A healthy snack for tea time (Variation on Chivda with puffed and flattened rice)

V gets cravings for fried snacks more than I do.  He feels this craving is a direct result of having plenty of fried Indian munchies at home growing up, primarily serving as after-school snacks.  Well, that does not explain my craving for sweets as I remember desserts and sweets being an occasional treat when growing up.

A Variation on Chivda with Puffed and Flattened Rice

Of the two, I do firmly believe that sugar is the bigger evil and I am glad V does not have as much of a sweet tooth as me; still I would like him to eat a lot less fried stuff.  So, occasionally I like to indulge his munchie cravings with some delicious baked snacks.  Thus was born this snack inspired by “chivda“, a popular Gujarati snack (which has a fascinating explanation on Wikipedia)!

I recently made it on a rainy weekend to go with our afternoon tea.  So, here goes the recipe.

A yummy healthy snack for a rainy day – Chivda with Puffed and Flattened Rice

Variation on Chivda with Flattened and Puffed Rice
[Printable Recipe]


Ingredients:
  • 2 cups flattened rice (thin variety) (poha in Hindi and aval in Tamil)
  • 2 cups puffed rice (murmura in Hindi and pori in Tamil)
  • 1/2 cup pecans/walnuts halfed
  • 1/2 cup almonds sliced
  • 1 cup peanuts
  • 1 cup “wild rice sticks” from the trail mix bar at Whole Foods (optional)
  • 3-4 Tbsp peanut oil
  • 8 – 10 green chilies slit in to 2 halves
  • 1 inch piece ginger grated 
  • 2-3 sprigs of curry leaves
  • 2-4 tsp whole black pepper coarsely crushed with mortar and pestle
  • 2 tsp fennel seeds (sonph in Hindi, sombu in Tamil)
  • 1 tsp red chili powder
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp sugar

    Mixing up a batch of “chivda”

    Method:
    • Preheat oven to 300F 
    • The next step consists of baking the ingredients (nuts, flattened rice, puffed rice, and rice sticks if you are using it) one at a time.  Layer thinly on a baking sheet and roast them one at a time for approximately 10 minutes each
      • Pecans burn easily so keep them far from the coils
      • Keep an eye when the ingredients are roasting and shake the baking sheet every now and then to avoid spot burning
      • Allow each ingredient to cool before dumping it in a bowl. (It may be easier to rotate between two baking trays in this step)
    • Heat the oil in a wok on the burner and add the fennel seeds and black pepper.  After a couple of minutes, add the green chilies, curry leaves and ginger and cook well until there is no moisture
    • Add the roasted ingredients, salt, chili powder and sugar and mix well

      Chivda – a great hiking snack too!

      This snack has a decent shelf life, and you can keep it in an airtight container for 2-3 weeks.  You can also add finely chopped red onions, squeeze a bit of lime juice and garnish with chopped cilantro just before serving.  Keep the ingredient list flexible and play with it!

      Do let me know in the comments what else you would add to this mix to make it interesting!

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