Friday, May 12, 2006

Snack Happy!

Don't we all love to snack once in a while or several times in a while? Unfortunately, most sought after snacks in the Indian cuisine are heavy for the belly - being deep fried most of the time.
Chivda is a wonderfully crispy and delicious snack made from crunchy beaten rice flakes (Poha). It can be considered healthy with oodles of peanuts, dry coconut and seasame seeds. It is not deep fried, but you may decide to add more oil to crisp up the dish more.

The list of ingredients may seem long, but it comes together before you can say ... it's tea time. Ok not that quick, but you know what I mean :)

Traditionally the beaten flakes are sun dried inorder to crisp them. Us urbanites can achive a similar effect by roasting in the oven. I personally prefer the toaster oven, where the heat is more uniform and is faster than the regular oven. I usually divide the poha into small batches and toast in the oven for about 2.5 mins each batch

Roasted rice flakes batch

Roast them twice for an extra and long lasting crunch.

Bringing the ingredients together - Clockwise from the top - minced green chilies, dry coconut, peanuts, broken cashews, curry leaves, dalia. In the center, sesame seeds and mustard seeds

Chivda
2 lbs thin Poha (beaten rice)Roast in small batches in a toaster oven. About 2.5 mins per batch.
6 tbsp oilHeat oil in a big pan (enough to fit all ingredients)
1 cup roasted chick peas (dalia)Fry till brown in the oil, remove all set aside with the poha
1 cup peanuts and cashews (together)Fry till brown in the oil, remove and set aside
1 cup thinly sliced dry coconutFry till brown on low heat, remove and set aside
2 tbsp oilAdd extra oil to the remaining oil in the pan, and heat.
2 tbsp mustard seeds
3 tbsp sesame seeds
several sprigs of curry leaves
4-5 green chilies minced
Add the seeds, allow to sputter, then add the curry leaves and green chilies. Fry till nicely browned.
1 tsp asafetida
2 tbsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
Add the spices to oil and cook for a few seconds. Add the poha and the other prepared ingredients and mix really well on a slow flame.
2 tbsp sugarAfter the ingredients are well mixed, turn off heat, take the pan off the stove and add sugar. Mix well to incorporate.

Of all wierd and wonderful food combinations, this ones seems outrageous. But Chivda makes a great side to left over cold chappatis :) Enjoy.

I'll be bringing over some Chivda to Meeta's Monthly Mingle and snack while watching the game.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey GM, same pinch ! :-) I just blogged about poha!!! But a sweet poha.

I have never had garam poha! Should try it out. thanks.

Vineela said...

Hai GM,
i do make this poha.Nice demonstration.
Vineela

Anonymous said...

Amma prepares Chivda regularly.Love it!!! Need to try it cold chappatis though..that's new to me for sure but not utterly outrageous..lol

Anonymous said...

mmm..believe it or not, I just made myself a cup of tea and sat down to blog..oh, how i wish I had this chivda to go with my ginger chai!!!

chivda and cold chappatis??? I have to say I've never heard of that before. interesting indeed :-)

cheers!

Ashwini said...

So I am not the only one with weird food combo love :-) Chivda is a lovely tea time treat

GourmayMasala said...

LG: Ouch :) Thanks, great minds think alike, no?

Vinnela: Thanks!

Sailu: Amma's chivdas ofcourse belong to a whole new league :) Do try the cold chappati combo... not as wierd as curd rice and bananas :-D

Saffron: Thanks! Come over for chivda anytime. I've made a big batch

Ashwini: You too? Do tell me what kind of wierd combos you indulge in :)

Anonymous said...

Hi!

I do chivda sometimes too. But I roast the poha in a kadai generally. Roasting the poha in oven was interesting to me, as I tht it would same some energy. I have the regular oven. Can you tell me at what temperature do I have to set my oven? and also for how much time. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

I never thought I think about doing chivada at home, but now after your fine presentation ... I am definitely gonna try it!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Kitchenmate said...

Never tasted it, may be i would love to try it...

Lakshmi said...

i made this chivda on saturday itself, wow tasted so good.
Thanks for the lovely post.

GourmayMasala said...

Anon - I've not used the conventional oven to crisp the poha. But you can experiment by spreading a thin layer of poha on a cookie sheet and baking for 5 mins at 250 F. Add more time if you like it crisper. Keep an eye on it though. You should get good results from the oven also.

Anjali - Thanks! Do try it. Chivda is not as intimidating as it looks :)

Kitchenmate - Thanks! Try it once and you'll make it often

Lakshmi - I'm so glad you tried it. Glader that you liked it too. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

GM, your Chivda, Looks so good ....never gave a thought of making this, It's so simple and not to mention "tasty " too ...a snack for rainy days ahead....Monsoon has set in and It's time to get Chivda stuffed into the box :)

Anonymous said...

Excellent work in presenting Chivda recipe...just stumbled on your blog and would love to visit again...would you like to have few more tips to make it addictive ? I will be glad to share it.

lady on recipe hunt..

GourmayMasala said...

Thanks Lera! Well said. Chivda is definitely perfect for rainy lazy days. Let me know how it turned out.

Anon - Thanks, lady on recipe hunt.. I would love to hear your tips and suggestions. Bring them on.

Meeta K. Wolff said...

Great one GM!
I am sure you'll share that one with me and the rest of the crew right?

Round-up hopefully over the coming weekend!

Piki said...

I visit your blog often and today I had to leave a comment :) I am so glad you posted this recipe for Chivda. I have been craving Chivda and now I have a recipe to follow. I absolutely love the pictures and the presentation. Great job!

Anonymous said...

Lady_on_recipe_hunt ---- sorry for taking long time to be back...

Making addictive Chivda :

1)10 big cloves of garlic + 2 inch ginger + 10 green chillies ---make paste and add in oil after mustard crack.

2)5 table spoon of corriander seeds + 1 table spoon Jeera + 4 table spoon of Fennel seeds-- powder in coffee grinder and add immediately after above fresh grated ingredients.

watch oil temperature...shouldnot be too hot. fry above things just for 3-4 minutes...be quick then turn off gas and mix it over Poha.

3) While mixing Poha with masala dust one full cup powdered sugar all over and mix.

4)) Skip your first step of roasting in batches.... use gentle hands to mix all this masala with Poha then set oven to 200 and take big tray and spread Chivda in it ( Full size tray good for 2 pound ) Let it sit inside for six hours or more till it gets finely cripsy.

Long time letting in oven leaves poha flat where as roasting will turn them in U shape.Oven gives ultimate crispy texure.

Prepare with lots of patience and with added spices and herbs I bet it turns absolutely addictive....Enjoy.

Anonymous said...

Excellent Dish. All steps are properly written .

I tried the dish and it came out very well and appreciated by all !!

- Resident, Michigan

Anonymous said...

My mom prepares it in exactly the same way, except for the sesame seeds maybe.I was searching for the recipe and was just overjoyed to see it looking the way my mom makes it..

Hemlata @ indiamarks.com said...

Wow! this is my favorite snack since childhood. I prepare regularly.