The Untold Story of Pani Puri: Was It Created by Mahabharata's Draupadi? (Img: pinterest)
New Delhi: Among the popular Indian street foods, very few have the fame of pani puri. Though this tasty treat has managed to win over millions of people through its amazing taste, the actual history behind it is still shrouded in mystery. Many stories surround the invention of this amazing street food, but the most common myth about its creation involves Draupadi from the Mahabharata epic.
As per the mythological tale, the legend dates back to the time when Draupadi was married to the Pandavas. Wanting to test her wits, Kunti gave Draupadi a small quantity of wheat dough and leftover potato filling and told her to make a meal for the five Pandavas.
As per the myth, Draupadi used the small amount of dough to make crispy hollows and filled them up with the potato filling. The legend goes on to say that, impressed by Draupadi's cleverness in solving this problem, Kunti blessed this dish to ensure its popularity for generations to come.
Whereas the Mahabharata story is well circulated, historians have proposed an alternative origin for pani puri. The ancient kingdom of Magadha, now known as Bihar, was believed to be the birthplace of pani puri due to the popularity of snack foods in ancient times.
The earliest form of pani puri is said to have been called phulki, which is even used today in some parts of India. Even though these snacks resembled pani puri of today, there is no mention of the creator of these puris and their original filling.
It is not certain how pani puri originated, either through myths or through culinary history, but pani puri is undoubtedly the most loved of all Indian street foods. This street food has been given various names throughout the country, including golgappa in North India, puchka in West Bengal, gup chup in Odisha, and batashe in some parts of Uttar Pradesh.
