A Small Guide to Pani Puri/ Puchkaa/ Gol Gappa

I don’t remember when I had my 1^st pani puri but the credit for making me being obsessed with pani puri has to go to the Bengali bhayya who put up a stall near my intermediate college (11^th & 12^th std. in A.P.). He had this “best pani puri guaranteed” or “crispy pani puri challenge” in those days even before the retailers and e-tailers boasted of “low price guaranteed”. Hold the pani puri in your hand, go down the street and consume it there to find that it’s still crispy. That was his challenge though nobody had so much time to take it up. I was more than interested but thanks to the IIT/AIEEE/Intermediate coaching classes, I never found sufficient time to take up the challenge.

Some people find it surprising how I can have pani puri every single day. The human body is pretty interesting and weird. It becomes immune to something which you’ve been consuming for the past 10 years (true in my case but yet citation needed).

Being a veteran in this domain, I take pride in guiding you to have a good pani puri experience.

      1.  How and where to find a good pani puri stall: Finding pani puri stalls is a no brainer as we all know that usually we can find them at bus stops, auto stands, outside malls, outside offices etc.

But the real challenge is to find a good stall. This is where you can use my expertise. Follow the below steps:

·         Visual Inspection: If you find a huge crowd around a stall and very less around his neighbor then that’s the place.

·         Details: If the person who is serving wears plastic gloves then you can assume, with 95% confidence interval, that the food is going to be good there.

·         Survey: Ask your friends who live in that area. But this method may not give you good results if you do not know about your friend’s taste in pani puri or if he/she wants to take revenge against you.

      2.  Number of co-eaters, n(PC): Co- eaters are those people who stand next to you and get pani puris along with you. They can be of any age from 6-60 and usually have plenty of requirements depending on their age. Just make sure you don’t roll your eyes when they specify their requirements to avoid trouble.

For a fairly experienced pani puri server, the optimum number of co-eaters, n_x(PC), is 4.

·         If n(PC)>n_x(PC), then the lead time for every pani puri increases (the time in between 2 successive pani puris you get). There’s no fun in that.

·         If n(PC)x

(PC), then there is too much inventory stacked on your plate which soaks the puri which in turn leads to loss of crispness.

      3.  Know your rights: It is your right to ask for a sukha puri per plate of pani puri you’ve had. Also, you should know that it is the server’s right to decline it. It’s ethical; nobody follows it as a rule. A good pani puri stall owner always gives you one per plate without being asked. Also, you can ask for extra pani if necessary which, as far as I’ve seen, hasn’t been declined by anyone. So practically, you get an extra pani puri.

      4.  Precaution: When your pani puri is being put in your plate, there is a huge probability that your feet get wet. If you love your shoes, back off a little and stretch your arm.

That is it for now. You are always welcome to ask doubts. Happy pani puri gobbling.

PS: At some places they give you puris in a plate and some pani in a container.  This “Do-It-Yourself” pani puri is the most boring kind of pani puri experience and hence it hasn’t even been considered in the above guide.