Today, Google Doodle celebrates the much-loved street food pani puri. Pani puri needs no introduction for Indians. Known by different names in different regions of the country, this lip-smacking street food is loved by all. Whether you call it pani puri or golgappa or even phuchka for that matter, the mere sight of this dish magically draws people towards itself no matter wherever you are. 


How Is Pani Puri Made?


This popular South Asian street food is made of a crispy wheat or semolina shells stuffed with spicy potatoes, chickpeas, chillis and flavoured water. There’s a variety of pani puri for everyone’s taste buds today, made by creating different flavours of water. Owing to the creativity of the people or maybe for just some attention, sellers have also created options ranging from chicken pani puri to ice cream pain puri. And then, just when you thought your life was less thrilling, someone came up with Fire Pani puri!


Interestingly, on this day in 2015, a restaurant in Indore made the World Record for serving the most flavours of pani puri by offering 51 options!


Regional Varieties Of Pani Puri:


Delving more into the tantalizing taste of this dish, let's peek into some regional varieties.


In Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, the name pani puri describes the bite-sized street food commonly filled with boiled chickpeas, a white pea mixture, and sprouts dipped in tangy and spicy pani, while in the northern Indian states of Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, and New Delhi, the potato and chickpea-filled treat is dunked in jaljeera-flavored water is called gol gappe or gol gappa.


Coming to puchkas or fuchkas, this name is used in West Bengal and parts of Bihar and Jharkhand, with the key ingredient for this variety being tamarind pulp.


Though there are many different types of filling and pani for everyone's unique palette, there are two things everyone can agree on: eat the pani puri quickly to avoid the puri getting soggy or leaking.


Also a Pro Tip: Open your mouth wide enough to eat your pani puri in one bite (no matter how big it is) to avoid a crumbly mess.


Legend Behind Pani Puri:


Now that you know so much, it's time for some story-telling!


A legend says- the epic Mahabharata proposes that the newlywed Draupadi invented pani puri when she was challenged to feed five men with scarce resources. With just some leftover aloo sabzi (potatoes and vegetables) and a small amount of wheat dough to work with, Draupadi got creative. She filled small pieces of fried dough with the potato and vegetable mixture. Thus, pani puri was created. 


Today's Google Doodle Game:


In today's interactive game Doodle, you are supposed to assist a street seller team in filling orders for pani puri. To keep your customers happy, choose puris that meet their flavour preferences and quantities.


Here’s how to play the game:



  • Go to www.google.com

  • Click on the Doodle that is displayed just above the search bar

  • Choose the mode you want to play in: timed or relaxed

  • Now, help fulfil orders by clicking on the correct pani puri flavour.