Guides to traditional Indian snacks in the UK: Gujarati namkeen, sev, gathiya, chevda, pharsi puri and papdi, what makes them authentic and how to enjoy them.
Gathiya looks simple from the outside – fried gram-flour strands, pale gold, sold in bags labelled with a dozen slightly different names. But anyone who grew up in Gujarat, or who’s spent time in a Gujarati kitchen, will tell you gathiya isn’t one thing. It’s a category, and within that category, Bhavnagari gathiya occupies its…
Every Gujarati household has a Diwali routine, and most of them start with the same question a week before Dhanteras: what are we putting out for guests this year? Some families still fry their own chakri and para. Most, especially in the UK, don’t have the time or the kitchen space for it anymore. That’s…
Order it in Mumbai and it’s pani puri. Ask for it in Delhi and you’ll hear golgappa. Cross into Kolkata and it becomes puchka. Head to Hyderabad or parts of the south and you might hear gup chup. Four names, four regions, four sets of people who’d each insist their version is the real one…
In the UK and looking for Diwali snacks that taste like home but feel lighter? Explore Gujarati snack combos, nut boxes and healthier festive picks.
Ask most people outside Gujarat what Indian breakfast looks like, and they’ll picture something sweet – a laddoo, a bowl of sheera, maybe a paratha with jam. Ask a Gujarati household, and the answer is almost always the opposite. Breakfast in Gujarat is savoury, spiced, and built around a category of food that doesn’t have…
Bonfire Night has its own menu in most British homes. Jacket potatoes wrapped in foil, sausages in a bun, toffee apples, a slab of parkin if someone’s gran is involved. It’s warming food for a cold night, and it works. But if you’ve ever stood in a park on 5 November holding a soggy hot…
Every Gujarati household has a Diwali routine, and most of them start with the same question a week before Dhanteras: what are we putting out for guests this year? Some families still fry their own chakri and para. Most, especially in the UK, don’t have the time or the kitchen space for it anymore. That’s…
Ask someone in Britain to name an Indian snack and there’s a good chance they’ll say Bombay mix. Ask an Indian family and you may get a puzzled look, because in India nobody calls it that. If you’re typing “Bombay mix UK buy online” into a search bar, this guide explains what it really is,…
Look along the shelf of any Indian food shop and you’ll find a dozen bags labelled sev. They all look like golden tangles of fried gram flour, yet they taste and behave very differently. If you’ve been wondering how ratlami sev UK shops sell differs from nylon sev, and which one belongs in your basket,…
Walk into a Gujarati kitchen before Diwali and you’ll smell it before you see it: sesame, cumin and hot oil, with a coil of dough sizzling in the pan. Ask the family what they’re making and they’ll say chakri. Ask a Maharashtrian neighbour and you’ll hear chakli. Ask a friend from Chennai and it’s murukku….
End of content
End of content
Don't have an account yet? Sign up
No items in your cart. Go on, fill it up with something you love!
Start Shopping Now
