Chiwda

INGREDIENTS
1 cup thick red or white poha/aval/flattened rice, or add as required. you can easily increase the quantity to ½ or 1 cup more, in case you want to have more of the poha and less of the dry fruits.
½ cup peanuts
½ cup roasted chana
½ cup cashews/kaju
¼ cup chopped dry coconut slices (optional)
2 tbsp golden raisins
10-12 curry leaves/kadi patta
¼ tsp mustard seeds/rai
½ tsp cumin seeds/jeera
1 tsp white sesame seeds/safed til
¼ tsp red chili powder/lal mirch powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder/haldi
a generous pinch of asafoetida/hing
1 tsp sugar or powdered sugar or add as per taste
1 tsp oil for tempering
salt as required
oil for deep frying
METHOD
first rinse the curry leaves, cashews and raisins.
dry them in a clean kitchen towel.
measure all the ingredients and keep them separately in a plate or bowl.
heat oil for deep frying in a kadai or wok.
take a fine sieve with a handle.
place half of the poha or rice flakes in it.
immerse the sieve with the poha in the medium hot oil.
fry till they expand and become crisp.
don't brown them.
remove the fried poha on a plate lined with paper towel.
place the sieve on a dry plate.
add the remaining poha in it.
again keep the sieve with the poha in the hot oil and fry till they are crisp.
drain them in the same plate.
next add the chana dal in the sieve and fry them for some seconds till they become crisp.
drain on another plate.
in the same way fry the peanuts, cashewnuts, raisins, coconut slices and curry leaves.
keep all of them separately in a same plate or in separate plates or bowls, lined with paper towels.
heat 1 tsp in another pan. first add the mustard seeds. let the mustard seeds pop.
then add the cumin and sesame seeds. let the sesame seeds pop and change color.
switch off the flame. add the turmeric powder, red chili powder, asafoetida.
stir and now add sugar and salt.
stir and switch on the flame and add all the fried ingredients - poha, peanuts, raisins, cashews and chana dal. stir well.
crush the fried and crisp curry leaves and add them to the mixture.
stir well and roast for 2-3 minutes on a low flame. continue to stir in between.
check the taste and then add more salt or sugar or red chili powder if required.
let the chivda mixture cool and then store in an air-tight box and container.
serve the poha chivda as a tea time snack.