.jpg) Bhel puri | |
| Type | Chaat,farsan,salad |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Mumbai |
| Associatedcuisine | Gujarati cuisine |
| Created by | Vithal Bhelwala (claimed) |
| Main ingredients | Puffed rice,sev,papri,chutney |
| Ingredients generally used | Potato,onion, etc. |
| Variations | |
| Similar dishes | |
Bhel puri (alsobhelpuri,bhel poori,[1] or simplybhel[2]) is a savoury snack and a type ofchaat, commonly served asstreet food. It is made ofpuffed rice, crunchypuris, andsev, which are layered with ingredients such aspotato andonion and topped withchutneys—typically acoriander leaf chutney and a tangytamarind chutney. Combining as many as fifteen ingredients, it incorporates contrasting textures and flavours. Bhel puri is originally fromMumbai and is rooted inGujarati cuisine. Many similar versions of puffed rice snacks exist across India, includingjhalmuri,masala puri, andchurumuri.
Bhel puri is the most popularstreet food in Mumbai, popular on the city's beaches, and is also served at restaurants. Its origin is disputed. Bhel puri may have been invented by Gujarati migrants in Mumbai as an adaptation ofNorth Indian chaats. Among other theories on the snack's origin, Mumbai'sVithal restaurant (established 1875) claims to have invented the dish. It began being sold as street food byUttar Pradeshi migrants, while Gujaratis and other communities in Mumbai created variations. By the mid-twentieth century, it was a popular dish among all of the city's ethnic groups. Bhel puri is a popular street food in many parts of India, includingin Kolkata; it is also served by Indian restaurants in other countries.
Bhel puri has a base ofpuffed rice,papri (thin, crispypuris), andsev (thin, deep fried pieces of flour), layered with ingredients such as boiledpotatoes and choppedonions, and topped withchutney.[3][4][5] Various vendors have different recipes, using different proportions of these common ingredients.[4] It is typically made with two chutneys: a spicy, tangytamarind chutney (made withdates andjaggery) and acoriander leaf chutney (made withmint,chilli, andpeanuts).[6] A red garlic chutney may additionally be used.[7] Other ingredients used include coriander leaf,tomato, friedlentils, nuts, and spices such as chilli,cumin, and salt.[7][8][9] InMumbai, bhel puri commonly includes rawmango.[10]
Bhel puri is a type ofchaat, or savoury snack.[3] Like other chaats, it uses deep fried ingredients; however, it does not usedahi, and it may have as many as fifteen basic components, unlike typical chaats with only two or three.[11] Bhel puri has a balance of sweet, tart, and spicy flavours, as well as different textures; the dish is prepared by adding one ingredient at a time to preserve each texture.[12] According to food writerVir Sanghvi, the texture relies on precise timing and proportion, and the complexity of the texture is not typical ofIndian cuisine.[11] Some people classify bhel puri as asalad.[3]
Bhel puri is astreet food, usually eaten while standing; it is traditionally eaten by hand, using the papri to hold the food,[5] although a spoon may be used.[3] Vendors, known asbhelwallas, serve it onleaf plates[13] ornewsprint.[7] Bhel puri is most commonly an evening snack.[4][14] It is also served as afarsan, a category ofafternoon tea snack inGujarati cuisine.[15] Bhel puri, like many street foods, is served raw, which is a risk factor forfoodborne illness.[16] Some studies have found high rates of bacteria such asE. coli in bhel puri.[a]
Ingredients similar to bhel puri are also used for the chaatspanipuri,sev puri, anddahi puri, which are instead made with small, spherical puris and do not use puffed rice.[7] Bhel puri is one of many snacks based on puffed rice;[19] other versions exist in many parts of India, modified to suit local cuisines.[20] TheBengali variant of bhel puri is calledjhalmuri, which is made withmustard oil.[21]Masala puri is another version, made with boiled peanuts.[20] In thecuisine of Karnataka, a similar dish ischurumuri (also called mandakki), which, unlike bhel puri, is mixed to order; a variant of mandakki called girmit also includes cooked ingredients.[22] AnIndo-Chinese chaat dish calledChinese bhel is based on bhel puri[23] and uses noodles,scallions, andchilli sauce.[2]
Sanghvi writes that, while the category of chaats originated inNorth Indian cuisine—particularlythat of Uttar Pradesh—bhel puri is generally said to have originated in thecuisine of Mumbai.[24] Rooted in both Uttar Pradeshi chaat and Gujarati foods,[24] it is considered a Gujarati dish.[1][b] Sanghvi describes it as the only chaat dish that did not originate in North India.[11] According to food writer Vikram Doctor, it is based on chaat as well as the category of puffed rice snacks, which is from East and South India.[5] According to Sanghvi, the ingredients like sev and puffed rice are of Gujarati origin,[24] and, according to food writerKunal Vijaykar, the use of these ingredients is rooted in the Gujarati farsan.[7] Anthropologist Harris Solomon writes, "bhel puri has a lineage connected to groups ranging from Gujaratis to others as far away asWest Bengal."[26] The termbhel puri comes from Hindibhel, which means 'mixture'.[1]
