Category: Street-food / Snack
Nostril Flaring (hygiene): dependent on location
Personal Rating: #1 of its category
Its been 12 hours since I landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport (New Delhi) and it feels damn good to be back. To celebrate, I thought I would throw my stomach in the deep end by exposing it to good old quality street food. And since I'm having street food, I thought I should start off with my favourite road-side delight - a plate of Gol Gappe.
Gol Gappe is a common snack found throughout the country with different names - e.g. Pani Puri in Mumbai and Phutchka (pronounced "Fooch.ka") in Kolkata. Its made of 3 main parts; the small, thin and crispy potatoe or suji ball, the stuffing (boiled potatoe and chickpeas) and the flavoured water (generally 2 choices - bitter/spicy and sweet). While it is possible to have this as a take away, the authentic experience consists of standing next to the chaat-wala (person making and serving it) as he punches a hole into the ball, fills it with stuffing and then dunks it into the flavoured water before serving it to you in a small bowl which will catch any of the water that leaks out. You have only one chance to get it right - eat the whole gol gappe in one bite; trying to take a small bite of it will be messy and leave you looking like a fool who doesn't know how to eat Gol Gappe. Its all or nothing. When you're ready, you hold your plate out and the same thing happens 5 more times or more if "1 plate" isn't enough.
As I am using my phone to write and post this I don't think I can embed pictures into the text so both of them will be at the bottom or the top. Picture 1 shows what the end product looks like. It may not look too appealing but those who have had it before will agree that looks can be deceiving.
There are many things about Gol Gappe which make it such a special snack. Firstly, the spice and flavour all come from the water mixture; i.e. the combination of the sweet and spicy leaves your taste buds fizzing. Picture 2 shows the sweet (red) and spicy (green) water mixtures which are generally used in Gol Gappe. You can normally instruct the chaat-wala how you like it. Personally, I love the bitter/spicy one. If you're feeling adventurous and want to do as the locals do, at the end of your serving you can take a scoop of the water in your bowl and drink it by itself. This gives you a peculiar long lasting feeling of cold spicyness on the back of your throat.
Secondly, Gol Gappe is hardly ever the same in different places. Every plate of Gol Gappe that you buy is potentially "the best Gol Gappe ever". Its this uncertainty and anticipation that creates a buzz and excitement about having Gol Gappe - maybe more so than other chaats (snacks) available. During my last trip I came to the conclusion (more of an opinion) that Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai's Gol Gappe can be loosely grouped as Bitter, Spicy, and Tangy/Sweet respectively.
In terms of hygiene, it varies depending on each shop/business/chaat-wala. When travelling through India, you do need to be careful with the water that you consume. However, to experience what I did a few hours ago, you need to take a few risks and have faith that your stomach and imune system have not been completely weakened by living in countries like NZ and Aus (i.e. where pollution is not a major issue). If you are one of those high-maintenance individuals who's nostrils flare at the thought of not having sparkling water from a gold tap, then Gol Gappe is definitely not for you. But if you do make the wise choice to try it out, when assessing the seller - word of mouth and large groups around the chaat-wala are a good starting point
Ok this is becoming quite long and I think I have made my point. Gol Gappe/Pani Puri/Phutchka is my favourite road-side snack and I do urge you all to try this if you are craving a light snack or appetiser before going onto a heavy main. Now for the final results:. The 30 Rs/plate Gol Gappe served at the stall outside Ansal's Plaza (in Gurgaon i.e Delhi) was surprisingly fantastic. The chaat-wala was friendly and good to talk to in between the Gol Gappes. Highly recommended. Below is a diary of how I felt hours after having it....
1 hr: Great. Feels like I just had some spicy food. No discomfort or pain.
5 hrs: Still good. Stomach still feeling the same.
Next morning: No issues. Excited and ready to have my next plate!
Got a train to Lucknow to catch. So I'll see you after the next meal......
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