WHICH SNACK WILL WIN YOUR HEART? JHAL MURI VS. BHEL PURI

Are you craving for the tangy, spicy, delicious, and exotic flavors of Indian street food? 

If yes, what better than the mouthwatering Bhel Puri / Jhal Muri?

Spicy tangy bhel puri is delicious Indian street food at its best! Here, crispy puffed rice is tossed with sweet, sour & spicy chutneys. It's then topped with heaps of sev (gram flour vermicelli).

Bhel puri is a relatively healthy snack. It's the perfect snack you can enjoy anytime of the year! The number of bhel puri calories are lower when compared to other street/junk food items. In addition, both bhel puri and jhal muri are super addictive, taste delicious, and are packed with tingling, delicious flavours.

Bhel puri belongs to a class of Indian street foods known as "chaat food." A chaat food hits every taste element (i.e., sweet, sour, and tangy). It has a melange of flavors and textures. Indians across the world love Indian chaat food. Of these, Bhel puri is among the most loved by kids and grownups.

What is Bhel Puri?

Bhel puri is a popular street food from Mumbai. Here crispy puffed rice is tossed with:

• Sweet tamarind chutney
• Spicy green chutney
• Hot, pungent garlic chutney
• Onions
• Tomatoes
• Roasted peanuts
• Sev, and
• Alco chaat masala. 

Once you finish preparation, it is garnished with the following:

• Coriander leaves
• Crunchy sev, and
• Crushed papdis.

There are several types of bhel puri recipe in India. The simplest is the dry bhel, known as sukha bhel. Sukha bhel is made with only one kind of chutney. It's known as sukhi chutney / dry chutney.

The more popular version of Bhel Puri is the geeli bhel (wet bhel). It's made with two or three different kinds of chutneys. These chutneys add that unique spiciness and punch of flavours to the bhel puri. It also turns it into a mouthwateringly addictive snack.

Usually, you will find bhel puri made with just two types of chutneys:

• A sweet tamarind-based chutney, and
• A spicy green chutney

You can use red chili powder instead of using red chutney. But this spicy red garlic chutney elevates regular bhel puri to an unforgettable experience.

You can also buy sweet tamarind chutney from supermarkets if you want. But fresh green chutney makes a lot of difference, so you should make it fresh and use it up within a day or two at the most.

Green chutney provides heat. Usually, the heat level and the flavour of green chilies are more in chaat foods than in the green chutney we usually make to serve with snacks.

For making green chutney for chaat, two types of green chillies are normally used for the flavour and heat – the spicy and the less spicy. However, you are free to add the regular green chutney that you make for snacks like pakode, samosa, etc.

What is Jhal Muri?

Jhal Muri is one of West Bengal's most famous street food snacks. Not only in West Bengal, but this mouthwatering street food is equally popular in Odisha and Bihar too.

In Bengali, the word "Jhal" means "Spicy." "Muri" means "Puffed Rice." Jhalmuri is not just Spicy Puffed Rice; it is much more than that! It's an explosion of flavors, different tastes, and textures tossed together to make a mouthwatering delicious snack. 

Although Jhal Muri originated in Kolkata, it is also very popular in the neighbouring states of Orissa and even Bihar. And not only in India, but it is also very famous and widely consumed in Bangladesh too!

Jhal muri and churumuri are two similar snacks and are very popular in the eastern parts of India.

Jhal Muri is quite similar to Mumbai's Bhel Puri. It is also made from crispy puffed rice. But, the Jhal Muri recipe is a bit spicier than Bhel Puri. 

In Jhal Muri, the crispy puffed rice is mixed with:

• Chopped tomatoes
• Mashed potatoes
• Green chillies
• Masala chana dal
• Salted peanuts, and
• Chopped cucumber.

The above mixture is tossed in sweet tamarind and fiery green chutney. But the actual star of the show is Mustard Oil. The addition of mustard oil (sarson ka tel) gives Jhal Muri its unique flavour.

Jhal Muri is easy and quick to make. It's a spicy and hot street food snack. It is made with the following:

• Puffed rice grains
• Chopped tomatoes
• Onions, and
• A few basic ingredients

The incredible mix of sweet, sour, and spicy tastes in Jhal Muri makes it a mouthwatering snack.

Which is better? Bhel Puri or Jhal Muri?

Well, there's no definite answer to this question. Both Bhel Puri and Jhal Muri are mouthwateringly delicious. Both dishes use almost the same ingredients. The only difference is – they are from opposite sides of India. 

Bhel Puri is spicy and tasty street food. If you are craving spicy 'chaat' food, then Bhel Puri is the easiest dish to make.

Bhel Puri is typically made from crispy puffed rice. It's mixed with:

• Chopped tomatoes
• Green chillies
• Mashed potatoes
• Masala peanuts
• Spices
• Papdi, and
• Nylon sev

The above ingredients are then tossed with sweet tamarind chutney and lightly spicy green chutney. Finally, it's garnished with chopped coriander.

The delicious, lip-smacking, tangy bhel served with crushed papdi and crunchy peanuts and sev makes for the perfect evening snack.

Now, if you find making Bhel Puri or Jhal Muri too daunting or are in a rush, don't worry. You can make equally (if not more!) delicious Bhel Puri with Alco's Chaat Masala. You can also make lip-smacking Jhal Muri with Alco's Jhal Muri Masala. These two masala powders give instant mouthwatering Bhel Puri / Jhal Muri without you breaking into a sweat working with all ingredients required for making these street foods.

Besides Alco Aloo Chaat Masala and Alco Jhal Muri Masala, Alco Foods offers a vast range of masalas and instant gravy mixes. Try our products, and your food will be next-level delicious!