Pani Puri Masala

I'm continuing to document the vegan meals I eat. Here's a simple veggie burger with sautéed mushrooms and onions, spinach and a few home fries. And tea, of course. What makes my mouth water for this meal is the simple addition of pani puri masala sprinkled on the vegetables.

In Urdu, pani is water, puri is a crisp fried bread, and masala is [spice] mixture. Pani puri masala is a combination of white salt, black salt, black pepper, chilis, tamarind, and maybe mint, ginger, caraway, asafaetida, or whatever. It's salty, sour, and spicy hot all at the same time. Traditionally it's added to a bowl of water into which stuffed puris are dipped before eating. You pop the whole dripping business in one bite and get an explosion of flavors and textures inside your mouth.

But of course you can also add this particular masala to anything else you want. When I'm too lazy to cook, I sometimes just microwave a potato and season it with butter and a generous layer of pani puri masala. I have enough Irish and Polish in me to know I could live on potatoes if I had to. And a wide enough acquaintance with spices to make that diet delicious.