Upping the jhaal muri stakes, the merrier

How does one make a lip-smacking hors d'oeuvre like jhaal muri rise above its humble, 'street snack' tag? For one, by calling it an hors d'oeuvre. Even though the delish mixture of muri - puffed rice, for those who prefer dumbed-down descriptors - mustard oil, minced onions and green chillies, lemon juice and Ingredient X is a stand-alone khaana, it whets the appetite instead of quenching it. For another, as Mamata Banerjee (somewhat) did at her mammoth rally in Kolkata on Thursday, by bringing the concoction to national attention. Banerjee used the muri - minus the jhaal - now under the thrall of GST, to castigate the central government. Explainers have already appeared in the national media about what the muri/murmura is to a pizza demographic.

The other option is to use the age-old strategy of getting (White) Western approval. After all, jhaal muri became popular among the Bengali bhadralok only after migrant Bihari vendors started selling it as chatpata snacks to American GIs posted in Kolkata during World War 2. Only then did this popular 'underclass' dish, popular in Bihar, Odisha and non-metropolitan Bengal, become the go-to chomp. A Brit named Angus Denoon has tried to popularise it in London. But it remains 'hippie food' there. Perhaps the jhaal muri just needs a classy brand ambassador, like....