‘Pizza Bhaturas’ Video Shocks and Confuses the Internet

New Delhi, October 17, 2025: A recent social media video, which was filmed on the streets of Italy, has caused a massive online uproar. The footage, which was shared widely, shows a street vendor preparing what was controversially titled “Pizza Bhaturas,” immediately triggering strong reactions ranging from disgust to bewilderment among viewers, especially those familiar with the traditional Indian bhatura.

Anatomy of the Fusion

The viral clip details a unique cooking process. A round piece of dough, seemingly made from the same refined flour (maida) used in bhaturas, is flattened. It is then topped with a generous layer of pizza sauce, various spices, chunks of chicken, pepperoni, and a heavy scattering of cheese.

Crucially, this mixture is not baked as a typical pizza would be; instead, it is covered with a second layer of dough, effectively sealing the ingredients inside. This stuffed pocket is then dropped into a cauldron of hot oil, where it is deep-fried until it puffs up and turns golden-brown, strongly resembling the North Indian bhatura in appearance. Once cooked, the dish is cut in half to reveal the gooey, melted pizza filling.

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Does the Dish Really Exist?

The confusion surrounding the dish’s true identity was quickly brought to the forefront by netizens. While the vendor’s deep-frying technique and the outer appearance were compared to the Indian bhatura, many Italian food enthusiasts and knowledgeable users pointed out the similarity to a classic Italian street food.

The dish is believed to be a variation of the Calzone or possibly Pizza Fritta (fried pizza), a traditional Neapolitan street food. A Calzone is described as a folded pizza in the shape of a half-moon, which is typically baked, but sometimes a smaller version is fried.

Another Italian staple, the panzerotti from Puglia, is also characterized as a small, stuffed, and deep-fried savory turnover, further suggesting that the preparation is not an unprecedented culinary fusion but a regional variant of existing Italian cuisine, mistakenly labelled with an Indian name for viral appeal. The term “Pizza Bhatura” is understood to have been arbitrarily assigned to the video to highlight the deep-fried, puffed appearance familiar to Indian viewers.

The Internet’s Strong Reaction

Reactions on social media were sharply divided. By many purists, the deep-frying of a pizza-like base was condemned as an unholy culinary combination and a travesty against both Italian and Indian food traditions. Comments were posted expressing deep “disgust” over the oily nature of the final product.

Conversely, others were intrigued by the idea of a deep-fried, stuffed pizza and expressed a desire to taste it. The debate over its name—whether it should be called a Calzone, Panzerotto, or simply a “fried pizza”—has also been fuelled by the video. Ultimately, the controversial preparation has been added to the long list of fusion foods that simultaneously disgust and fascinate the global online audience.