The quintessential Indian street food, paani puri, has entered the kitchen of MasterChef Australia. Not only did the crunchy-watery delight make it to the judge’s table, but it also left the panel wanting for more. All of this, of course, was possible due to Sumeet Saigal, a contestant of MasterChef Australia Season 16.
As per a recent promo shared by the cooking show on Instagram, Saigal’s presentation of the ‘paani puri’ kept the judges hooked. She showed them the right technique of breaking the top of the puri, and then proceeded to fill it with potato, mint and coriander chutney, another chutney prepared with tamarind and dates and mint water. Once she presented it to them, the reactions conveyed it all!
The video, which has now gone viral, has over 400,000 likes. The 46-year-old also took to Instagram to share her memories about the street food.
“If Indian Street Food and Chaat were a kingdom, Pani Puri would be the ever-reigning Monarch! It is the flag-bearer of Indian Street food! It is where you start (and most likely finish!!)😀,” the MasterChef Australia contestant said.
“My memory of this goes back to my school days of missing the bus, calling home to ask mum to pick me up and heading to this hole-in-the-wall chaat shop in Bangalore to scoff down Pani Puris by the dozen!” she added.
“To watch the judges enjoy the explosion of flavours is pure JOY! To have them taste it and love it, gosh, I am humbled and over the moon!” Saigal posted.
