Which is healthier – bhel puri or pani puri?
Many a times my clients ask me “Which is healthier — bhel puri or pani puri?” so here we bring you the calorie count and nutritional content of these two popular snacks.
Pani Puri1 plate (6 pieces, 475 calories) (12.5 gm fat)
Pani Puri is usually the filling consist of a mixture of boiled and mashed potato, boondi, boiled moong or chana or vatana (ragda), a spicy/ tangy mint chutney and a sweet chutney usually made of tamarind and jaggery.
The puris which are deepfried and so is the boondi, the main contributors to the high fat content of this meal.Also other ingredient like potato is primarily starchy
The only healthy contributors are moong and the chana or ragda which provide some amount of protein,although not really in sufficient quantity to derive these benefits.
The oil that is used for frying the puries may also be the kind that is not too heart-friendly i.e saturated fat.
Most people are surprised to know that Pani Puri can be a source of high fat calories, “Kaise the main ingredient tho theeka pani he hai na” is what generally people feel.
Again you don’t feel really satisfied even after eating 2 plates(12-15 pieces)of pani puri right; you generally tend to overeat, and may end up consuming 1,000 calories and still not feel full!
Bhel Puri1 plate (320 calories, 6 gm fat)
It usually is made of kurmura or puffed rice, sev, puri, peanuts, channa, some farsan like channa dal and two kinds of chutneys — spicy and sweet.
The main culprit that contributes to the calories is the farsan, puri and especially the sev that is mixed into the bhel and generously sprinkled as garnishing.
Important thing to check with these kinds of chat is the sodium content in both these dishes which is quite high.
Some alterations you could make
Indulge into your favourite fast food once in a while without going overboard with the calories.
For Pani Puri, take more of the boiled moong, chana or ragda.
For bhel skip or reduce the sev and make the bhel with just kurmura and chutneys. Add one or two khakhra to this mix for crispness. Believe me, you won’t even notice there is no sev once the chutneys are added.
Try adding boiled or sprouted moong, dalia
If you don’t like these alterations, indulge once in a whileand exercise regularly.