The Oriental spice, the Italian richness and the sharp Mexican tang. Enclosed within the comfortingly familiar shell of the humble pani puri. The Festival of Balls at Gangotree, Mantri Square, is a vivid celebration of flavours, and of course, pani puri. The 10-day festival starting today features out-of-the-box takes on pani puri and rasagullas. There are eight different varieties of pani puri.
The international segment comprises the flavours of China, Italy, Mexico and Europe, while the national segment carries the flavours of Delhi, Calcutta, Mumbai and Bangalore.
While the Indian pani puris boast of nothing particularly extraordinary, the international section is a spectacular plethora of authentic flavours. The popularity vote here appears to be in favour of the Mexican and European flavours, both of which explode with piquant zest, and literally caper on the Indian palate. Raj Sethia, owner of Gangotree, says: “I made all these sauces myself”.
When asked about his inspiration for such a unique food festival, he says “When I travel, I taste so many different kinds of pani puri in India, and I realise that each place has its distinct flavour. And I wanted to incorporate international flavours as well, so people could try varieties of food. This was a challenge and I just had to do it!”
The rasagullas are incredibly appetising in their own right, and here again there is a play of form and flavour. Among the seven diverse kinds of rasagullas, the coffee rasagulla is singularly quirky and scrumptious, with the pungent hit of coffee in the very first bite. The pomegranate rasagulla is fruity and acidic, and another crowd pleaser.
Indeed, the Festival of Balls revolves around innovation and invention in many standards. The pictures of various monuments from various countries dangling from the ceiling sets the tone of cultural diversity.
And with a reasonable price range, and delectable food all around, this kicks off 10 days of blissful munching for all foodies!
