Love Bhelpuri? We picked two of the most popular brands (Haldiram’s and Garden) selling ready-to-eat Bhelpuri Mix and did a taste-based face off. And without hesitation, we can tell you that Haliram’s Bhelpuri mix, is tastier and cruncher and our Top Pick.
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Mishry Top Pick: Haldiram’s Bhelpuri
Haldirams Namkeen, Bhelpuri, 200 g
Haldiram Bhel Puri has a balanced sweet-sour-spicy flavor, it is crunchy, has lots of peanuts, and papdi added to the mix.
Why Is Haldiram’s Ready-To-Eat Bhel Puri Our Top-Pick?
Haldiram’s Bhelpuri has an authentic and natural taste. It’s delicious, and the balance of sweet, spicy, and sour is spot-on. On a day when you don’t have access to freshly made Bhelpuri, this is a perfect replacement. All Haldiram’s Bhelpuri has a powder mix, which when mixed with roughly 50ml of water gives you a delicious sauce that brings everything together.
Bhelpuri can become soggy and mushy pretty quickly. There are three reasons why Haldiram’s Bhelpuri maintains that crunch for a longer time.
1. A large number of peanuts: In comparison to Garden’s Bhelpuri, we found that Haldiram’s Bhelpuri has far more peanuts. Lots of peanuts are so crucial to a good bhel!
2. In addition to some sev already being a part of the namkeen-mix, Haldiram’s Bhelpuri also provides an extra pack of sev that is meant to be sprinkled on top, in the end and is key to keeping the Bhelpuri crunchy for longer.
3. Lastly, the addition of small pieces of papdi helps to deliver that extra crunch, which ultimately enhances the whole experience.
Garden’s Ready-To-Eat Bhel Puri
Even after tasting good, Garden Bhel puri didn’t level-up alongside Haldiram’s. The overall flavor leaves you wondering if it could have been a bit more balanced. Despite the three different chutneys that come with the pack, the outcome doesn’t blend well together. Also, the chutneys are attached to the inside of the packet, so if you are cutting it open from the top, be careful that you don’t cut the chutney packet.
The Contenders
Haldiram’s Bhelpuri
It is available in a 200 g pack and costs around Rs. 42, it comes with a separate packet of powdered chutneys, which is supposed to be first diluted in water and then added to the mix.
It is best before 5 months of packaging. The product contains wheat and peanuts (should be avoided by people suffering from gluten or peanut allergy).
Garden Bhel Mix
This instant bhel puri mix comes in a 230g pack that costs about INR 65/-. Like its competitor, it comes with chutneys, three in number (tamarind, garlic, and chili), and all of which can be directly added to the mix.
It is best before 4 months of packaging. The product contains wheat and peanuts (should be avoided by people suffering from gluten or peanut allergy). It contains preservatives and added flavor (nature-identical flavor substances).
Our Review Process:
Bhelpuri is a popular Indian snack, and in several parts of the country, evening tea-time or a rainy day snack would be unthinkable without a plate of Bhelpuri. Such is the love for this snack, that you even get these in easy-to-carry home packs, compete with chutneys and masalas. This, of course, isn’t new and these have been sold in grocery stores for years now.
How We Tested:
For this face-off, we tasted two bhelpuris from two of the most popular brands, namely Haldiram’s and Garden. Haldiram’s Bhelpuri was picked as our top pick, for an overall balanced flavor and texture. Since bhelpuri is a snack that’s enjoyed occasionally, we decided to review the two products based on their taste alone, rather than their impact on one’s health. Thus the calorie content, or any other nutritional information, had no effect on our result.
The bhelpuris were prepared as per instructions on the packets, which were easy to follow in both cases. We added chopped onions, tomatoes, and freshly boiled potato chunks to the mix to get a real experience. The two brands were tasted side by side – to come up with the eventual results.
Conclusion
Based on the taste test, Haldiram’s Bhelpuri emerged as the better among the two. It is rich in taste, contains the right amount of ingredients, has a flavor-packed consistent chutney, and not to mention the additional crunch that the extra packet of sev offers.
Haldirams Namkeen, Bhelpuri, 200 g
Haldiram Bhel Puri has a balanced sweet-sour-spicy flavor, it is crunchy, has lots of peanuts, and papdi added to the mix.