Day 284

Swad Brand Bhel Puri: Even after eating almost 300 days in a row of new food, I still get a thrill when something surprises me, and that was definitely the case with today's entry. I'd never seen anything quite like this bhel puri snack cup thing (another purchase from Patel Brothers in Decatur), and I was eager to give it a try today. From what I could tell, it involved mixing dry and wet ingredients in the cup to create an on-the-go snack option, but this was much different from the canned tuna/mayo/crackers option most of us are used to.

Once I opened the lid, I found 2 sealed plastic bags. One contained the "bhel mix" dry ingredients (puffed rice, gram flour, bengal gram lentil, and some spices), while the other contained the "3 in 1 chutney" (water, sugar, dates, and a ton of Indian spices). There was also a plastic spoon/napkin included, but I opted for a real spoon.

As instructed on the package, I poured the dry contents into the cup, then mixed that with the chutney. I have to admit that the concoction didn't smell good at first - kind of a sulfur-y, hard boiled egg odor that wasn't at all appetizing. It didn't look appealing either, but that's often the case with a lot of things I've tried. I never let things like that stop me, so I dove in.

Fortunately, it tasted much better than it smelled/looked. The puffed rice crackled just like Rice Krispies, and the sweet, spicy chutney actually tasted pretty good mixed with the crunchy elements. In addition to the puffed rice and dried lentils, I also spotted some circular discs that looked like Town House crackers. I should add that this stuff had some significant heat, and I had to grab some water to cool down after only a couple bites. Overall, I liked it, and I can see why this would be a popular portable snack.

More of my finds from Patel Brothers to come over the next few days - hope you guys like Indian!