Food: Gol Guppas

In Chandigarh, my dad's brother (Chacha) and his wife (Chachi) take us to a market for gol guppas. I have no idea what to expect. When we walk up to the vendor stall, there are crowds of people huddled around the gol guppa man. It's dark, there are lights, Punjabi music pounding into the air from somewhere. The crowd huddled around the man each hold a small steel bowl out to him while his hands move at lightning speed.

He picks up a piece of puffed up fried bread - it's about the size of a golf ball, hollow in the center, thin and crispy on the outside. He cracks a hole into the top of it, loads it with a few chickpeas, a tiny bit of cold boiled potato and a generous serving of the gol guppa pani (water) which is flavored with tamarind (imli). He passes them out into the steel bowls like he's a dealer in a casino. You are supposed to pick up the gol guppa and eat it in one bite, then you shove your bowl back toward him and wait for him to hand you another. Standing in the crowd waiting for our gol guppas was like being in a crowd at a sporting event.