If you’re a desi at heart, you’ve enjoyed Bhel Puri more than once in your lifetime. Usually cherished by the street side, this chaat dish is every foodie’s favourite savoury snack made by using puffed rice, onion, tomato and various chutneys. We are very used to watching the street vendors whip up a delicious plate of Bhel Puri in under a minute and the snack is extremely commonplace for Indians. Therefore, when MasterChef Australia’s contestant Sarah Todd made a Bhel Puri dish in the 10-minute pressure challenge, Indians waited with bated breath to see how the judges react to the dish. However, it turned really funny, really fast when a Twitter user named Pratyasha Rath shared the detailed version of the entire incident to her social media.
As one can see from the twitter user’s tweet, MasterChef Australia’s judges almost had a euphoric reaction to the Bhel Puri that Sarah made. Pratyasha tweeted, “Someone made Bhel Puri in Masterchef Australia and the judges were like— ‘You packed such complex flavours into this and the raw onions were amazing and how did you manage to do this in 10 minutes!!!’ Soon Pratyasha’s tweet was flooded by memes and funny comments. Twitter users even reminisced about how Ali Stoner had made an Indian Papdi Chaat dish during MastChef Australia in the past.
Many twitter users poked fun at the judges’ overenthusiastic reaction and joked about the speed at which street food vendors in India make their food. One Twitter user said that the street vendors usually prepare the Bhel Puri within a minute. Another twitter user commented saying, “ask these judges to go to bhel-puriwalas standing outside Churchgate or Chowpatty. These guys make bhel for 20 people in 5 minutes. Many people appreciated that Indian food was appreciated globally. A tweet read, “The beauty of our food…let’s celebrate it.”
In Sarah’s Instagram post, she explained her thought process behind making the Bhel Puri. She said that when she thought about a tasty dish she could make within 10 minutes, Bhel Puri was her first thought. Sarah wrote, “What is the tastiest dish you can make in 10 minutes? First thing that came to mind was Bhel Puri. It is said that a true blue Bhel Puri must be created just before consumption to prevent the puffed rice from getting soggy. And all we have to do is let the taste takes its course." Sarah previously received acclaim for cooking a dish called Goan Vindaloo. The Australian chef even owns two restaurants in India, one in Mumbai and another in Goa.
In an interview to Hindustan Times recently, Sarah opened up about making Bhel Puri and how she has been getting comments on her social media ever since. Sarah shared, “I hope Indians are proud that their humble Bhel Puri is getting the recognition as the flavour bomb it is. How could they (the judges) not love it. Bhel Puri is popular street food and I have eaten it many times in India. I wasn’t surprised to hear the reaction from the judges. in fact, I expected it. I lost my mind eating it for the first time too." She adds, “Hopefully, Aussies will now start making Bhel Puri for breakfast or morning snacks. It may be tasty, but it is also nutritious. Every country has unique dishes that are so common that we take them for granted, but it doesn’t mean they are any less impressive.”