Google Doodle celebrates popular street food pani puri with interactive game

On July 12, 2015, a restaurant called Indori Zayka and Dainik Bhaskar achieved the World Record for serving the most flavours of pani puri by offering 51 options.

Google on July 12 celebrated one of India’s most loved street food pani puri with a fun interactive game. On this day in 2015, in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, a restaurant called Indori Zayka and Dainik Bhaskar achieved the World Record for serving the most flavours of pani puri by offering 51 options, Google wrote in its blogpost.

Describing pani puri (also known as phuchka, gup-chup or gol gappa) as a popular South Asian street food made of a crispy shell stuffed with potatoes, chickpeas, spices, or chilis and flavoured waters, it said that there’s a variety of pani puri for everyone’s taste buds!

One can play the interactive Google Doodle by helping a street vendor team fill orders for pani puri. You can choose the puris that match each customer’s flavour and quantity preference to keep them happy and earn points.

Different names across India

This snack goes by different names, as there are many regional variations that exist across India. 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 pain, Google wrote.

In Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, and New Delhi, the potato and chickpea-filled treat dunked in jaljeera-flavoured water is called gol gappe or gol gappa. The name puchkas or fuchkas is used in West Bengal and parts of Bihar and Jharkhand, with the key ingredient for this variety being tamarind pulp.

It added that 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, and always eat it in one bite to avoid a crumbly mess.