Street Food: Bhel

Bhel, often called Bhelpuri, is a popular street food in India made with puffed rice and namkeen. Namkeen is a salty snack made of gram flour and is usually fried (not a healthy one I must say). In the US, Haldiram is one namkeen brand that you can find in most Indian grocery stores. Sometimes namkeen also comes in packets with names like punjabi mix or bombay mix. You can also get bhel mix which basically is a mix of puffed rice and namkeen. There are different varieties of Namkeen all over India. Besides these two, you also need some more ingredients.

Ingredients:
(serves 2)
2 cups puffed rice
1 cup namkeen
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped raw mango (optional)
Mint-green chilli chutney (as per taste)
Tamarind-date chutney (see link at the end of the post)
Shev
Handful of chopped cilantro
Salt to taste


To make mint chutney grind a handful of mint leaves and 4/5 green chillies into a fine paste. Add water as needed. You can also add some cilantro when you grind it. To the tamarind chutney add about a quarter teaspoon each of cumin powder, coriander powder and red chilli powder. In a large bowl mix puffed rice, namkeen, onions, tomatoes, raw mango, mint chutney and salt. Add tamarind chutney and mix really well. Top it off with some finely chopped cilantro, shev and serve.