I am writing this blogpost in such a time when forget about street food, you can’t even go out on the street. It’s day-2 for the home-quarantine during the Coronavirus outburst. Now you may ask me a very simple and valid question- why am I writing on these places in this turbulent time. The answer, my friend, is quite simple. One day, someday, this too shall pass and we’ll come back stronger. Life will be happier and people will actually look forward to seeing others. People will still look for their favorite phuchka joints in the city and then, my friend, this article will come in handy. And lastly, we are content writers, even if we don’t survive this state, the content on Mohamushkil will make me immortal.
Well, phuchka is the lifeline of Kolkata street food. Those small fluffy crispy stuffed roundels are something that we live for. And in my opinion, every phuchka-walla can tea any management graduate a thing or two on customer service. Please think of a situation where a phuchka seller is serving 10 customers. Please trust me, he’ll be preparing atleast 5-8 varieties of taste, with the same ingredients. Those minuscule tweaks in taste, some invisible tricks in the ingredients and remembering exactly who loves which combo. And this combination will change for the next set of customers. Hence, you can understand the pain.
Let me also mention here that any phuchkawalla will prepare a few other items, apart from the usual phuchka. The not-so-fluffy phuchka balls will be crumbled and mashed with the spicy potato mix to make some kick-ass churmur. And even the Aloo Dum, topped with tamarind chutney and coriander leaves, is to die for at any phuchka wala.
The folklore goes like this. Phuchka was first mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. Kunti was an angry mother-in-law and she wanted to taste the management skill of Draupadi. During the vanabas period, Darupadi was given a small dough of maida and an equally small amount of potato and was asked to feed her husbands. Draupadi, being the wonder-woman, prepared phuchka out of it, stuffed the potato inside and fed the five pandavas. Ad that’s the reason, that we still get phuchka in multiples of five. Well, now this is a folklore and is difficult to verify. But, the story is nice- right ?
Durga Pandit phuchka
If we start talking on phuchka and do not mention Vivekananda Park, it’ll be unfair. There are many phuchka sellers beside the park, catering to a sizable audience. And trust me, they’re all good. But everybody has a favorite and my favorite is the gentleman named Durga Pandit. His offering is varied- a fantastic standard phuchka, dahi phuchka, churmur, aloo dum, etc. But what differentiates him, is the taste. It’s tangy and lasts on your palate. But apart every damn thing, do try his Dahi Phuchka. that’s the showstopper. Please check the location on Google map here
We can see the mention of phuchka from the writing of the great ancient traveller, Fa Hien. even Magadh kingdom is said to have phhuchka. So, it’s not a new indulgence, it seems
Phuchka is stuffed with the usual potato mix and topped with beaten sour curd. It’s then topped with sweet-sour tamarind chutney, some secret spice powder (I could figure out a smell of cumin) and chopped coriander leaves. The balance of taste is fantastic. The bland casing of phuchka is stuffed with spicy potato and topped with the khatta-meetha (sweet-sour) curd and sprinkled with crunchy seu bhujia – it’s simply mind-blowing. Many like his Aloo-dum blend. Even I like it, but the second place, which I am going to talk about, is my go-to place for that.
Rajendra Phuchka, Near Dakshinapan Jadavpur
This gentleman sits outside the Dakshinapan mall Jadavpur and is quite known for his phuchka. Anytime I’ve visited him, there’s always a crowd around him, asking for her/ his preference and Rajendra ji, along with his full family, is happy to oblige. Please check his location on Google map here. Rajendra ji, in fact, is quite famous and well-seen face in Bengali TV reality shows. He serves quite a variety of phuchka here for more than 40 years.
- sweet and sour phuchka
- sour phuchka
- Aloo dum phhuchka (best of both the worlds- IMHO
- Curd aloo dum phuchka
- Curd phuchka
- And finally, Mixed phuchka
Please do not ask me what goes inside, but let me assure you, the taste is damn good. You may have to wait for some time for your turn, but then, all good things, come after some wait.
Pravesh pani puri
Mr. Pravesh Yaadav sets his cart at Alipore- at the crossing of Alipore Road and Woodlands Road. Just when you’re about to enter the lane for Woodlands Nursing home, you can find him. Please check his location on the Google map here. Well, he serves 17 varieties of phuchka with some pretty interesting stuff. Tell me honestly, have you ever heard of something like Schezwan phuchka or Bullet Phuchka or even Dahi chocolate phuchka ? Well, welcome to Pravesh Yadav Pani Puri.
His variety?
- Types of water
- Jaljira
- Kairy pudina
- Soth Pani
- Aloo dum phuchka
- Aloo dum
- Aloo dum ghugni
- Aloo dum schezwan
- Types of ghugni
- Ghugni phuchka
- ghugni scezwan
- Ghugni Aloo Dum
- Ghugni Pani
- Dahi phuchka
- Dahi chocolate
- Dahi Ghugni
- Dahi chutney
- Dahi Pakora
- Types of chat
- Ghugni chat
- Aloo chat
- Pakora chat
- Aloo dum chat
- Special variety
- Schezwan
- Kairi
- Tomato
- Double
- Chana
- Chana Masala
- Batata
- Bullet
- Tomato Masala
- Dhokla
- Rocket
- Chocolate
- Plain chocolate
- Pakori
- Churmur Phuchka
Phew, now that’s quite an impressive list and this gentleman is even known to use Mineral water for preparing his stuff. Pravesh has travelled to multiple continents including Australia and Bangkok for his phuchka and is a known face for the HNI catering circuit. I was afraid to ask about his daily revenue. My middle-class ego stopped me from doing so, in the fear of getting a serious inferiority complex. This gentleman is even known for his phuchka scholarship at Lakshmipat Singhania School. Whoever tops the exam, gets a one-year free phuchka from him. Pravesh can easily be reached at 084789 27151.
Well, we like to call it as phuchka. But honestly, it has got many variations in India itself. While here in Kolkata or rather Bengal/ Bangladesh and Assam, it’s mostly served with a tangy spicy potato stuffing and the whole thing is dipped in gandharaj lebu-flavored-tamarind water, it’s not that simple elsewhere. In Gujrat, the stuffing is done with aloo, salted boondi and dry boiled moong dal and the whole thing is dipped in sweet water. In Karnataka, onion is used along with Aloo as stuffing. I the Rajastan and UP region, Phuchka is known as Pani Ke Batase and is served with not one, but an assortment of water. In Orissa, Jharkhand and some parts of Andhra Pradesh/ Telegana, usage of potato as stuffing is very less and is named as Gup shup.
If you ask me personally, I am not really a phuchka lover myself. But rather churmur and Aloo Dum made by a phuchka seller is my choice. But I believe something. The best phuchkawalla is your friendly neighborhood guy. Yes, that same one who knows and remembers your individual preference and is your go-to man for any heartbreak. Each para or neighborhood has its own favorite and we’re nobody to go into a battle. But please watch our Foodka series video on this below and share your favorite phuchka seller name and location in the comment section.
Bon apetit !!!
I can be reached at indrajit.lahiri@ymail.com
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