Chennai alleyway street food

After catching ae bus, then another from Mamallapurum to southern Chennai, I idled in alleyways; anything to avoid the roar of traffic on the main road.

Street stall offerings, Chennai

When I’d first arrived in the noisy Tamil Nadu city, I’d eaten pani puri. There was one more snack I had to sample before I left, bhel puri. This was my first taste of street food because I didn’t want to catch the dreaded Delhi belly.

Would my stomach survive, I asked myself as I watched his unwashed hands chop up onion and tomato? Too bad anyway, I thought, because I couldn’t resist. Luckily, I still have a cast iron stomach.

Pani puri