"Bhaiya, chana garam karna.
Pyaaz daaliye aur theeka paani."
As I sit here writing this my mouth waters. Mmmm. Pani puri.Not the Pani puris at Dadu's or Gokul that you get on a plate and you have to serve yourself! I am talking about the true bandi pani puri. Its a life wasted if you haven't tasted a plate yet. Another matter altogether if you didn't like it!
I guess it has something to do with the slight smell of kerosene in the air. Or the chana or the tangy pani. But there is some element in the bandi puri that is always missing elsewhere!
Its always fun to have it with friends. We stand in a row while the guy hands out each one of us a plate and we get to have one puri each. If you are a fast eater like yours truly you can always grab the one he hands out to your neighbour. The fights that we have had! Its definitely more than the taste. Its the memories we have built around a pani puri bandi.
For the hard core fan a mouthful of heaven can mean getting through the city traffic. Distance doesn't matter. That wonderful feeling with your eyes and nose watering is worth every single second of the hardship faced.
For the hard core fan a mouthful of heaven can mean getting through the city traffic. Distance doesn't matter. That wonderful feeling with your eyes and nose watering is worth every single second of the hardship faced.
The right weather to eat pani puri would be in that period when summer ends and monsoon just begins. It may turn out to be an utter disaster if you have it in the monsoons! Unless you think you have a gut of steel don't venture out for pani puri when it is raining.
It is one inexpensive evening snack. Hunger pangs after college? Head to the next bandi. On an average, a plate would cost you about 5 rupees and you get about 5-7 puris per plate.
My recommendation:
Chirag Ali Lane
Radhe Shyam-James Street
Insider's Tip: Trust pani puri bandis next to colleges. They are there
because of the students.
Ask for the cup made with leaves and avoid using the plate he gives out.
-black coffee-
