Eats on streets

Khatti Meethi (Sour and Sweet) Pani Puri

A different name in a different place; call it golgappa, puchka or pani puri but this dish remains a favourite street food in India.

Puris, flavoured water and boiled moong

Tuck into your mouth a crispy puri stuffed with boiled chickpeas or sprouted moong and dunked into the tasty water of pani puri and a burst of flavours unfurl to tingle your taste buds. From tangy to sweet and spicy to sour, a combine of all flavours possible is what makes this heavenly dish an irresistible snack.

Different cultures and cities have their own styles of serving this dish. Some have fillings made of boiled chickpeas while some serve boiled potatoes in it and others have their own combinations of the flavoured water. Here is a recipe of sprouted moong as a filling which is a delicious yet healthy option.

Pani puri recipe:

Ingredients:

Around 50 puris (crisp, puffed puris are used for pani puri)

100 gms steamed moong sprouts (whole green gram)- for the filling

For the sweet water:

½ cup tamarind (deseeded) - soaked in some water overnight

About 5-6 dates - soaked in some water overnight

½ cup grated or crumbled jaggery (soaked in some water till it melts)

½ tsp red chilli powder

½ tsp. sugar

For the spicy water:

 ¾ tbsp readymade pani puri masala powder (e.g. Everest)

1 tsp. roasted cumin- powdered

Salt to taste

Some ice cubes (optional)

Water

 Grind together with a little water:

1 cup finely chopped coriander

1 ½ cups finely chopped mint leaves

1 green chilli

¼ inch piece of fresh ginger (peel it and chop it roughly)

If you want you can add some rock salt, black salt, chaat masala, amchur powder etc. for extra flavouring.

Method:

For the sweet water:

Boil the dates in a cooker till tender. Deseed them and grind them (adding little water if required).

Boil the tamarind in a cooker. Grind it and strain it to get the pulp.

Mix the tamarind pulp, the jaggery water and the date’s paste. Add the sugar and the red chilli powder and stir to combine. Check seasoning and add salt if required.

For the spicy water:

Add a glassful of water to the coriander-mint paste and stir to mix. Pass this through a mesh (at least twice) to get more or less clear, flavoured water. Add the cumin powder and the readymade pani puri masala powder to it. Stir to combine and check seasoning. Add salt as per taste. Add water depending on the consistency you require.

Add the ice cubes to both the panis or chill the pani in the refrigerator for a few hours.

You can even combine both the flavoured waters to get one, sweet and spicy water only.

Relish this by cracking open the puri from the top with the back of a spoon. Add some moong in the gap of one puri at a time. Stir the spicy water and dip each puri first into the sweet water and then into the spicy water, filling the puris upto the brim. It will give you a delicious taste of sweet, spicy, tangy and sour flavours in your mouth at the same time.

If you prefer only sweet water then fill the puris with sweet water only and if you like spicy flavour, fill the puris only in the spicy water.

Dipping the puris in flavoured water is the traditional way of enjoying pani puri. But if you do not prefer to do so, simply pour the flavoured waters of your choice into the cracked puris with the help of a spoon.

Pav Bhaji

1. Pav Bhaji

Pav bhaji is actually one of the favourite street foods in India, specially in the city of Mumbai.
It is usually considered as a snack but can be treated as a complete meal too since it is quite satisfying with heaps of vegetables added to it. It's even included in the list of junk foods because it has loads of butter! But if you want a healthier version of the cuisine skip adding butter to the gravy when serving and have plain bread or better brown bread instead of the usual buttered bread.

Ingredients:

Vegetables:

3 big potatoes

25 gms. cauliflower (separate the florets)

1 tbsp. sliced french beans

50 gms. green peas

1/3 cup very finely chopped capsicum

about 3 tbsp. butter

1/2 tbsp. oil

salt to taste

Seasoning:

3/4 tbsp. Kashmiri red chilli paste,

1 1/2 tsp. red chilli pdr.,

1/2 tsp. + 1 pinch turmeric pdr.,

1 1/2 or 2 tbsp. pav bhaji masala (adjust as per your taste. If you prefer spicier add more)

a pinch of chat masala

1 medium sized onion (finely chopped), 3 big tomatoes (finely chopped or pureed)

1 tsp. ginger paste, 1 1/2 tsp. garlic paste, 1 green chilli paste, 6-7 curry leaves

Garnishing:

1 finely chopped onion (small), 2 tbsps. chopped coriander, 1 lime, a big dollop of butter

about 6 Pavs (Indian bread) (If you don't have pav use bread)

pav bhaji masher or ladle

Method:

1. Boil all the vegetables (potatoes, cauliflower, beans, peas but not the capsicum) in about 2 cups of water with a pinch of turmeric and some salt, till tender. Mash with a pav bhaji masher or the back of a ladle. Keep aside.

