The Water Snacks

Suprising Title for the Blog...But theres a whole variety of Snacks which combine spiced water & a fried round & small pastry usually filled with a stuffing. This Snack is almost a legendary street food in most parts  it of India..If you have been a Delhite Like me, You would refer it to as a Gol Gappa....One of the Most Iconic street foods of Delhi....Infact Delhi street food snacks are Incomplete without mentioning a few snacks, and Gol Gappa is absolutely one of them....Chaat Papdi, Aloo Tikki, Dahi Balle & Gol Gappa, are the typical snacks without which the Earlier Delhi Aunty or Bhabhiji or Ms Chadhas , Ms Aggarwals, Ms Malhotras of the world, could not even imagine their Evening Out

Delhi, being quite strongly Influenced by the Punjabi & Baniya Culture, and almost being a Pot Pourri of sorts, a meling pot for various cultural Influences, understandings, with these 2 being pretty dominated, and being quite a Patriarch Society, wherein the Males of the Family, play a pivotal role in all the Decision Making & even sensitive matters, apart from the Being the Bread Winners....So for quite a Few Delhi women, esp. during the late 80s & Early 90s, these snacks were almost a symbol of their little liberation & freedom....The Gol Gappa, has been a word used to lovingly or mockingly, describe a round rotund, & healthy person, especially for the Kids

Gol Gappas are stuffed with a Boiled potato, mashed with diff spices & herbs, stuffed inside a deep fried, very crsip, puri, & dipped in spiced water..The Puris are made up from Atta or Sujee.This water is mainly, Tamarind Base, or Mint Based & is generally served Cold..The water is so tasty, that its almost a tradition for people to ask for 2-3 helpings of the spiced water, after finishing their quota of Gol Gappas

Gol Gappas

In Mumbai, the Gol Gappas, are also known as Pani Puri...and the stuffing is usually made of Channa, Chickpeas, Mutter..and is served Lukewarm & not as Ice Cold as is loved in Delhi..

PaniPuri

The Origin of these Snacks seems to be from Uttar Pradesh, where they are also known as "Paani ke Bataashe"..Bataashe means, something that can easily crack on applying a little pressure....In Lucknow & Parts of U.P Pani is prepared using mint, tamarind, asafoetida (hing), black pepper, red chili powder and salt. At Hazaratganj in Lucknow you can savour Paanch Swaad Ke Pataashe which means the Pataashe are served with five differently tasting Pani....

In West Bengal, Kolkatta, this dish is known as the Puchka...which is the King of Street Food in Kolkatta...The filling is made by lightly mashing boiled potatoes with black salt, salt, some spices, a generous portion of tamarind pulp (made by mashing ripe tamarind in tamarind water), chilli (powder/chopped/boiled & pasted). The tamarind water Tetul Jol is made by mixing tamarind and spices/ salt and making a light and tart liquid with water

Some examples are imli ka pani (tamarind in water), nimbu ka pani (lemon juice in water), pudine ka pani (mint in water) and khajur ka pani (dates mixed in water). In West Bengal, Orissa, Mithilanchal part of Bihar and the southern part of Jharkhand, many people enjoy panipuris containing no sweet but with tamarind juice and spicy mashed

Do try whenever you have time in Evenings...South Extension in Delhi, Khau Gali,Juhu in Mumbai, are where you can devour the best of these amazing snacks

Reference : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panipuri