Golgappa Shots

An Indian dish, reimagined with vodka shot glasses

A golgappa seller, busy at work, loading and serving the popular spice-filled spheres to a customer with a bowl in their hand. Author’s picture.

The golgappa vendor and server at a street food stall in my city. Photos by the author.

I’m no stranger to the golgappa – a deep-fried sphere of wheat flour, filled with potato and chickpea, spices, and salt, and then topped off with a tamarind spiced liquid to be popped directly into the mouth.

Golgappas are usually served and eaten right away, necessitating the server to be hands-on, and available to make and serve each mouthful.

There’s even a joke about how, in front of a Golgappa store, you’ll see rich and poor alike with empty bowls waiting to be fed.

This is why, if you’re in a restaurant, you’re unlikely to see a golgappa item on the menu and if you do, it’s a fiddly business getting the potato chickpea masala into the golgappa, and then the tamarind water into the golgappa before the pop! into your mouth.

One restaurant has managed to solve the issue by creating golgappa/Puchka shots.

Golgappa/puchka shots. Author’s photo.