I must have been a fool for not talking of my favourite gol-gappas till now. I live by them. Well if you are not familiar with the noun, its synonyms are fuchka, gup-chup and pani-puri. Following are some of the places where I had them-
1. In pinjore- when I was still in school, I used to eat golgappe every evening outside the govt. School, though they were not that great but I am emotionally attached to this place as i had golgappas everyday for almost two years….
2. In chandigarh- you will get good quality golgappe all across the city but I will personally suggest you to try the ones in sector 35, I don’t remember the name of the shop, but you can ask anyone, its famous for serving seven flavours of golgappe. I personally liked kewra flavour.
3. In mohali- you go to phase 5 market and have golgappe at gobind dairy, they are humongous and awesome. Its sort of an achievement if yu are able to fit on of them in u mouth in one go. Their chilled spiced water will surely make you breath fire….
4. In delhi- delhi is quite famous for its street food. You can have them pretty much anywhere in the capital. But do try them at- anand bhavan in green park market, jainsons in hauz khas market, chandini chowk, bittu tikki wala in netaji subhash place, orissa restaurant in dilli haat ( ask for oriya golgappe), in khan market, i am forgetting one more place, will come back with it.
5. In kurukshetra- visit the mythological brahm sarovar. Enjoy the place and golgappe too. There are many chat stalls over their. You might find some stalls offereing different flavoured fuchke too.
6. In jaipur- well golgappe served here are little different from north india. They are served with the choice of hot aloo ki sabji and boiled potatoes mashed with spices and chutney. Too spicy but you do get the choice of tamarind chutney.
7. Kolkata- kolkata is the place where its all about making it hotter with green chilly in boiled potatoes and even in the spiced water. I guess they are liked that way here ( i heard people cursing north indian golgappas for making them too sweet!).. So obviously in some places you do get to eat the north indian ones too but badly done. However, what i have heard from my east indian friends, pani puri is made in similar fashion across east india. And you dont get option of tangy tamarind chutney which was a turn off for me atleast. Golgappas are best when tangy.
8. Dehradoon- i was a little kid when i lived there. But i remember having my first golgappas in the market there. My mother still feels that the best golgappas were the ones she used to have there. Would like to go there and try them.
9. Add your own favourites- well, as i am still a human being i dont remember anymore places for now. If yu had golgappas and that too very nice ones. Do share with me and rest of the readers. Leave a comment. And add places….
Long live golgappa god (there has to be one!)
