Pani Puri

India's most addictive street food — hollow crispy puris filled with spiced potato and chickpea, then flooded with cold tangy mint water.

Pani puri — hollow crispy spheres flooded with icy spiced water — is the most addictive street food in India, sold under different names across the subcontinent: golgappa in Delhi, puchka in Kolkata, gupchup in Odisha. The origin is disputed — some trace it to the Magadha region of ancient India. The vendor makes a hole in the top of the puri with his thumb, fills it with spiced potato and chickpea, and floods it with cold green water of mint, coriander, chilli and tamarind. The diner must eat the entire puri in one bite before it dissolves. The combination of icy cold spiced water, crispy puri and filling creates an explosion of flavour and texture unlike anything else in world cuisine.

The puri must shatter when you bite it — if it bends it is not crispy enough. The pani (water) must be ice cold and aggressively spiced. Eat the whole puri in one bite.