Aryan Pani Puri (Fry) with Masala, Gol Gappa Kit- 250gm

The Aryan Pani Puri (Fry) with Masala, Gol Gappa Kit is a good option for those looking to make their own pani puri at home. The kit comes with everything you need, including the golgappas (puris), the pani (water), the masala (spices), and the sev (crispy noodles).The golgappas are made with wholewheat flour and are fried to a golden brown color. They are light and crispy, and they hold up well to the filling. The pani is a refreshing and tangy mixture of water, spices, and herbs. The masala is a blend of spices that gives the pani puri its signature flavour. The sev is a crunchy and flavourful topping that adds a nice textural contrast to the dish.

This was a new dish to me, so I can’t speak on how it compares with authentic street food versions. As something a little bit exotic to try something new at dinner time though, we were reasonably happy with the results.The domes don’t stand as perfectly as the pictures would suggest, which is typical of food photography of course, and everything did go a little bit wonky for us despite following what we felt were good instructions. The texture turned out very nicely though, with a light crispiness to them that makes them a bit hard to compare- they’re not quite crisps or poppadoms, they’re not quite pastry. Not too surprisingly considering how much they expand when fried, they are very light.The spice flavouring is a reasonably straightforward blend, but for our family’s palates, it had a bit too much of a kick to it. It did feel like one of those spice mixes that was aggressively spicy just for the sake of it, rather than complex and interesting, and for me it detracted from the unusual textures and shapes of trying pani puri. If I had a chance to restart from the beginning, I’d push the spice mix to one side and experiment a bit with adding some other flavours- I feel these would work just as well with sweeter tastes, maybe mango chutney for example, though I appreciate some people won’t appreciate the non-traditional approach.The current asking price for 250 grams is eight quid, which is far too high for what’s actually in here, and the ingredients involved. It is an interesting sampler kit for convenience and for someone like me to whom it was a new dish, but for regular use or for feeding a whole family, the value doesn’t feel great. I’m up for trying new things, but at that price, it feels like a one-and-done purchase rather than something that’ll regularly go on the grocery list.