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6 Min
04/02/2026
Pani puri is one of those street food snacks that double as a meal (woebegone to helicopter parents), as one mouthful of the sour-ish pani-filled puri can make you lose track of time and numbers until your stomach gives you a signal. There’s no doubt pani puri is a North Indian invention, but where exactly and who exactly was behind it is a little bit of an iffy tale. You might think of your local pani puri wala as the inventor, but the tale goes quite back, older than your great-great-grandparents.
India might be a country with a cookbook bursting at the seams, with its vast collection of regional recipes, but when it comes to pani puri, that leaf is missing. But pani puri did survive, through oral recipes and hand-me-down techniques. There are two versions of its origin, one of them linked to popular folklore and the other to ancient Bihar, some 2,000 years ago. It might not have originated like today’s seamless pani puri recipe. Even the experience has changed. It’s quite a nifty experience how pani puri wallas puncture the airy puris and fill them with a mashed and spiced potato mixture, and dunk them in tangy tamarind water. But this was different back in the day.
The most credible source when it comes to the origin of pani puri goes back approximately 2,000 years to the ancient kingdom of Magadha. It was one of sixteen ‘great kingdoms’ or the Mahajanapadas in ancient India. Located in what is now southern Bihar, Magadha was the birthplace of the Maurya and Gupta Empires, where Jainism, Hinduism, and Buddhism developed.
Herein, the historical records from the area note the precursor to pani puri. Back in the day, it was known as ‘phulki’, which was much smaller and crispier puris than the modern ones, and filled with spiced water. There was also a dry filling in these, although it remains unclear. Historians speculate it likely involved some variation of a potato mix.
What made phulki special is that it was a snack that could be made with minimal ingredients, yet it turned out so delicious. Dr Kurush Dalal, a historian, an archaelogist and culinary anthropologist, notes that pani puri might have been an accidental creation, a miniature version of the grand raj kachori that was reserved for royalty. It might have been that, between preparing royal feasts, someone made a small puri to be eaten between other delicacies.
Now, let's shift from actual history to mythology, where pani puri gets a far more dramatic origin story. This one is connected to the Mahabharata, when, after the Pandavas lost their kingdom in a game of dice, they were forced into exile. As the legend goes, Draupadi, newly married to all five Pandava brothers, faced an immediate challenge from her mother-in-law, Kunti.
Kunti gave Draupadi some leftover potato sabzi and a small amount of wheat dough, which was barely enough to make one chapati, and instructed her not let her sons go hungry. What Draupadi did was stretch one flatbread into five portions and roll them into tiny puris and fry them. She filled each with a bit of the leftover potato sabzi and topped them with spicy and tangy water. Kunti was thoroughly impressed by Draupadi and blessed the dish with immortality.
With time, the little pani-filled puris made their way across the country, and each state made it its own. Mumbai kept the name and continued serving it with tangy and spicy tamarind water mixed with spices. Head to Delhi, and you will find the locals eating ‘gol gappa’, where the puris are slightly larger, and the water tends to be sweeter and spicier than Mumbai's version.
Travel east to West Bengal and Bihar, and you’ll encounter ‘puchka’, where the puris are just about big enough to make your jaws hurt. The filling is a mix of potatoes, chickpeas, and refreshing tamarind water. The water in the East often includes the distinctive touch of black salt (kala namak) and sometimes raw mango powder (amchur).
In Gujarat, pani puri is called ‘pakodi’, while in Odisha, locals know it as ‘gup chup’. Uttar Pradesh calls them ‘pani ke batashe’, literally translating to ‘water bombs’, perhaps the most accurate description of what happens when you pop one of these into your mouth.
While these are the main variants, when it comes to the names, pani puri is essentially the same; it's just the ingredients that differ slightly, and the dish could have one dominant flavour — spicy, sour or sweet. Some regions use sprouted moong beans, matar; others add boondi or pomegranate seeds too. There are sweet chutneys, spicy chutneys, cilantro water, and mint water – the variations are endless.
Nothing beats standing around a street vendor’s cart, watching puris being prepared, chatting with strangers or making awkward eye contact with them. It's affordable enough for students spending their last rupees, yet beloved enough to appear at wedding buffets and fancy restaurants. It brings together people across class, caste, and regional boundaries in a way few other foods can.
