Cookery School : Chivda

Chivda is such a common (there are as many variants of the basic recipe as there are homes) and easy-to-make Maharashtrian snack, that I'd dismissed putting it up on the blog. But a request for the recipe from a non-Maharashtrian friend brought home the fact that the typical Maharashtrian 'Patal Pohyancha Chivda' is not so well known after all. And it is tastes SO amazing with a cup of hot, sweet tea that I just couldn't not share it with all of you! So here is my Mom's adaptation of the basic recipe given in Ruchira, the authoritative guide to Maharashtrian cookery ( like Mrs. Beeton's).

Maharashtrian Patal Pohyancha Chivda
Patal- Thin
Pohe - Rice Flakes
Chivda- think of a savoury Indian Chex Mix

Ingredients:
0.5 kilo patal pohe (patal means thin, so ask the grocer for thin pohe)
1 wati/katori or 1.5 cups peanuts (skins on)
8-10 green chillies, chopped into 1 cm long pieces
8-10 kadhipatta (curry leaves)
0.75 cup vegetable oil (groundnut/sunflower)
1 tablespoon black mustard seeds
0.5 teaspoon hing (asafoetida)
1 teaspoon haldi (turmeric powder)
0.5 wati/katori or 0.75 cups dried coconut slices ( thinly sliced in half-moon shapes)
Salt and sugar to taste

Process:
Sift the pohe (lightly shake them around in a colander - not a sieve) so that the small dust-like particles of crushed pohe fall down and usable pohe remain in the colander. Do this in 4-5 batches.
In a huge vessel (the biggest you can find) tip all the pohe and dry roast them on low heat. Keep stirring at 30 second intervals or so - the pohe, being very thin, can start burning very easily so you need to keep them moving.
To test if the pohe are done roasting, take 2-3 pohe out and let them cool down. If, at room temperature the pohe are crisp and crunchy, they are done. Handy hint - start testing once the pohe for crunchiness once they feel lighter and easier to move about in the pot while stirring. They become lighter cause the water content is evaporated which is the whole reason we're toasting the pohe. :) DO NOT SKIP this step of roasting pohe, else you might land up with tasty but chewy Chivda!
In a kadhai/wok, heat the oil. First, fry the peanuts in the oil till they become a dark pinkish red. They will splutter as they cook, so stand back!
Remove the peanuts with a slotted spoon and toss them over the toasted pohe
Next, fry the coconut slices in the same oil. They turn from white to gold to burnt brown in minutes, so watch out! Take them out when they are a deep gold and strew them over the pohe.
Next, make a phodni/vaghar/tadka in the leftover oil. That is, add mustard seeds, asafoetida, turmeric, chopped chillies and curry leaves - in that order. When everything is done spluttering (and the chillies are wrinkled up and crisp) empty this spiced oil over the pohe.
Add sugar and salt to taste.
Using 2 long-handled spoons, toss and turn around the pohe, peanuts, coconut slices, and spices till everything is well-mixed.
Let the chivda cool down to room temperature. Once done, store it in airtight jars.
Enjoy with a cuppa steaming hot tea!