Reportedly canal boat pilot is making spicy snack (5)
I believe the answer is:
bhaji
'spicy snack' is the definition.
(in Indian cooking)
'reportedly canal boat pilot' is the wordplay.
'reportedly' shows a homophone (sound like).
'canal boat pilot' becomes 'bargee' (someone piloting a barge).
'bargee' is a homophone of 'BHAJI'.
'is making' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for bhaji that I've seen before include "Indian dish consisting of vegetables deep fried in batter" , "fare" , "Indian snack" , "Deep-fried Indian vegetable dish" , "Indian side dish" .)