There is a little Indian restaurant in the area where I grew up that serves one of the tastiest appetizers I’ve ever eaten. The dish is called Panipuri, and it’s a common street food found in many regions of India. It consists of hollow puffs of crisp dough, filled with delicious chaat, served alongside chutney and tamarind water. Ever since my husband introduced me to this savoury snack, I’ve ordered it in various restaurants. Each chef has their own take on it, with spices and ingredient choices likely dependant on the region of India that they are from. Sometimes, the puffs are broken into pieces and mixed with the chaat then swirled with herbed yogurt. The chaat itself generally consists of diced potato, onion, and heaps of cilantro, tossed with various spices and a variety of other vegetables, nuts or legumes.
And then, something magical happened. I took a book out of the library, solely based on how pretty the photos were. Then, I bought myself a copy, because I literally want to try every single recipe in it. One of those recipes is called Bhel Puri, a type of chaat that is mixed with puffed rice. My love of all things chaat and puri made me certain that I needed to try this recipe as soon as possible. I decided to give it my own spin by adding a few extras that I had on hand – and holy moly. You have to understand, this isn’t just a salad. It’s an experience.
Need a great way to use up all of those garden cucumbers popping up right about now? Maybe you have a few too many cherry tomatoes and need them to be tossed into something tasty. Perhaps you don’t even garden but you want to make a refreshing no-cook summer meal to beat the heat., or to impress at a friend’s BBQ. Whatever your reason, this medley of colours and flavours is your new go-to.
Before we get onto the recipe, just a little FYI, the book is called ‘Good Veg,’ and you can find it here! As always, if you place an order through any of my Amazon links, you are helping to support my blog at no extra cost to you!
