Let us know about Pani puri during pregnancy. Cravings are very common during pregnancy. Many women often have cravings for something sour and spicy, like gol gappas or pani puris, tikkis and chaat. However, your immune system is very weak during pregnancy and you are more prone to infections. During this time, due to weak immunity, you can also fall ill quickly, so at this time you should not only take care of yourself but also the child growing in your womb. Here we have discussed whether it is safe to eat street food during pregnancy or not along with some safety tips related to it. Read this article completely to know.
Can you have Gol Gappas or Pani Puri during pregnancy?
Although eating golgappas is not forbidden during pregnancy, but eating street food at this time can cause early infections and other problems in your body. If for any reason you fall ill or you get an infection, then you may have to take medicine which is not at all safe for the baby growing in your womb. Apart from this, there are many changes in your body during this period, due to which eating street food at this time can cause heartburn or acidity.
So in early pregnancy you can have panipuri or golgappas and chaat but you need to be careful about how and where it is made.
Some safety tips for eating pani puri/chaat/street food during pregnancy
If you have cravings during pregnancy, the best way to reduce them is by eating home cooked food. However, if you do not know how to cook or just want to eat street food, then you should keep some of the following safety tips in mind;
- If you want to eat something outside during pregnancy, then choose the same place to eat which is clean and hygienic. You can ask someone in your family about where you should eat out, or you can search for it yourself. There is often cleanliness and hygiene in big restaurants and the food there is also of good quality.
- If you are eating something from a place for the first time, then first taste the food there a little bit. If you feel good after eating, then you can eat something from there later also.
- After eating outside food, often drinking water there can make you sick. So whenever you go out of the house, keep your water bottle with you. Apart from this, you can also buy a bottle of water while eating outside food.
- During this time you should avoid eating raw food as it contains many viruses and bacteria and it can make you ill very soon. So don’t buy cut fruits or vegetables or any raw food items from the street and always buy cooked food items.
- Similarly, don’t buy anything with raw eggs from street vendors. During this, you should not eat sandwiches or burgers made of raw vegetables and eggs outside. There is a risk of salmonella contamination in this and it causes diarrhea and vomiting.
- Drinking cold coffee or flavored milkshakes from outside is not recommended. It cannot be said how fresh the fruits and milk used in these drinks are. The ice used in milkshakes may also not be from filtered water. Some vendors use artificial flavors to make milkshakes which are not safe for you and your unborn baby.
- It is also advised not to buy paneer from street vendors during this time. Raw paneer contains bacteria and it is also difficult to detect whether it is fresh or not.
- During this time always eat outside cooked food, like Tikki or Chole Bhature because cooked food has less health problems as compared to raw food. However, if you have acidity or heartburn more often then it is better to stay away from such food.
- Eating chutneys from street vendors, such as mint, chili or tamarind chutney, is not recommended during pregnancy. It is better to buy a packet of tomato ketchup or sauce. The raw ingredients present in the chutney can cause problems like vomiting or diarrhoea.
- Many women have a craving for panipuri during pregnancy. However, if you have a craving to eat pani puri during the rainy season, then more attention needs to be paid as there is a high risk of water getting dirty at this time.
- Although many women have cravings for sour or pungent foods and some women have cravings for sweet foods, such as sugarcane juice. Sugarcane juicer can contain a lot of germs. That’s why drinking sugarcane juice is also not advised during this period.
- Many women also have cravings for ice cream or kulfi during pregnancy. Although if you eat kulfi or ice cream from a street vendor, it is important that you eat kulfi or ice cream of a well-known brand.
- Do not eat fruit chaat bought from a street vendor during pregnancy. If you want, you can cut fruits at home and make fruit chaat by adding some chaat masala, lemon and a little salt to it.
Pregnant women safe chaat recipes
Here are some safe and healthy recipes of chaat that you can eat during pregnancy. Keeping in mind the complete hygiene, we recommend that you eat these recipes only after making them at home. Though many street vendors make these recipes but you have to be careful about what you are eating and it is better to avoid outside food during this time. Let us know how you can make spicy chaat at home;
1. Sprout happened
Material
- Puffed rice or puffed rice – 1 cup
- Steamed Sprouts/Matki Dal – 1/4 cup
- Onion (chopped) – 2 tbsp
- Tomato (chopped) – 2 tbsp
- Potato (chopped) – 1
- Chilli (chopped) – 1/2 tsp (optional)
- Green Coriander (chopped) – 1 tsp
- Tamarind chutney (home made) – 1 tsp
- Amchur/dried mango powder or chaat masala – 1/2 tsp
- salt – as per taste
- peanuts (optional)
Method
- Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well with a large spoon.
- If required, you can add a little more chaat masala.
- Finally, garnish it by adding a little green coriander from above.
2. Sweet Potato Chaat
Material
- Sweet potato (steamed and chopped) – 1 or 2 medium sized
- Amchur powder or chaat masala – 1/4 tsp
- Lemon juice – 1/2 teaspoon
- Rock salt – 1/4 tsp
- Black pepper powder – 1/4 tsp (optional)
Method
- First of all, in a big bowl take the cooked and chopped sweet potatoes.
- Now add mango powder/chaat masala, black pepper, rock salt and mix well.
- Lastly, add a little lemon juice to it and mix it well.
3. Corn and Green Peas Bhel
Material
- Boiled corn – 1 cup
- Green peas – 1/2 cup
- Refined oil – 1/2 tsp
- Cumin – 1/2 tsp
- Turmeric – 1/4 tsp
- salt to taste
- Lemon juice – 1/2 tsp
Method
- First of all, heat some refined oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and let it cook for a while.
- Now add chili and turmeric to the oil.
- Then add corn and green peas and stir it.
- Cover the pan and let it cook on medium heat.
- Finally add some salt to it and mix well.
- Squeeze a little lemon on top of this dish and serve.
As said earlier also you can eat any street food during pregnancy but it is very important to take care of hygiene. Therefore, during this period, we recommend you to eat home-made chaat. However, if you eat something outside during pregnancy and your health starts to deteriorate, then you should immediately contact the doctor.
