We all know about the king of street treat Gol Gappe. Morning, evening, or night, one could just swallow the crunchy and tangy mixture. This snack is known as Puchka in the Eastern states of India like West Bengal. The speciality about puchka is that it is made with a mixture of a boiled gram, mashed potatoes, and green chillies as filled with lemon squeezed on the top of it. The chutney is tangy and the Imli water is spicy. It is slightly bigger as compared to our normal puris. It is made of wheat flour.
Puchka is the patent snack for an evening in Kolkata but now it has a huge fan-following in Dwarka. It is genuinely the most delicious munching treat to your mouth every evening in Dwarka city. The taste is so crunchy, juicy and flavoursome that it makes you eat puchkas one after the other. The city’s streets are incomplete without these quintessential balls of tangy deliciousness.
Not all pani puris taste as yummy as those served by Kolkata Golgappa House in Sector 10, Dwarka. The tiny stand has been a favourite of Dwarkites. It’s an everyday picture of people surrounding the stall, waiting for their turn and holding paper plates, waiting for their share of these crunchy orbs. People from across Dwarka flock to the stall to binge on this zesty snack, easily forgetting to keep count of how many they've had in one go.
Siliguri-based Munna Shah, who now resides in Madhu Vihar, set up this stall about 3 and a half years ago. But its parent branch, in Gurgaon, was set up 10 years ago by him and his uncle. “I was 12 when I started making golgappas, which we call puchkas back home. Unlike others in different parts of Delhi, our golgappas are made in the way it is traditionally made in West Bengal.”
Sushma Ghosh, a resident of Sector 9, tells City Spidey, “I used to have puchkas back when I used to visit my hometown in Kolkata but now I get them in Dwarka and I am in love with these, especially flavourful golgappas. The stuffing in these is the best I've tasted. It is different and piquant in taste."
Shah starts at 5 in the evening. But his golgappas, which he sells for Rs 5 apiece, and he runs out in just four or five hours.
Shah and his uncle have managed to start a chain and have opened six stalls till now — two in Dwarka (in sectors 7 and 10) and the rest in Palam, Rajouri Garden, Rani Bagh and Panipat.
Ashmita Handa, a resident from Dwarka sector-10, said, “As far as the world-famous Bong panipuri aka puchkas is concerned if you happen to spot a cart with two matkis at the corner of the market, you know you are at the right place!. It’s cute to see these little matkis in his cart. These have two kinds of water, and the lemon slices make the puchkas taste different.”
They also take orders for catering at parties. So what are you waiting for, visit now. Happy gorging!