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If one has ever been to Chennai beach I am sure they must have tasted this chat item of peanuts with spice kick. Of course being a street food this snack is liked by everyone irrespective of their ages. One can see people munching these peanuts in Chennai beach and hardly would you find anyone without these peanuts. They are so addictive. The street vendor has the boiled peanuts being cooked in a stove on a cart and he has the rest of the ingredients in separate containers. During the time of purchase he mixes the boiled peanuts with the rest of the ingredients that spice up the peanuts and make it tasty. During my recent visit I had a chance to see the ingredients that add taste to the peanuts. I made a note of these ingredients so that I could make it here and relish it. Here is the tastiest chat.
Raw peanuts are boiled and used for this snack. Raw peanuts taste better than the dried ones. Raw peanuts can be pressure cooked up to 2 whistles or it can be cooked in big pot by soaking them for 2 hours and can be boiled up to 45 minutes. Then the peanuts are shelled and used. Of course shelling the peanuts is a boring process but it is worth it for the final taste.
Ingredients
- Raw peanuts- 2 pounds (boiled and shelled)
- Carrot- 1 (grated)
- Raw mango- ½ (chopped in small chunks)
- Cucumber- ½ (chopped finely)
- Onion – 1(chopped finely)
- Puffed rice- 1 cup
- Lemon juice – 1 tablespoon
- Red chili powder- ½ teaspoon
- Salt to taste
Directions
1. Boil raw peanuts and shell them
2. Add chopped onion, mango cucumber, lemon juice, chili powder, salt, puffed rice and shelled peanuts in a bowl. Mix thoroughly and enjoy.
It tastes even better in front of T.V
Notes
1. Chat masala can be added instead of lemon juice and chili powder.
2. This type of salad can be prepared with any kind of beans.
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This is an all time favorite snack in my house next to popcorn. This is a healthy snack and very little oil is used in the preparation of this snack. This crunchy snack is addictive and disappears quickly …try it to believe me.
Ingredients
- Poha/ flat rice – 2 cup (thin variety)
- Peanuts (raw) – 3 to 4 tablespoons
- Fried channa/ dahlia – 2 tablespoons
- Cashew – 1 tablespoon
- Green chili – 3 slit
- Red chili – 2 (broken)
- Turmeric powder – ¼ teaspoon
- Salt to taste
- Oil – 2 tablespoons
Directions
1. Set a deep bottomed pan. Add oil, once hot add fried channa, peanuts and fry for 2 to 3 minutes in medium low flame. Add cashews, green chilies and red chilies and fry for 2 more minutes.
2. Stir in poha / flat rice, salt and turmeric and fry for 5 to 7 more minutes on simmer. Once you find the poha crispy switch off the flame.
3. Serve with coffee or tea for a crunchy snack.
Notes
1. Be careful while adding salt. Add salt while frying, taste and add more if necessary
2. For another version of poha, garnish with chopped onions , coriander leaves and lemon juice
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This snack is quiet popular in India and the crispy taste of this vada makes it special. It is served as a starter in feasts and on occasions. This snack is originally prepared with yellow split peas or channa dhal. This recipe uses split green peas instead.
Ingredients
- Split green peas- 2 cup
- Bell pepper (red and green) – ½ of each (diced finely)
- Spring onions- 1 bunch
- Red onion (large) – 1 (chopped finely)
- Garlic – 4 pods
- Ginger – 1 inch piece (chopped)
- Red chili – 5
- Cumin seeds- 2 tablespoons
- Fennel seeds- 3 tablespoons
- Baking soda- ¼ teaspoon
- Coriander leaves – ½ cup (chopped finely)
- Chick pea flour/ gram flour – 3 tablespoons
- Salt to taste
- Canola oil- 3 cups (for deep frying)
Directions
1. Soak the split green peas for 4 hours in 4 cups of water. Drain them and grind in a food processor along with red chili and ginger and garlic. Add very little water to facilitate the grinding process. Grind to a coarse texture.
2. Remove the split pea mixture from blender and place in a large bowl. Add chopped bell peppers, spring onions, chopped onion, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, coriander leaves, salt and baking soda. Blend thoroughly by hands.
3. Add chick pea flour to bind the ingredients well. Take a small portion of mixture in the palm and form into a ball. With fingers flatten into the shape of a small patty.
