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Foodies' delight

There is a considerable rise in the breed feasting on junk food, discovers K.N. MURALI SANKAR

PHOTO: RAJU. V.

HOT `N' SPICY It has a tantalizing aroma.

Susmitha and Sravani quickly gulp pani puris, leaving their friends Pavani and Sirisha to eagerly wait for their turn. It takes a fraction of a second for the girls to empty the plates in their hands. Notwithstanding constant efforts to educate people on health issues, the breed feasting on sticky trashy fast food is growing by the day.

"I don't think that this is something very serious to ponder upon. After all, we don't eat this stuff daily. We know where to draw the line," says Sravani. The chaat bhandar adjacent to Nilgiris Super Market on Mahatma Gandhi Road becomes the destination of many college-going youngsters after the classes. Carrying their bags on their back, they merrily head towards these centres offering ready-to-eat food (read as junk food) to feast on mouth-watering items like pani puri, cutlet, ragada, pakoda, samosa, mirchi bajji, vada and punugu. The eateries make perfect venues for the young crowd for a light chitchat session. Mobile outlets dotting the stretches of almost all the main roads in the city are a big temptation even for the health-conscious lot.

Choices galore

"The aroma wafting from the frying pan makes the mirchi bajji an irresistible delight. Everyday I decide it to be last time but find myself drawn towards these pushcarts as the sun sets," says Srikar sharing hot mirchi bajjis with his colleague Vishnuvardhan at a roadside eatery in Moghalrajapuram.

"Mirchi bajji stuffed with chopped onions is mouth-watering. Some add red chilli powder and lemon juice for stuffing," says he least bothered about calorie count. "I am in my thirties. After 10 years, I cannot eat this stuff. Why should I deprive myself of this pleasure a decade in advance?" he says matter of factly.

Punugulu, a typical Andhra snack, is the favourite of many. "Mirchi bajji spices up the mood in rainy season. But punugulu go well in any season," says Chandana, a student of Siddhartha College of Arts and Sciences, relishing the tiny crisp balls fired in oil, at a shop in front of her college. "I am more than happy to feast on these snacks whenever I skip my lunch," says Anitha who feels that it makes a balanced diet.

Diet at bay

"There are not many good chaat bhandars in the city offering good stuff. When it comes to bajji, the stalls are plenty," observes Rishi who is new to the city.

"It is fun to watch college guys and girls digging into these snacks and playing pranks," says A. Satyanarayana, whose Golden Tea Shop near P.B. Siddhartha College of Arts and Sciences is swarmed by youngsters every day. Buoyed by the demand, he recently extended his tea stall and opened a snacks section also. "When it rains, the place gets crammed and our workers have tough time catering to the needs of the huge crowds," he says. "Despite tough competition, several new eateries are popping up across the city. But ultimately it is the quality and taste of the stuff you serve that decides your place in the market," Satyanarayana explains.

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