Seven best Indian street foods and their origins

With a huge diversity in cultures, climates and traditions, India has become the hub of food and a vast variety can be seen on the menu. Travellers are always in luck when it comes to food and no matter how much one tries to resist, the aroma from street food joints attracts you towards them. Although all kinds of foods find place on the menu here, some stand out for their uniqueness or allure.

Bhelpuri

Bhelpuri will put your taste buds through their paces. First comes the crunch, from the rice puffs and crispy sev, then the tang of tamarind chutney, then the chilli hit followed by lingering sweet, salty and sour aftertastes. The dish can be relished at any sit-in restaurant, but the best bhelpuri comes from street stalls and hawker stands.

Origin: The first written recipe for bhelpuri is attributed to an English army cook called William Harold, who was dispatched to the streets of colonial Bombay to bring back a list of ingredients for this delicious snack so it could be added to the menu in the officers’ mess. However, Indians trace the origins of this spicy chaat back to the Maratha leader Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who demanded a snack that could be prepared and consumed on the way to battle.

Chicken 65

You can find the original Chicken 65 at the restaurant where it was invented, but the street-side offering is just as delicious. Perfect Chicken 65 should be served straight from the pan, still sizzling but moist and tender inside its chilli and spice jacket. It is lipsmackingly good and will leave a tingle on your lips.

Origin: When A. M. Buhari, the proprietor of Chennai’s Buhari Hotel, invented Chicken 65 in 1965, he had no idea what he was starting. The civic-minded hotelier decided not to patent the recipe for his phenomenally popular chicken snack and hawkers took it to the streets in droves. Buhari didn’t stop there– Chicken 65 was followed by Chicken 78 in 1978, Chicken 82 in 1982 and Chicken 90 in 1990.

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Chole Bhature

 

from
via Lonely Planet India