I cooked Fanta Maggi and Rasgulla Chaat to find out what viral Indian street food tastes like

Never had I felt such anxiety in the kitchen. My mind reeled as I grated a bar of Dairy Milk chocolate onto a three-egg omelette sizzling in a pan with glistening onions, mushy tomatoes and fiery green chillies. A host of taste memories were running through my head. What will this dish be like? Will it be a sweet omelette? Or an eggy chocolate? Putting all doubts aside, I sprinkled generous shavings of Amul cheese into the pan. As the flakes melted into bubbling little springs, it was time for the final flourish – a liberal squirt of Hershey’s chocolate syrup. Finally the omelette was complete but my mind had gone blank.

I had seen the recipe in one of those viral videos on the internet. Videos in which Indian street vendors create quirky, strange and sometimes outlandish inventions that keep Instagram and YouTube humming. Millions watch these videos with disbelief and despair, railing against the absurdity of the gimmickry, the bastardisation of their beloved classics, the vandalisation of their culinary tradition.

Sometimes it does seem a little too much. Like when a vendor folds pulped masala dosa and frozen cream to make an ice cream roll and serves it with spiced potatoes, coconut...

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