The tangy story of Golgappa-India's favorite street food!

The vivid picture described above is the ‘Spiritus Mundi’, or the collective memory of all Indians when it comes to ‘Golgappa’, which easily qualifies as India’s beloved street food. The word ‘Golgappa’ can be broken down into two to get an essence of the dish: ‘Gol’ refers to the crispy shell, and ‘gappa’ refers to the eating process, since Golgappa is eaten one at a time. Golgappa’s name varies depending on different regions in India. In Haryana it is known as ‘Paani Patashi; in Madhya Pradesh ‘Fulki’; in Uttar Pradesh ‘Pani ke Batashe’ or ‘Padake’; in Assam ‘Phuska’ or ‘Puska’; ‘Gup-chup’ in parts of Odisha and ‘Phuchka’ in Bihar, Nepal, Jharkhand, Bengal and Chhattisgarh. Consisting of a round hollow ‘puri’, filled with a mixture of flavored water, tamarind chutney, potato, onion or chickpeas, Golgappa has its origins in the Indian subcontinent.

The story of Golgappa has two versions to it. One is the mythological one and the other, historical. The mythological story of the Golgappa could be traced to the ‘Mahabharata’. As per the tale, when a newly-wedded Draupadi came home, she was given a task by her mother-in-law Kunti. As the Pandavas were living in exile, they had to manage with scarce resources. Kunti wanted to test if her new daughter-in-law would be able to manage with them . So she gave Draupadi some leftover vegetables and just enough wheat dough to make one puri. She instructed her to make food that would satisfy the hunger of all her sons. It is believed that this was when the new bride invented an early variation of Golgappa. Historically, it is believed that ‘Phulki’, believed to be the precursor to Golgappa, first originated in Magadh. However, the person who invented it is lost in the pages of history. Though these could be claimed as the precursors to Golgappa, the ingredients used might be very different. Two important ingredients of Golgappa are potato and chili and both came to India 300-400 years ago. Prominent food historian, Pushpesh Pant is of the view that Golgappa originated around Uttar Pradesh and Bihar about 100-125 years ago. According to him, it is possible that Golgappa was made out of Raj-Kachori. In between other delicacies, someone made a small ‘puri’ and ate it.

Golgappa is such a dish that has a great scope of experimentation and innovation. In bars of metro cities, a variation of it is served with Scotch or wine instead of spicy water. To impress and woo foreigners, people have come up with a dish called 'Pani Puri Tequila Shot'! All this has made the dish immortal and even though its history is complicated and questionable, there is no doubt that Golgappa brings the spicy and tangy side of India together.