Breakfast in North India is a lavish affair. As and when time permits, people start their day at ease, with something super fried and decadent. Even according to Ayurveda, one should have the majority of food during daylight, and breakfast is not to be taken lightly. One of the usual suspects is puri. It is an Indian flatbread that has been around in India for thousands of years.
According to food historian KT Achaya, the word ‘puri’ is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘purika’, which means ‘filled’. It is eaten for breakfast, and even as a light meal or as a snack with a savoury curry or Bhaji. It pairs well with sweet dishes such as halwa and aamras too. Puris are popular in pujas and religious occasions too, since it is considered Satvik, it is often offered to divine deities, as prasad or bhog. The flatbread is deep-fried and has many versions around the country. One of which is the famous ‘Bedmi Puri’.
What Is Bedmi Puri, And Where Is It From?
Bedmi Puri and Aloo Ki Sabzi is a much-loved breakfast combination in North India. It is a thick, crispy flatbread, with an almost flaky, granular texture, made with Urad Dal, the puri comes with the stuffing of black gram. The delish bread is served hot, with an even more flavourful potato and tomato curry.
Bedmi Puri is relished both in Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Delhi with equal zeal, and there is an unresolved war of sorts about the origins of the dish, some say it is a quintessential Dilliwala Sunday breakfast, some say it hails from UP. We have to admit that there’s a lot of similarity in Delhi and UP’s cuisine, particularly both regions’ penchant for puris and/or similar deep-fried or greasy breads.
Puri is a popular Indian breakfast food
Delhi is renowned worldwide for its Chole Bhature and how can you ignore a whole gully dedicated to Parathas? Scores of people drive down to Old Delhi to shops like Shyam Sweets, especially on weekends, to enjoy authentic Bedmi Puri aur Aloo ki Sabzi. Not just Old Delhi, shops like Shankar Ji Ki Bedmi Poori Kachori have made fortune by selling Bedmi Puri for so many years in Pitampura.
On the other hand, puris do occupy cultural supremacy of sorts in many regions of UP like Varanasi and Kanpur too. Did you know the ancient city of Benaras, was once a place, where people went in the last stages of their lives to attain Moksha, somewhere along the way, it became the bustling city we know today. One of the most significant contributions to the same has been that of the city’s wide and varied heritage. It is next to impossible to find meat in the city, but you will find plenty of Kachoris shops on every street.
The Benarasi Kachoris are essentially just stuffed puris that were originally consumed by people after their daily morning Pujas at the Ganga Ghat. The art of stuffing Puris in Benaras and UP is rather old, and thus it is not so hard to believe, that somewhere down the line these skilled cooks played around with the dough and the fillings too and came up with a dal-based puri, stuffed with well, more dal. Therefore, it is possible that it travelled from UP to Delhi, and is just one of the many popular culinary imports like Galouti Kebab and Biryani. Where do you think Bedmi truly belongs? Do let us know in the comments below.