The exact origin of bhel puri is disputed.[11] A restaurant calledVithal, near theVictoria Terminus station in Mumbai, was founded in 1875 and has claimed to have invented bhel puri.[11][7] Vithal is widely credited with the dish's invention,[27] but, according to Vijaykar, its claim is apocryphal.[7] A legend says the dish originated during the rule of seventeenth-centuryMaratha emperorShivaji, who wanted a snack to be made and eaten quickly by soldiers before battle.[3][additional citation(s) needed] Another theory is that it was invented on Mumbai'sChowpatty Beach.[7] According to Sanghvi, bhel puri was conceived by the city'sGujarati community, who made it by adding complex flavours to the simple North Indian chaat.[11] The earliest known recorded recipe for bhel puri is from theBritish colonial era, by William Harold, a cook sent by theBritish Army to Bombay to research the dish so it could be served by army canteens.[3][additional citation(s) needed]
According to Sanghvi, Uttar Pradheshi chaat vendors in Mumbai began selling bhel puri soon after the dish's creation.[27] Gujarati housewives soon created several homemade versions of the dish,[28] with fewer spices than modern bhel puri, and using ingredients such asdate chutney rather than tamarind.[24] Many of Mumbai's communities made their own variations.[28]
In the 1960s and 1970s, many of Mumbai's bhel puri vendors were from Uttar Pradesh.[24] Thus, Mumbaikars address bhel puri vendors asbhaiyya, a term used for North Indian men.[7][11] Mumbai at the time was a city with distinct ethnic populations, and bhel puri was popular among all ethnic groups. It became a popularstreet food on the city's beaches[24] and was also served at restaurants. Mumbai'sUdipi restaurants—such as Shetty, owned by migrants fromMangalore—made a version of the dish with heavy use of lemon, and another popular version was made bySindhi people at the Kailash Parbat Chaat House in theColaba neighbourhood.[28]
The chaat restaurantSwati was established in the early 1960s[29] by Gujarati migrants in Mumbai and quickly gained popularity. Its version of bhel puri became known as the true version, and bhel puri became more associated with Gujaratis than Uttar Pradeshis.[24] Bhel puri was introduced toLondon by Jayant Shah, an immigrant from Mumbai who established the restaurantDiwana Bhel Poori House in 1972, as he felt nostalgic for the dish.[30]
Sanghvi wrote in 2020 that Mumbaikars no longer saw bhel puri as the city's favourite dish, instead seeing it as similar topanipuri, while more modern, mass-produced dishes, such asvada pav andpav bhaji, had become more emblematic of the city.[24]
Bhel puri is the most common dish in thestreet food of Mumbai.[4][13] It is available across the city[4][7] from street vendors and restaurants.[3] It is particularly popular on the beaches of Mumbai, such asChowpatty orJuhu.[4] Many vendors in the city attract followings.[4] It has been considered as the city's favourite street food dish;[26] food writerMadhur Jaffrey described the dish's popularity:[8]
But there is one equalizer in Bombay to which everyone succumbs—Parsi millionaires, movie stars and taxi drivers alike—and that is bhel-poori. Bhel-poori is a snack. The place to have it is Chowpatty Beach, the time sundown, when most of Bombay like to promenade by the sea to 'eat the air'.
— Madhur Jaffrey's Flavours of India (1995)
Like other Mumbai street foods, bhel puri has spread to most parts of India.[31] In both urban and rural areas, the snack is culturally associated with street vendors at busy locations such as beaches and marketplaces.[12] It is a popularstreet food in Kolkata. The area of the city aroundLake Kalibari has two popular bhel puri stalls, Khirkiwala (since the 1930s) and Bhelwala (since 1983),[32] and is known for a version called Lake bhelpuri, which containsdhokla.[33] Street food vendors in Kolkata also serve bhel puri on bread, known as "bhelpuri toast".[34] In the United States, Indian restaurants commonly serve bhel puri as anappetizer, along with other street foods and other Western Indian dishes. It is also served at Indian snack shops in the country.[35]
Supermarkets stockready-to-eat packets of bhel puri and similar snacks like sev puri.[36] The snack companyHaldiram's sells a version of bhel puri, which it markets in Western India.[37] Bhel mix is a product that includes puffed rice, papri, and sev, to be used as a base for bhel puri or as a snack on its own.[38] Another product sold in grocery stores is bhel chutney, consisting of tamarind chutney with puffed rice and sev.[38]
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