Like any other Indian gal, chaats are my weakness. The tangy, sweet, spicy taste does wonders to the tongue and sort of lights up senses. It’s a pleasure from heaven to feast on these delicacies. And pani- puri aka puchaka aka gol-gappe stand out to be the best of chaats. Fried puries of aata/suji filled with the sweet-sour liquid… I can never get enough of them !
When I landed in Bangalore, searching for food joints that serve good chaats was the obvious task. It is hard to please a tongue accustomed to Mumbai style chaats…you see ! I was not sure if I will get the same taste in the land of Idli-dosas (no offence, that’s the image I had before coming here). To my surprise, every sagar joint serves chaats and they are pretty ok save the pani-puries. One is they will give you puries in a plate and the pani in a small bowl. Common… this is the worst way to have them. Real taste is when the guy dips his hands in the water and drops puries in your plate. (If you are too hygiene conscious, pani puri is not the dish for you 
). Also they sometimes put the hot curry in puri instead of potato mixture which is total no-no.
But I have found few places which serve pani-puris the way I like. Here are the places I like to go again and again…
Karthik Sweets – This is small sweet shop on CMH road, opposite to Café Coffee Day. They serve the best pani-puries, I have had till date in Bangalore. If you happen to go there on weekends, you might end up waiting for half an hour just to get in the queue to get the coupon. I assure you, the wait is worth it !
Kolkata Chaat – This is another small place on Jeevanbheema Nagar road, close to Fresh@IndiaraNagar. This guy gives you two options to fill the puri: spicy aaloo mix or boiled chana. Try the chana one sometimes it is yummy !
Anand Sweets – This place was recommended by everyone as best paani-puri place in Bangalore. They serve sooji puries which are not my personal favorite. If you are accustomed to the Delhi style pani puris, you will love this place. Other chats they serve are nice. This place is Kormanagala, at waking distance from the Forum.
Adiyar Anand Bhuvan – This place is again on CMH road, near to the Karthik sweets. It is more famous for the south Indian delicacies the serve. Ghee masala dosa here is yum! But the chats are also good. And the pani- puri is not that bad. This is my back up if Karthik is too crowded
I have heard of couple of places in Jayanagar. But it is too far to try out :-).
They had swell chaats though the quantity used to be huge!
Many Adyar Anand Bhavans all over Blr serve chaats and particularly pani puri, but its v southie version of pani puri at times. The filling is not supposed to have curry pattha for God’s sake!
What abt Kanti Sweets, dont they have the pani puri things too? Or perhaps its the puri in a plate version of it!?
And off course the several roadside wallahs! They dont always pass the day-after-test, but they are quite irresistible otherwise!