Don't miss to taste Bangarpet Pani Puri

This small town has served Pani Puri in weddings of Chiranjeevi daughter and other VVIps

A city need not be identified only by the historic monuments or scenic landscapes that lie in its surroundings but added to this list one can enjoy Bangarpet Pani Puri in Palace City.

There is a outlet In Mysore, where one can get the real taste of Bangarpete Pani Puri. Though a native of Bangarpet in Kolar district, Ramesh Babu came and settled in Mysore 25 years ago, bringing with him the recipe of preparing the Pani Puri which he is now serving to Mysoreans. Right opposite Mahaani's Junior College, near Thindi Bidhi he has set up his shop selling Bangarpet Pani Puri.

He prepares varieties of chats like Masala Puri, Sev Puri, Aloo Puri, Sukkha Puri, Dahi Puri, Nippat Masala, Ompudi Masala, chowchow masala, tomato slice, though peas used for the Masala is all mashed up into a paste unlike the conventional way where it is served separately.

But what is quite distinct is the colourful pani served with Pani Puri. Daily two flavoured panis are served, selecting among the lemon pani, pineapple pani, grape pani, watermelon pani, pudina pani and jain pan, which happen to be the popular ones. The shop is also famous for his dry fruits gulkan.

Exclusively for Dasara, Ramesh plans to introduce, Congress Masala, Bhel Puri, Pudina Bhel, Coriander Bhel, Ghee Bhel, Garlic Bhel in order to provide additional taste for tourists.

When questioned what's special about his Bangarpet Pani Puri, he said that the pani was prepared using Bisleri water and puri's are being brought in daily from Bangarpet through Transport. Women employed under Self Help Groups make this puri. Even the Puri used for Bhel is also brought from Bangarpet as they are very crispy.

`The puris made in Bangarpet are sold in buckets. Every day I need about ten buckets of puri, of which about one bucket of puris are broken during transportation. These broken pieces of puri cannot be used and is fed to cows,' says Ramesh and adds, "Due to some reason if I do not get the Puris, he will close the shop for the day".

The Gulkan made of Dry Fruits sells like hot cake in this shop. The Gulkan sold here is stored in a small earthen pot and kept for a while in the fridge before serving it to customers. All varieties of puri's and Gulkan sold here are priced at just Rs 15.

Ramesh says he will be selling the Bangarpet Pani Puri in the Dasara Food Mela. He has even served them during wedding of Chiranjeevi's daughters and also during former CM Yeddyurappa's Maha Samellan that was heli in Belgaum two years ago. Even actors Mandya Ramesh and Sihi Kahi Chandra have also tasted and given good opinion.

His assistant, 35-year-old Manju, who makes Pani's, says he has 20 years of experience making Bangarpet Puri. He says pani should not be made using tap water and there is a separate procedure to prepare puri.