Pradesh or Bihar. In the city of Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, street vendors sell panipuri on a plate with a spoon. Indian migrants have introduced panipuri to other parts of the world. ==See also==

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