A major connection we establish with friends is a connection through shared meals and conversations. Food not only brings people together, but it also helps understand the intricacies of an individual’s experiences, channeled through the medium. This Friendship Day, rewind to your college days and catch up with a friend, while sharing these delicious Indian street food bites.
Pani Puri/Golgappa
Image Credits: My Vegetarian Roots
Hollow, crispy puris filled with a tangy and spicy mint-coriander water, tamarind chutney, chickpeas, and potatoes. Everyone can assemble their own puris and enjoy the burst of flavours or even better, compete silently to see who can eat the most number of puris in the shortest span of time.
Chaat
A generic term for a variety of savoury snacks like aloo chaat (spiced potatoes), papdi chaat or kachori chaat, topped with chutneys, yogurt, and various spices, are a great variety to pick from while engaging in deep conversation. Also pick from a variety of tikkis like potato or peas, and soak them in piping hot chhole, for a lip-smacking evening snack.
Samosa
These triangular pastries filled with a savoury mixture of spiced potatoes, peas, and sometimes other ingredients are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Relive your childhood days with your best friend and share a laugh over racing to the canteen during recess, to grab a samosa, fresh out of the fryer.
Pav Bhaji
A crowd favourite Bombay street snack, pav bhaji is spicy mixed vegetable curry served with buttered buns or pav. Enjoy the curry by garnishing it with some extra butter, because everyone knows that extra butter is equal to extra love for your friend. Squeeze some lemon juice and sprinkle finely chopped onions over it, while playfully fighting over the last piece of pav.
Momos
Although these dumplings originating from Tibet, momos have become immensely popular in India. These are steamed dumplings filled with vegetables or meat, served with spicy dipping sauces that you can pick and choose from, is every winter evening’s fond snack memory. While one of you hold the plate over and the other pierces into a momo with their fork, relish a quality moment together.
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Chole Pattice
This spiced chickpea curry, ladled over crispy-outside, fluffy-inside deep-fried potato patties, are a riot of flavour and can easily feed two people; which means that it makes for a great sharing plate to enjoy with your friend. Top up with sweet and spicy chutneys, sliced onions and dig in, while you catch up on the latest gossip!
Ram Laddu
Image Credits: Manjula's Kitchen
A popular street-side snack in Delhi, these crispy moong dal fritters topped up with grated radish and spicy chutneys, makes for a great light snack to enjoy with a cup of chai for company. Not only do you and your friends get bonus points for picking a nutrition-rich snack, you can all leave with smiles on your faces from having eaten something that feels like a treat.
Chai-Vada Pav
That feeling of hunching over a makeshift stall in the monsoons while the vendor extracted deep-fried, crispy vadas from the hot oil as you sipped on ginger tea! It’s time to bring back the feeling of unadulterated joy and bicker over who’s going to treat the other, with an inexpensive but highly nostalgic Bombay vada pav and cutting chai.
Jalebi-Rabdi
Image Credits: iStock
A sweet and syrupy dessert made by deep-frying batter in pretzel-like shapes and then soaking them in sugar syrup. Jalebi is a popular treat for a sweet ending. Enjoy the contrast between hot and cold sensations with the hot jalebi and the cold rabdi, while you all gleam with joy at indulging in this sinful dessert.
Kulfi Falooda
Want something a little less-sweeter, but diverse in textures and tastes? Opt for a falooda instead. This dessert is a make-it-your-own-way experience where you can choose from different syrups, kulfis and dry fruit toppings. Add a dollop of whipped cream on top for some extra sinfulness.