Healthy Diwali Recipes | Recipe for Roasted Chivda | Maharashtrian Chivda Recipe
RECIPE VIDEO:
Ammama (my maternal grandmother), my mum and my aunts are sitting on the kitchen floor, surrounded by a number of ingredients. The spare cooking stove has been removed from storage and placed on the floor and oil is heating up in a large iron frying pan.Soon, the aromas of fried gram flour, sugar syrup and such assorted deliciousness fill the air in the tiny Mumbai apartment kitchen.
I remember being a part of this scene, but watching from the kitchen threshold, because I wasn’t allowed near the hot oil. But I was allowed to help measure out the dry ingredients, wipe the utensils dry and other such small chores, somewhat like a sous chef, ahem!
Much later, I was allowed to help in preparing the dough. I remember this as a happy time of the year.
And preparation of Diwali goodies, unlike those for any other festival, could be eaten as soon as they were ready. These were not made as a part of any pooja offering but for our gluttonous pleasure alone.Thank goodness for such festivals!
The Diwali ‘mixture’ making project was (and is) a big event at granny’s place. The women of the house would gather on the appointed day to assist in the making of this crispy mix of 8 to 10 different savouries. So iconic is this mixture in Tam-Brahm households that if you ask me to sum up Diwali in four words, I’d say: new clothes, mixture, lehiyam (a sort of Ayurvedic medicine) and sparklers.
Cut to the present, given that I live with my tiny nuclear family, I cannot imagine taking on chores of such magnitude, such as making mixture from scratch. I do love making a few sweets and savouries to keep up the festive spirit and so that my son has some Diwali memories of his own, when he grows up.
This quick Diwali chivda is a take on what is made in my Maharashtrian friends’ homes. While the poha is usually deep fried to make it crunchy, roasting in a pan also gives it the desired crispness without resorting to deep frying. So do give this healthy chivda a try!
Quick and Healthy Diwali Chivda
Ingredients
- 4 cups poha thin chivda
- 2 tbsps ghee
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 - 3 sprigs curry leaves
- 4 - 5 chillies dried red , broken
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
- 1/2 cup peanuts raw
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1.5 tsps salt
- 1/4 cup cashewnuts
- 1/4 cup raisins (optional)
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pan. On a low flame, roast the poha for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden. Remove the poha in a large dish and keep aside. It will turn crisper as it cools.
- In a medium sized kadai or pan, heat the ghee.
- Add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once they splutter, add curry leaves, red chillies, asafoetida, peanuts. Stir on medium flame for 5-6 minutes until the peanuts turn golden brown.
- Add the salt, sugar and cashews.
- Stir for 1 minute or so until cashewnuts are golden, add raisins and stir for few seconds until they puff up.
- Add the red chilli powder, turmeric powder, give a quick stir and remove from flame.
- Add this tempering immediately to the roasted poha and mix thoroughly until well combined.
- Store in an air tight container.
Notes
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