Chiwda

Since our childhood days, one of the most common tea time snack back home was always a bowl of Chiwda. And amma always made sure that she would promptly prepare a big batch of chiwda once the old batch was almost getting over. Even today she makes this one without fail. She enjoys this a lot and is a must for her evening bites over a cup of tea. Off late I had been missing this a lot. One morning, I set out to make my batch of Chiwda. I made it similar to my amma's way. However, amma makes it less spicier than I do. I just loved this one so much that I made another batch of these again, but instead of puffed rice, I made them with the paper rice. They were just fantastic. A pass time snack that one can munch on any day at anytime.

My perfect way of relaxing and unwind on a weekend evening is to lazy on the couch... listen to my favourite numbers on my ipod... sipping a hot cup of tea with a big bowl of chiwda. That's my get-away...

Chiwda

INGREDIENTS

250 gm of puffed rice
100 gm roasted peanuts
5-6 green chillies, chopped in rounds
1 tbsp mustard seeds
3 tbsp oil
1 tsp turmeric powder
5 sprigs of curry leaves
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste

DIRECTION

Roast puffed rice till crisp. Keep aside. Heat the oil. Add mustard. Let it splutter. Next add curry leaves, chopped chillies, peanuts and fry them well. Add turmeric, salt and sugar and immediately turn off the gas. Add the puffed rice and mix well till all the spices are mixed. Allow to cool completely and store in an air-tight container. This stays well for a long time. In case the puffed rice lose their crisp, toss them to micro and reheat them or roast them to remove the absorbed moisture and become crisp again.