CHIWDA (A SAVOURY CRUNCHY SNACK)

(A SAVOURY CRUNCHY INDIAN SNACK)

Chiwda is a light, crunchy and an all-time snack. Indians are very fond of tea which is not served alone, it is served with either biscuit (cookies) or a savoury snack etc. This chiwda is a perfect snack with evening tea.

When I was in Kisumu, Kenya, my neighbour lady, who later became a very good friend of mine, gave me this recipe. One day she called me to help her in making chiwda because she was making it on a large scale. I asked her, “why are you making on such a large scale?” She replied, “we Gujaratis like chiwda, it should always be there in the house plus it can last for a long time.” That explanation was good enough for me to understand why she was cooking it on such a large scale. Now I also make a big box of it in my house, because it can last 6-8 weeks on the shelf. In her recipe, she was frying chana dal and brown lentil, after soaking it overnight. But I replaced it with readily available roasted chana dal and skipped the brown lentil because I do not want to add more fried items in the chiwda.

This recipe of mine is a very light version of chiwda. Because out of five main ingredients, I only deep fry two of them. The reason of making it light is that we can eat more or can be eaten anytime.

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

-1/2 kg poha (flattened rice)

-1/2 kg murmura (puffed rice)

-200 grams besan for boondi

-½ kg roasted chana dal

-½ kg raw ground nuts and 2 tablespoon oil

-50 grams roasted cashew nuts

-50 grams roasted sesame seeds

-50 grams raisin (optional)

-200 grams curry leaves

-100 grams slices green chilli (optional)

-one tsp turmeric powder

-salt and red chilli to taste

-Two tablespoon sugar

-Two tablespoon mango powder

-oil for frying

METHOD

FOR MURMURA and CHANA DAL

-Dry roast murmura in a big wok for 5-6 minutes to heat it, turning continuously.

- Dry roast chanan dal in a big wok for 5-6 minutes to heat it, turning continuously.

FOR GROUNDNUTS

• Heat 2 tablespoon oil and roast groundnuts in a frying pan for 10-15 minutes until it turns a few shades darker.

FOR POHA ( flattened rice)

-Heat oil in a wok, add turmeric powder in the oil, when oil is very hot, fry poha in batches.

-It will pop up, then quickly take it out of the oil and leave it on a kitchen paper towel.

- When poha is still hot, add salt, chilli powder, sugar and mango powder.

FOR BOONDI and CURRY LEAVES

• In a bowl, mix a little water in chickpeas flour and make a paste.
• Heat oil in the wok and take the paste in a big spoon and spread it on strainer on top of the heated oil.
• Soon nice round drops of paste will fall on oil.
• Turn the boondi, take it out on a paper towel, when its colour is light brown.
• In the remaining oil, curry leaves and green chillies can be fried, till they change the colour.
• Leave it on a paper towel for 15 minutes.

Mix all ingredients together – poha, murmura, groundnuts, roasted chana dal, fried curry leaves and fried chillies, cashew nuts, raisins and sesame seeds.

When cold, it can be kept in an airtight container, can last on the shelf for 2 months.

This recipe I am sending as my blog entry for Favorite Recipes event.
And also sending for What's with my Cuppa event, and for Remmy's kitchen Anniversary, and for Creative Spark Link Party, and with Tuesday table for February, and inspire me Monday, and for Delectable Flavours.