2. Heat oil and 2 tbsps. butter in a pan, add the ginger, garlic and green chilli paste and saute for a minute.

3. Now add the onions and saute till they become transparent.

4. Add the capsicum and saut for a minute.

5. Put the Kashmiri red chilli paste and saute for 1/2 a minute.

6. Add the dry masalas (red chilli pdr., turmeric pdr. and pav bhaji masala) and stir to combine.

7. Add curry leaves and tomatoes and saute to mix everything. Let cook on slow flame for about 10 minutes till the gravy becomes slightly thick and the oil leaves the sides of the pan. Remove from flame. Mash this well with a pav bhaji masher/ a ladle.

8. Now add the boiled vegetables to the above gravy and stir well. Again mash this with the pav bhaji masher/ a ladle in order to mix all the ingredients properly. Add some salt and the chat masala. Add about 1 cup of water to make the consistency appropriate. Add more water if required.

9. Let cook for about 15 to 20 more minutes to combine all the ingredients. Check seasoning.

10. Add some water if the gravy seems thick.

11. Serve hot garnished with chopped, fresh, coriander, chopped onions, a blob of butter and a dash of lime.

12. When serving, slice the pavs (bread) horizontally, apply butter on both sides and heat on a tawa or a non-stick pan for 1/2 a minute on each side. Serve the bread hot with the pav bhaji gravy.

2, Vada pav recipe

Imagine vada pav and your mouth waters with the thought of sinking your teeth first into a

soft, golden brown crust and then into a tender filling of flavourful potatoes.

Vada pav is actually a street food in India but is also served in hotels and fondly made in our homes as well. Mostly known as an Indian (veggie) burger, it is mainly popular in the state of Maharashtra, especially in the cities of Mumbai and Pune. But it is now gaining popularity the world over. Different places have their own versions of preparing and serving; it could be served with spicy green chutney, sweet ketchup or a tangy tamarind dip.

Tasty hot Vada pav recipe:

2 cups boiled, peeled and mashed potatoes

½ cup Poha- (flattened rice) gently rinse the Poha in a colander or a pasta strainer. Sprinkle ¼ tsp turmeric and ½ tsp salt on it and keep aside.

1-2 green chillies-chopped into big pieces

1 tsp red chilli powder

¼ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp mustard seeds

7-8 curry leaves

1 tsp whole coriander seeds- lightly roasted and ground coarsely

5 -6 garlic flakes- sliced

½ cup finely chopped coriander

1/3 tbsp oil for the Poha

1 ½ tsp desiccated coconut or use finely grated, fresh coconut (optional) (add more or less depending on how much you like the flavour of coconut)

1 or 2 mint leaves- finely chopped or a pinch of mint powder (optional) (since mint has a rather strong flavour, add only if you are fond of mint)

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

Ladi pavs (Indian bread type that is square shaped and is made of all purpose flour. Get one pav for each vada)

For the batter:

About 1 cup gram flour (you may need more depending on how thick your batter is)

¼ tsp turmeric

 ¼ tsp red chilli powder

 Salt

 A pinch of Baking soda

¼ tsp. hot oil

About 1 tsp. finely chopped coriander

Method:

For the batter:

Combine all the ingredients except the coriander.  Add enough water to make a smooth, thick batter (a little thinner than the ones you make for your cakes) mix well so that it is free of any lumps.  Now add the coriander and mix again. Keep this batter aside and prepare the vadas meanwhile. If you can prepare the batter ½ an hour before frying the vadas it would make the covering softer and fluffier.

For the Poha:

Heat 1/3 tbsp oil in a non- stick pan and add the mustard seeds. When the seeds crackle add the curry leaves and the garlic. Sauté till the garlic is light brown. Add the green chilli, Poha and the red chilli powder and mix gently to combine. Shut the gas and keep this aside till it cools down to room temperature.

Prepare the vadas:

Once the poha has cooled down add it to the mashed potato. add the coriander seeds powder the coconut the chopped coriander, the chopped mint leaves/ powder and enough salt and gently mix everything with your hands.Make balls out of this and dip them in the batter one by one. make sure each ball is coated entirely with the batter. heat oil in a pan for deep frying and gently add the coated balls in the oil. keep the flame on med- high and after you have added enough vadas into the pan lower the heat a bit. deep fry and take them out when reddish yellow. Serve them hot either with pav or all by itself.

Batata Vadas

Ways in which you can serve:

Slice each pav horizontally leaving one end attached (this is our traditional style of serving the snack) and stuff hot vadas; one vada in each pav.
You can relish them by dipping them in sauce or green chutney (made of coriander, mint leaves etc.) or tamarind chutney.

Or layer green chutney on one side and tamarind chutney on the other side of the pav before placing the vada in it.

Or serve with red dry garlic chutney

You can even sprinkle lime on the vadas if you like.