Varanasi street food

As much as I would like to eat the street food (I would really like to eat the street food!), I heed the doctors advice and do not partake. However, my native friends do, and indulge my requests for photos. Lucky me!

The makings for Bhel Puri

Chaat is a broad category of snacks that contain a combination of foods, flavors and textures. Bhel Puri is one of those chaats. Bhel Puri stands lined the Ghats along the Ganges. We stopped every night for a Bhel Puri snack.

One night, I got to film the process!

Another popular street food is paan. There are different types of paan, and the base for all of them is Betel Leaf. Paan is often eaten after dinner as a digestive and breath freshener. I learned, in my research of paan for this post, that some paans contain intoxicants like Betel nut and tobacco. This paan is the after meal variety.

This "shop" is the size of a pantry cupboard. The shelf in front is lined with bottles and jars of ingredients.

He added a sprinkle of this and a smear of that to the Betel Leaf.

Then he folded it up, and voila!

You pop that whole thing in your mouth and chew it up.

There are little "cupboard shops" like this all over Varanasi in the alleyways that lead to the river.