Bail out the bhel!

At times the protagonist — the puffed rice — gets overshadowed by the extras which alter the taste for better or worse depending on their freshness, writes Sandhya Vasudev

The ubiquitous bhel puri has been a common favourite in our family for decades. This may not seem uncommon as the name itself is enough to goad most to salivate. The best part is that there is no rigid recipe for this culinary delight lending itself to become one of the most flexible dishes for preparation. The elusive perfect taste emerges from a mixture of the tangy and sweet while retaining the crispy bites of the puffed rice and the accompaniments of broken pieces of papdis and sev. It needs a bhel lover to prepare a delectable end product.

Unless the cook is a robot, the taste varies each time depending on the various assortments added in the preparation. At times, the protagonist — the puffed rice — gets overshadowed by the extras which alter the taste for better or worse depending on their freshness.

Decades ago there was a roadside stall near my place of work which was always thronged by drooling customers for its bhel. I would tease my colleagues that they would fall prey to some bacterial or viral source and would refuse to join them even as they started out with gleaming expectation writ large on their faces.

Strangely enough, they remained fit, lending credibility to my colleague’s words that the stall may be cleaner than any star hotel. Perhaps such eateries bolster one’s immune system indeed!

Much before the lockdown, I had been to a well-known local restaurant with the tingling anticipation of the delightful dish. The waiter served it after much delay and what I got to see was a flat and morose heap of soggy puffed rice lying under large cubes of tomatoes and some sev. My instinct warned me to return the plate but my hungry tummy bade my hand to transfer a spoonful to my mouth. Each one of the ingredients was like oxygen — tasteless and odourless. I found a jar of tomato sauce and went on adding dollops of it but no taste was forthcoming. Finally, I requested the waiter to bring along some tangy and spicy chutneys.

At the sight of the chutney my eyes almost popped out — a brown liquid with some boiled chickpeas at the bottom. With a never-say-die attitude, I mixed it with the rest and managed to finish off the plate if only to satisfy
my hunger as fresh orders had closed.

A “never before and never again” bhel experience indeed!