This Is How Your Favorite Evening Snack Bhel Puri Once Caused Death Of A British Chef!
India has been considered a country of rich culture and traditions. But, there is another aspect that defines the country and that is food. Combining all tastes possible, Indian cuisine is bound to satisfy every food lover.
India is rich in terms of culture, tradition and spirituality. But there's one more thing which defines it and that is food. A palate of delectable cuisines, India has got everything that satiates the tastes buds of a food connoisseur.
From street food to regional dishes, we've got a variety of foods and each one of them has got an interesting anecdote or a legend associated to it
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The fun part about Indian food is that the experimenting with the spices is never-ending. You never know what you may come up with just by adding an extra spice to a dish.
As internationally popular as our food is, there is an interesting story behind one of the most popular street food Bhel puri.
Vietravel
When Britishers came to India, the smell of Indian food couldn¡¯t keep them away for long.
A famous British cook named William Harold, who was sent to India to help with the war efforts, was known to be the best in what he did. His dishes being deliciously finger licking, he was made a personal cook of a high ranking officer.
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The officer once got the hold of Bhel Puri, a tasty Indian snack made out of crispy puris, puffed rice, Indian sevs, chilli powder, potatoes, red onion, chat masala, coriander and lemon or mango juice.
It comes in two dishes ¡°versions¡±, spicy or sweet, the taste of which he couldn¡¯t forget and told William to fetch the recipe and mass cook it for the troops the same day.
Wikipedia
Back in the day, as the internet wasn¡¯t there to could come to Harold's rescue, he had to physically go from one vendor shop to another in order to get that perfect Bhel Puri recipe. But every street-food vendor gave him his own version of recipe. With each vendor suggesting the addiction of a different spice, to the potatoes and rice, Harold got annoyingly confused with the different variations of the same dish and returned to his master.
When the officer demanded that William serve him the tastiest dish he had had so far, William told him that he couldn't find the recipe and that the officer would have to make do with French Fries, once again.
The officer got furious and took out his handgun and shot the cook dead. The event sparked mutiny amongst his soldiers who were both fed up with the officer¡¯s cruel and disrespectful ways and in love with William¡¯s heavenly cooking.
York Daily Record
And this is how, friends, the innocent Bhel Puri ended being the cause of the death of a British chef William Harold!