Indian Street Food varies from region to region. The street vendors offer hot fresh, lip smacking snacks which are very filling. These foods are popular mainly because they are available at half the price of any restaurant food. Take-out food, junk food, snacks, and fast food are synonymous with street food and all of these can be purchased on the foot path without entering any building.

North Indian Street Food
The typical North Indian street food is Chaat -a generic name for all tangy, spicy not very nutritious delicacies. Chaats like Aloo Tikki Chaat, Fruit Chaat, Samosa Chaat and Kachori Chaat are very deliciously famous. Panipuris, Aloo Tikki, Puri-Subzi, Chola Bhatura, Kulcha Chana, Dahi Bhalla and Pindi Chana are other varieties of North Indian street food available mostly in North India. The dhaba style Punjabi Aloo Parantha is world famous street food of India.

Punjabi Aloo Paratha Ingredients for Dough:
Wheat Flour - 2 cup
Salt to taste
Water as needed

For Filling:
Potatoes - 2 large boiled & mashed
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Chat Masala Powder - 1 tsp
Jeera Powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Green Chilli - 1 chopped
Ajwain - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Take wheat flour, salt and water in a bowl and knead it to a soft dough. Cover and let this rest for 30mins. Now take the filling ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Divide the dough and filling into equal portions. Take two dough balls from it, roll it, now take one roti and place some filling over it and spread it out. Cover with other roti, pinch the sides. Use a rolling pin to roll it thinly. Place the rolled roti on a hot tawa and cook on both sides by applying some oil or butter. Serve hot with hung curd and pickle.

East Indian Street Food
In the Eastern part of the country a typical street food is the Chop which is a version of potato patties, dipped in flour batter and again deep fried. This type of fritters is prepared with various kinds of vegetables which are popularly known as "Telebhaja". It is usually consumed as an evening snack accompanied with Jhaal muri. It is basically a mixture of puffed rice with oil, onion and spices is also very popular in Kolkata. Apart from this chop-muri combination, Ghugni, Ghoti-Garam; a spicy mixture, Aloo Kabli; typical Bengali style chaat and Kulfi are also some street foods that people crave for. The various kinds of rolls and momo are another variety of fast food found in Kolkata.

Alur Chop Ingredients:
Potatoes - 4 medium
Onion - 1 medium
Garlic - 3 cloves minced
Ginger - 1 tbsp minced
Green Chilli - 5 chopped
Chopped Coriander leaves - 1/2tbsp
Roasted Cumin Powder - 1tsp
Red Chilli Powder - to taste
Salt to taste
Vegetable Oil for frying
Mustard Oil a few drops

For Batter
Besan - 1cup
Rice Flour - 1tbsp
Baking Powder - 1/4tsp
Salt to taste
Water - 3/4cup

Method:
Boil the potatoes, peel the skin and mash them. Heat little oil in a kadhai. Add the chopped garlic, minced ginger, the green chillies and the onion. Sauté till the onion wilts and is pinkish brown. Add the roasted cumin powder and red chilli powder and sauté for a minute. Add the mashed potatoes. Add salt and mix the masala well with the potatoes. Do not fry or cook the potato any further. Add a few drops of mustard oil to the potatoes. Let this cool. Make small balls of the potato mixture and flatten them between your palms. Make a thick batter. Heat oil in kadhai. Dip the patties in the batter and gently release in the hot oil. Fry till both sides are golden brown. Sprinkle some rock salt on the patties while serving.

West Indian Street Food
Coming to the Western part of the country is the famous "Vada Pav" which originated in Maharashtra and is the cheapest food that can be found in the sophisticated Mumbai metropolis. It is a masala Vada sandwiched between two buns. It is often referred to as the "poor man`s burger." Masala Chai or spiced tea is also found here. Pav Bhaji, Usal Pav and Misal Pav are other such concoctions which had its humble beginnings as street food but are now also available in restaurants. Some more street foods of the western India are Baida Roti, Brun Maska, Ragda Pattice and Frankie. The Akuri Toast and Bombay Sandwich, Puran Poli and Kanda Poha are the famous breakfast items of the westerns. Maharashtra is also famous for it Bombay Falooda and Bhelpuri.

1. Bhelpuri Ingredients:

•2cups puffed rice
•2tbsp mint cilantro chutney
•2tbsp tamarind dates chutney
•1tsp red chilli chutney
•1 boiled potato, chopped
•Half cup boiled moong beans
•1 tomato finely chopped
•1 onion, finely chopped
•1tsp roasted cumin powder
•1tsp chaat masala
•Half tsp red chilli powder
•Half cup chopped coriander leaves
•Half cup sev
•5-6 broken papris
•2tbsp roasted peanuts
•1tsp lemon juice
•black salt as required

Method:
Firstly, dry roast the puffed rice in a kadai till they become crisp. Let them cool and take them all in a large bowl. Add everything to the puffed rice except sev and coriander leaves. Quickly mix everything. Now lastly garnish bhelpuri with some coriander leaves and sev. Serve immediately.

South Indian Street Food
In the Southern part of India, thattu dosa; a light rice-flour crepe fried in coconut oil and served with coconut chutney. Idli, dosa, vada and uthappam are the common street foods of south. Other street foods include bajji, pazhampori, bisibele bath, spicy omelettes, pork fry, and kotthu paranthas. In Tamil Nadu there is the thalluvandi, the cart in which the foods are sold are similar to Kerala`s thattukada`s popularly called "Kaiyendhi Bhavans".

Medu Vada Ingredients:

•2cups White urad dal
•Half tsp peppercorns crushed
•2 onions chopped
•4 green chillies chopped
•Half tsp onion powder
•A pinch of baking soda
•Oil to deep fry
•Salt to taste

Method:
Soak the urad dal for 8-10 hours or overnight. Next morning grind to make a smooth batter. You may use little amount of water while grinding. Add salt, baking soda, onion powder, crushed peppercorns, chopped onions and green chillies. Heat oil in a pan. Now take a small portion of the batter, make a whole in the center with the help of you thumb and pour directly into the hot oil. Fry these vada"s few at a time until golden brown in colour. Take out on oil absorbent paper and serve with sambar and coconut chutney.

Street food which is found all over India and not restricted to the regions is the samosa although the type of samosas may vary from region to region but the idea of eating samosas with tea is almost same at every region. A deep fried sweet dipped in syrup of North Indian origin, is the jalebi which is now found in more or less all parts of the country. Panipuri is also another world famous street food that has a huge demand among all age groups.

These popular street foods have a local flavour and even foreigners love to gorge on them making the road side eateries a class in it. Their cheap cost and instant availability has made them world famous.