Puffed Rice - Snack 1

Ingredients:

Puffed rice - 1 cup

Hot mix (FarsaaN) - 1/4 cup 

Onion - chopped fine - 1/2 medium

Cilantro - handful

Ketchup - 2 Tbsp

Mint chutney - 2 Tbsp

Salt - a pinch

Recipe:

Heat up puffed rice in microwave for 30 seconds.

Add all ingredients and mix well.

Serve immediately.

Notes:

1) Purchase all ingredients in Indian store.

2) Add handful roasted/fried peanuts.

3) You can serve it as a quick snack or as an appetizer.

Puffed Rice - Snack 2

Ingredients:

Puffed rice - 1 cup

Roasted peanuts - handful

Onion - chopped fine - 1/2 medium

Cilantro - handful

Black masala - 1 Tbsp

Peanut oil - 1 Tbsp

Salt - a pinch

Recipe:

Heat up puffed rice in microwave for 30 seconds.

Add all ingredients and mix well.

Serve immediately.

Notes:

1) Purchase all ingredients in Indian store.

2) Add handful hot mix (farsaaN) as a variation.

3) You can serve it as a quick snack or as an appetizer.

Tapioka Wada

Ingredients:

Tapioka - 1 cup soaked (check basic stuff)
Boiled potatoes - mashed - 1/2 cup
Peanut powder - 1/4 cup (check basic stuff)
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
Chili powder - 1/4 tsp (or to your taste)
Green chilies - 2 - ground coarsely (or to taste)
Chopped cilantro leaves - 2-3 Tbs
Brown sugar - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste.

Recipe:

Heat peanut oil in a woke for deep frying ( about 2"-3" deep).
Prepare dough by mixing all the ingredients well with your hand.
Wet your fingers with water and make golf ball size balls from the dough.
Pat down each ball into a disc of 1/3" to 1/2" thickness.
Smooth edges of these discs with wet fingers if necessary.
Test oil with a small piece of dough. Oil should be really hot.
If the dough starts showing bubbles and rises to the top...means oil is ready for frying.
Add 4-5 discs at one time (slide them from the sides of the woke so the oil won't splatter).
Let them get lightly brown on one side and then flip them over.
Let the other side get lightly bown.
They will puff up and become crisp when done.
Serve them as an appetizer or a side dish.

Notes:

1) Tapioka is used on fasting day as it is total starch and easier for digestion.
2) Potatoes, sweet potatoes are used for the same purpose.
3) Serve them right away when they are crisp.

Cilantro Wadi

Ingredients:

Chopped cilantro leaves - 1 cup chopped
Besan flour - 1.5 cup
Rice flour - 2-3 tsp
Green chilies - 2-3 finely chopped
Grated ginger - 1/2 tsp
Chili powder - 1/2 tsp (or to your taste)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Hing powder - 1/8 tsp
Gud or brown sugar - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp +  cumin powder - 1/2 tsp (OR Garam masala - 1/2 tsp)
Salt to taste.
Peanut oil - 2-3 tsp

Recipe:

Wash cilantro and chop it.
(Soak in a pan filled with water. Sand/dirt will settle at the bottom and cilantro leaves will float to the top. Remove cilantro and throw away water. Repeat cleaning cilantro twice).
Add cilantro to a bowl and add all the ingredients except besan flour and peanut oil.  Mix well.
Heat 2-3 tsp peanut oil and add to the mixture (this makes them crisp and absorb less oil while frying).
Start adding besan flour little by little. Start mixing by hand. Add just enough flour to make a dough.
(Do not add more water. You will make the dough with water that has stayed with cilantro after washing it).
Divide dough into 2 parts. Roll each part into 2" cylinder.
Line a pan with a thin fabric or oil it and place the rolls on it.
Steam them in a steamer or a pressure cooker. Cool.
Cut each roll into 1/2" pieces.
Shallow fry them on both sides by adding little oil or deep fry them.

Notes:

1) Serve them as a side dish.
2) Serve them as an appetizer.
3) Use (1/4 cup dill + 3/4 cup spinach) instead of cilantro.

