Google Doodle celebrates India's premier street food Pani Puri with a game

The popular street food has many variations and is known by various names across the length and breadth of the country

On July 12, 2015, a restaurant in Indore created a Golden Book of World Records (GBWR) for serving 51 flavours of India's premier street food, pani puri. Eight years later, Google is honouring this feat with a colourful, and an interactive 'pani puri' doodle.

As many as 51 flavours were served at the Vidorra restaurant in Indore, Madhya Pradesh on July 12, 2015.

Search giant Google is celebrating pani puri with a special interactive game, Doodle. In the game, users have to help a street vendor fulfil pani puri orders by helping them choose from different pani puri flavours in order to match the flavour preferences of each customer.

 

Google introduced the new game by terming pani puri "as a popular street food across South Asia. Deep-fried puris are served cold and filled with tasty chutneys and flavoured waters".

Even in the past, Google has created doodles for food items such as pizza, kimchi, strawberries, bubble tea, ice cream, mango, and many others

Origin of pani puri

According to a legend, pani puri was first invented by Draupadi during the Mahabharata. Draupadi married the Pandavas when they were in exile, living with limited resources. Kunti, Draupadi's mother-in-law, asked Draupadi to use leftover aloo sabzi and wheat dough to make something that would satisfy the hunger of all five men. The resulting dish that Draupadi made was a bite-sized pani puri.

Pani puri goes by different names as there are many regional variations that exist across India. In Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, pani puri is a 'bite-sized street food', in which the filling is boiled chickpeas, a white pea mixture, and sprouts dipped in tangy and spicy pani.

In north Indian states such as Delhi and Punjab, this street food is known as 'gol gappas'. Gol gappas are filled with a mixture of potatoes and chickpeas, and paired with jaljeera-flavored water. In West Bengal and parts of Bihar and Jharkhand, the name 'puchkas' or 'fuchkas' is used to describe this snack, in which tamarind pulp is the key ingredient.

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 and complete the orders