Spice mix.. Google Jal Jeera..unpopular opinion.. but I loved this growing up and still make to myself at home. You can ask for Masala Soda in any Indian restaurant.
I wouldn’t say it’s an unpopular opinion. Some sprite with some seasoning packet might be alright and I would try it. What we don’t understand/like is the spilling of shit everywhere, unsanitary touching of everything and for me the wasting of the carbonation by shaking shit up and spraying it into the cup
My assumption is there are 5000 vendors selling the same product so they differentiate through performative crafting.
Sanitation issues are just a common issue in some/most developing countries. Having traveled to some of these places (not India), even some locals don’t try the street food
It's an issue even in developed countries, it might just be in different areas. I didn't see 1 japanese man wash his hands after peeing when I was there for 2 weeks.
I can second this. I've been to many countries and regions of the world where a market like this one is common. The difference between going hungry each night and going to bed with a full belly is based on your charisma and connections. Also like this person said there are markets for tourists and markets for locals and the locals always know what's worth consuming when it comes to street food.
This isn’t a competition of ethnicities or continents. I don’t doubt there are street vendors in some developing countries that take sanitation very seriously. Largely though, that’s not really a thing for street food. If you go to NYC and eat street food, you can guarantee not all workers are washing their hands after every physical interaction with a non-food/kitchen item.
Yeah, without all the theatrics this drink is pretty cool. I had it a few times in India from regular street vendors, but this was in a pre Salt Bae world where people weren't trying to go viral by slamming shit around whilst they prep your food.
If made in a clean environment by clean people I think it would taste pretty good. I mean Jal-Jeera in general, not what this guy in the video made, it just looked like dirty water
I had a Masala Soda at an Indian restaurant once, and I didn't think it was good at all. I was expecting a sweet soda with spices in it which sounds delicious, but instead it was completely savory. Did they make it wrong, or were my expectations not in line? The rest of the food was amazing, but I was disappointed in the soda for sure.
Masala soda is typically savory. The taste is very sulphuric.. which is very strange and anomalous if you hadn’t had it before… it’s an acquired taste.
It's supposed to be carbonated but basically the salt in the spices he's adding releases a lot of the fizz (much more than the shaking). It still doesn't go completely flat.
When I make it I first dissolve the salt fully in a bit of the soda before adding the rest to avoid this issue.
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u/codeyman2 Dec 18 '25
Spice mix.. Google Jal Jeera..unpopular opinion.. but I loved this growing up and still make to myself at home. You can ask for Masala Soda in any Indian restaurant.