India, April 21 -- A quick snack stop turned into a viral moment when Prime Minister Narendra Modi paused for jhalmuri at a roadside stall in West Bengal's Jhargram recently. Stopping his convoy, he turned to the vendor and said, "Bhai, humein apna jhalmuri khilao." Within 24 hours, videos of the snack break crossed 100 million views on Instagram, while Google searches for jhalmuri surged to a 22-year high - pushing a regional favourite firmly into the national spotlight.

The clip shows him watching the jhalmuri being assembled, chatting with the vendor, and insisting on paying for the Rs.10 serving.

A West Bengal classic, jhalmuri is a quick toss of puffed rice with chopped onions, green chillies, peanuts, spices and mustard oil. It's ...