Bhelpuri

Along with Maggi, Bhelpuri has always occupied a special place in my......stomach. It was so simple to make, and could be whipped anywhere and in no time.... I have fond childhood memories of mixing together murmura, onions, dhania, tomatoes,potatoes (of course mummy did the chopping), oil, namkeen and lotsa tomato sauce in a big patila, and then devouring it for an early dinner. The recipe would vary depending upon the namkeen - sometimes salted peanuts would do , and sometimes I'd just add alu bhujia.
In Delhi, there is a bhelpuriwalla everywhere, selling chana and moongfali side by side...but unfortunately most of the Bhelpuri is pretty ordinary,easily ignored for samosas and burgers.
It is when I entered Delhi University, that I heard about a very popular bhelpuriwalla, being the foodie I am, my stomach led me straight to him. He is an old bald guy, maybe around 50-60 years old and always wears a white kameez. His stall is band opposite the Jai Jawan Stall or the entrance to the botany department, and the big garden, he is adjacent to the entrance to the Holistic Food canteen, the usual place where the U special stops. His stall is especially crowded during lunchtime, with students , teachers and old timers and you may have to wait, as he can prepare only so many plates of bhelpuri at a time, he also happens to be the guy you want to turn to for a gyaan on the ways of the University. He will take a big patila, put together murmura, peanuts, namkeen, chopped dhania,onions and boiled potatoes, then he will ask you "mirchi?"- you are supposed to say kum,zyada or normal, and after dousing required quantities of his homemade hari and meethi chutney, he will squeeze a lime on top and give it a good churn. The moment he dishes out the bhelpuri in your plate, the smell entices your appetite, and you know something that smells this good, must taste good as well......and you are not dissapointed!, the bhelpuri has a different taste that what you get elsewhere, there is the sourness of lime, the hotness of green chillies, just the right amount of sweetness to mitigate it, the papri is crunchy and the peanuts taste great. No wonder the man does great business all day, as you sit on the side of the road, enjoying your bhelpuri you can see his loyal clientele - from old teachers, to young 19 year olds, i have seen many mercs stop by to collect their packed bhelpuris. He does a great job at packing them - either sukhi or bani hui. If you choose sukhi, he will separately put all the ingredients into poly bags(I guess Green laws don't apply to good bhelpuriwallas), so that you can go home and prepare it fresh, but he can also just put the prepared thing into bag if you want to, but do take care that the bhelpuri gets soggy after about 15 minutes.
one day, I asked my self what makes his bhelpuri so good, so I got a sukhi one packed and dissected each component at home.....the peanuts were ordinarily fried, even the namkeen and murmura were nothing special, and the veggies were the same as those in my fridge.....the difference makers were the chutneys. Both of them were totally different from the usual hari and meethi chutneys served at most restaurants with samosas and kachoris. The hari chutney, was very hot and tangy at the same time, your mouth burned with the green chillies yet the tang enticed you to have more...it was amazing, the meethi chutney wasn't too sweet, it was mildly sweet and tangy and when both the chutneys were mixed together, the taste was heavenly! Obviously, the guy must have his own secret recipe for these, but as long as he keeps churning out mouthwatering bhelpuris who cares???
He also does other chaats, but I have never tried them in the 3 years I have been visiting him, a plate sets you back by 18 bucks.