Thick Poha

Ingredients:

Thick poha - 1 cup
Potatoes - 2 medium cut into 4 quarters and then thinly sliced each piece (1/4" thickness) and soak them in water.
Onions - 2 medium or 1 large - cut finely
Green chilies - 3-4 finely chopped
Curry leaves - 2 branches (about 15-20 leaves)
Cilantro - 2 handful leaves chopped finely
fresh or dry coconut - 3-4 Tb
Salt to taste
Sugar - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - 1/2 lemon or about 2 Tb
Peanut oil (1/4 cup), black mustard seeds, hing powder, turmeric for Oil Tempering

Recipe:

Clean poha (remove rice hull and stones if any).
Sieve poha through colander (it will remove all the fine powder and very small pieces of poha).
Wash poha in the same colander 2-3 times and keep it for 10 min. Make sure that poha is well soaked but not soggy.  Separate grains by fingers.
Prepare Oil Tempering. You will need more oil than usual as poha and potatoes will absorb oil.
Add chilies, curry leaves and stir well.  Add onions and cook them till lightly brown.  Remove potatoes  from water and add to onions.  Stir well.  Add salt and sugar and cover with a lid.  Let potatoes cook on the steam for 4-5 minutes.  When potatoes are cooked add poha and mix well with onions and potatoes.   Add salt to taste.  Add half the cilantro leaves.  Mix well and cover and let it steam for 2-3 minutes.  Remove lid.  Add lemon juice and mix well.  Serve immediately with fresh coconut and cilantro.

Notes:

1) You can make poha with only onions or only potatoes as well.
2) Add 1/2 cup green peas after potatoes are cooked.
3) Add handful of raw peanuts before adding veggies. Peanuts will get cooked with veggies.
4) Use egg plant instead of onions and potatoes.  Cut egg plant into small cubes and soak them in water and add 1/2 tsp salt.  Egg plant will give out black sap in water.  Remove egg plant from water and add it to oil tempering and cook until tender and then add poha and follow recipe.
5) Serve poha with mango or green chili pickle.  
6) Poha is made from rice when it is still in it's hull.  It is soaked in water and then pounded with wooden pestle to make it flat.  Hull is removed and pounded rice is dried and stored.
7) I store poha in refrigerator.

ChivaDa with Thin Poha.

Ingredients:

Thin poha - 4 cups
raw peanuts - 1/4 cup
dry coconut slices - 1/4 cup
split roasted chana dal - 1/4 cup
cashews - handful (optional)
yellow raisins - handful (optional)
curry leaves - 3 branches (25-30 leaves)
green chili peppers - 4-5 sliced finely
coriander powder - 2 Tb
cumin powder - 1 Tb
hing powder - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1 Tb or as needed
chili powder - 1 Tb
Salt - to taste
Sugar - 1 Tb
citric acid - 1/8 tsp
peanut oil - 1/4 cup for oil tempering

Recipe:

Clean poha using sieve to remove powder/ crushed poha.
Microwave poha for 1 minute and stir well.  Repeat the procedure for 2- 3 minutes until poha become crisp.
Heat oil in a pan and deep fry raw peanuts, coconut, cashews, roasted chana dal, cashews and raisins one by one on low heat.
Prepare oil tempering with mustard seeds, green chilies, curry leaves and hing powder.  Remove from the heat and add turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, salt, and sugar.
Add poha and mix well.  Add more salt as needed.  Add citric acid and mix well.
Let it cool off and then store in a tight sealed container (glass or plastic).
Serve it as a light snack or serve it in a bowl to eat like nuts with drinks.

Notes: 

1) You can make this chivada with rice crispies, corn flakes, puffed rice (you don't need to clean it or roast it in microwave to crisp it).
2) You can deep fry thick poha.  Take it out on paper towels to absorb excess oil and follow the same recipe.
3) Chivada can keep for 2 weeks. You can refrigerate it to keep it longer.
4) Serve it with chopped raw onions (2 tsps) and tomatoes (2 tsps), chopped fresh cilantro leaves (1 tsp), freshly grated coconut (1 tsp).
5) mix it with puffed rice for bhel (another snack).
6) poha is made from rice when it is still in it's hull.  It is soaked in water and then pounded with wooden pestle to make it flat.  Hull is removed and pounded rice is dried and stored.