Bhel is often identified as a 'beach snack', strongly associated with the beaches of Mumbai, such as Chowpatty or Juhu. One theory for its origin is that it was invented at a restaurant called Vithal near Victoria Terminus. According to another theory, bhelpuri was conceived by the city's Gujarati community, who made it by adding complex flavours to the simple North Indian chaat. Gujarati housewives began making it, and invented several varieties like the pakodi puri, and as it grew in popularity so many different communities made their own regional variations.
