Diwali snacks: Super-tasty savoury recipes

We had asked you, dear readers, to share your favourite festive recipes with us.

Rediff reader Charu sent us these traditional snack recipes. You can share yours too!

Here are some easy-to-make snack recipes to impress your family and friends this Diwali.

Murukku

Murukku or Chakli is a popular South Indian snack made with rice flour, gram flour and seasoned with salt, asafoetida and either cumin seeds or white sesame seeds.

Ingredients

• 2 cups rice flour
• 1/2 cup gram flour/besan
• 1 tsp white sesame seeds/til
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 2 tbsp butter (melted)
• A pinch of asafoetida
• Salt to taste
• Oil for frying

Method

• Mix rice flour, gram flour, sesame seeds, chilli powder, asafoetida, melted butter, salt and knead into a soft dough. Keep aside for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Place a handful of dough in the murukku mould and press over a plastic sheet. 
• Heat oil in a pan. Gently lift the murukku shaped dough from the plastic sheet and slide in oil.
• Deep fry the murukkus till golden brown.
• Remove it and place on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
• Store it a air tight container once it is completely cooled. It stays good for a week to 10 days.

Notes

Adding warm water while kneading helps make the dough soft. If it is hard, murukkus tend to break while shaping. Add a little water if dough is very hard. You can replace gram flour with urad dal. Deep fry soon after the murukkus are shaped, otherwise they will dry out.

Poha Chivda

This low fat snack does not require much oil and can be easily prepared at home. 

Ingredients

• 2 cup thin poha
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1-2 green chillies (finely chopped)
• 1 string of curry leaves
• 1/4 cup whole raw peanuts
• 1/4 cup roasted chana dal (daliya)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp dry coconut (sliced into small pieces)
• Salt to taste

Method

• Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan on a low flame.
• Add poha and roast till it becomes crisp. Keep aside
• In the same pan, add 1 tbsp of oil. Add mustard seeds. Once it stops spluttering, add cumin seeds. Cook till it becomes light brown.
• Add green chillies, curry leaves, dry coconut pieces, roasted chana dal and peanuts. Stir fry on a low flame till they become light brown in colour.
• Add turmeric powder and salt and mix well. Add roasted poha and cook on a low heat for a minute. Stir continuously. Switch off the flame.
• Add sugar, mix well.
• Store it a air tight container once it is completely cooled. It stays fresh for upto a month.

Cornflakes Chivda

This cornflakes snack is a healthy option this festive season.

Ingredients

• 3 cup cornflakes
• 2 tbsp cashewnuts
• 2 tbsp peanuts
• 2 tbsp raisins
• 1 tbsp fried gram
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 string of curry leaves
• 2 tsp sugar
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp cooking oil

Method

• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan or kadai. Add cashewnuts and stir fry till light brown. Keep aside.
• Add peanuts and roast till light brown. Keep aside.
• In the same pan, add raisins and stir fry for half a minute. Keep aside.
• Add cornflakes and stir fry for up to 2 minutes. Keep aside.
• Add 1 tbsp oil in the same pan. Add curry leaves and fried dal and stir for a minute. Add salt and chilli powder.
• Add stir-fried cornflakes, cashewnuts, raisins, peanuts to the fried dal mixture.
• Add sugar. Mix everything well and stir fry for a minute. Switch off the flame.
• Cornflakes mixture is ready to be served.

Tip

You can make a instant chaat with the cornflakes mixture. Just add chopped onions, tomatoes, green coriander leaves, green chutney and sprinkle little lime juice. Enjoy this healthy chaat with a cup of tea.

Oma podi (Ajwain flavoured sev)

Made from gramflour, rice flour and flavoured with carom seeds (ajwain), Oma Podi is a quick and easy savory recipe from South India.

Ingredients

• 1 cup gram flour/besan
• 1/4 cup rice flour
• 1 tsp carom seeds/ajwain/omam
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 2 tbsp melted butter or ghee
• Salt to taste

Method

• Soak carom or ajwain seeds in 1/4 cup of water for half an hour.
• Grind the soaked ajwain seeds into a coarse paste along with the soaking water. Strain the water and keep it aside.
• Take a mixing bowl. Add gram flour, rice flour, red chilli powder, salt, melted butter and mix well.
• Gradually add ajwain water and knead into a soft dough. Add more water if required.
• Divide the dough into equal sized balls. Attach the sev or oma podi plate to the mould.
• Heat sufficient oil in a heavy bottomed pan on a medium flame. Put a small portion of the dough into the mould. Press the dough over the hot oil.
• Flip and deep fry until crisp.
• Remove it and place on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
• Store it a air tight container once it is completely cooled.

Notes

Do not add too much omam, else the oma podi may taste bitter. Ensure the oil is not too hot at the time of deep frying. Don't keep dough for too long otherwise, it tends to become dry.

Ribbon Pakoda

Also called as Nada Murukku or Ola Pakoda, Ribbon Pakoda is made with gram flour, besan and chilli powder.

Ingredients

• 2 cup besan/gram flour
• 1 cup rice flour
• A pinch of asafoetida
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 3 tbsp butter or ghee
• 1 tsp white sesame seeds
• Salt to taste
• Cooking oil to deep fry

Method

• Mix gram flour, rice flour, asafoetida, red chilli powder, sesame seeds, butter and salt. Knead into a soft dough similar to chapati dough. Keep it aside.
• Put the dough into the mould using the ribbon pakoda plate (that has 4 lines).
• Heat oil in a heavy bottomed kadai. Gently press the mould with a circular motion over the hot oil.
• Deep fry on both the sides till light golden brown in colour.
• Remove it and place on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
• Store it a air tight container once it is completely cooled.

Notes

Instead of ghee or butter, you can also use oil at the time of making the dough. To check if the oil is hot enough for deep frying, just drop a small piece of dough into the oil. If the dough rises to the top immediately, it means oil is ready for frying.

Spicy Shakkarpara

A popular snack in Maharashtra and Gujarat, these spicy diamond pieces make a great tea-time snack and have a long shelf life too.

Ingredients

• 1 cup refined flour/maida
• 1 cup wheat flour
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tsp red chilli powder
• A pinch of asafoetida
• 2 tbsp ghee
• Salt to taste
• Oil for frying

Method

• Mix refined flour, wheat flour, red chilli powder, asafoetida, salt, ghee and knead into a moderately stiff dough.
• Make a big round ball and keep aside for half an hour.
• With the help of a rolling pin, roll into a medium thick roti.
• Cut the roti into diamond shaped pieces.
• Heat oil in a deep frying pan on medium flame.
• Slide in the pieces gently and deep fry till golden brown and crisp.
• Remove it and place on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
• Store it a air tight container once it is completely cooled.

Notes

When you drop the diamond pieces they may stick to each other initially but will soon separate. You can also add ginger-garlic paste for better taste and aroma. Let the dough rest for half an hour for easy rolling of the dough.

Nippattu/Thattai

A very popular snack from Karnataka especially from Mysore and Bangalore, Nippattu is usually deep fried but can also be baked.

This recipe is contributed by my close friend, Mrs Usha Nayaka who also happens to be a Mysorean.

Ingredients

• 2 cup rice flour
• 1 cup maida flour
• 3/4 cup peanuts
• 1/2 cup roasted gram/chatni dal
• 4 green chillies (chopped finely)
• 1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves
• 100 gm butter
• A pinch cooking soda
• Salt to taste
• Cooking oil for deep frying
• A pinch asafoetida

Method

• Dry roast the peanuts. Peel and crush into 2 or 3 pieces and not to a fine powder. Keep aside.
• Mix rice flour, maida flour, crushed peanuts, chatni dal, green chillies, coriander leaves, cooking soda, asafoetida, salt and butter and knead into a a smooth dough like chapati dough. The dough should not be too soft or too hard. Keep aside for 10 minutes.
• Take a thick plastic sheet or butter paper. Spread oil on the sheet. (This helps in removing nippattu from the sheet).
• Take a small lemon sized ball of the dough and flatten it on the sheet with your hand. Make it as thin as possible.
• Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan. Fry the flattened discs in hot oil. Take care not to overcrowd the pan while deep frying.
• Deep fry on both sides till golden brown.
• Remove it and place on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
• Store it a air tight container once it is completely cooled.

Photograph: charuscuisine.com

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