4. Set pan and heat oil. Drop patties in hot oil and deep fry them on medium high flame until golden brown. Drain in paper towels and serve.
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My son was asking me to pack some snacks to eat on the way back home from his school. I had been packing fruits thinking that would give him energy and keep him fresh. It was then I came across this simple recipe for snack, which would keep us full and give us quick burst of energy.
Ingredients
- Cereals – 3 (cups) (you could use Raisin Bran, Corn Flakes, Cheerios)
- Almond (sliced) – ¼ cup
- Dried fruit- ½ cup (I used dried cranberries)
- Brown sugar – 2 tablespoons
- Margarine – 1 tablespoon
- Ground cinnamon- 1 teaspoon
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 300° F.
2. Place cereals, almonds, cranberries in a large bowl.
3. Place margarine in a sauce pan over low heat and add brown sugar. Stir in cinnamon and keep stirring until margarine melts.
4. Pour sugar mixture over cereal mixture. Toss until evenly coated.
5. Spread an aluminum foil on a cookie sheet. Spread the cereal mixture on the sheet and bake for 15 minutes, stirring twice. Cool.
6. Can be stored in an air tight container at room temperature.
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Pakoda is a popular snack of India. Traditional pakodas are made with gram flour. It is crispy and is welcome at anytime of the day. Onions are used in this snack, I have replaced onions with spring onions – the taste is no less.
Ingredients
- Oatmeal – 1 cup (old fashioned)
- Gram flour/ besan flour – 1/2 cup
- Rice flour – 1/4 cup
- Water – 2 tablespoons
- Spring onions – 1.5 cups (chopped)
- Ginger – 1 inch piece (grated)
- Red chili powder- ½ teaspoon
- Baking soda- ¼ teaspoon
- Olive oil – 2 tablespoons
- Salt to taste
- Oil for deep frying
Directions
1. Soak oatmeal in a cup of water for 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the water and squeeze the excess water from oats. Set aside
2. In another bowl, mix gram flour, rice flour, salt, baking soda, chili powder. Mix them thoroughly. Add chopped onions and grated ginger.
3. Warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil and pour over the mixture. Stir in soaked oatmeal. Mix thoroughly. You will get a crumbly texture.
4. Add water little by little and knead to stiff dough. It should not be too sticky.
5. Heat oil in a fry pan and drop the mixture in the form of even sized pieces.
6. Fry until it is golden on all sides. Remove from oil and serve with ketchup or mint chutney.
Notes
Add very little water to knead the dough. Excess water may turn the pakodas soft and not crunchy.
This snack tastes best when had immediately. It can be stored for two days but it becomes soft.
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These boiled green beans are much healthier than chips, nachos, nuts . tThese snacks are easy to make . All you have to do is stock your freezer with edamame which are available shelled or with pods in frozen section.It can be thawed and taken as a snack or the following steps can be followed for a delicious snack. You no more have to be aftraid of your calories during your snack intake as ½ cup of edamame contains
- Calories – 120
- Fiber- 9 grams
- Ffat- 2.5 grams
- Polyunsaturated fat – 1.5 grams(0.3 grams plant omega-3 fatty acids)
- Monounsaturated fat – 0.5 gram
- Protein – 11 grams
- Carbohydrate – 13 grams
- Sodium – 15 mg
- Vitamin C- 10% of daily value
- Iron -10% of daily value
- Vitamin A – 8% of daily value
- Calcium – 4% daily value
Ingredients
- Edamame – 1 lb bag
- Dash of salt
Directions
1. Boil water , stir in edamame and cook for 5 minutes with salt.
2. Drain edamame , shell the peas and discard the pods.
This provides a wonderful snack while watching T.V, reading books.
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My son wanted some baked goodies for his class party. I was breaking my head for a recipe that would be perfect for the party. I went through the recipe collection I had, the more recipes I saw, the more was I confused. It was like having a mountain of clothes in front of you and not knowing what to wear. I know, this happens with ladies and I was not the last one. Back to the recipes, I settled on a plain cup cake. Of course, it was vanilla cup cake but I decided to add tutty fruity to it to make it more colorful. The cake was defect less for the event. Its party time!!!
Ingredients
- Butter/ margarine – 4 tablespoons
- Apple sauce – ¼ cup
- All purpose flour- 1 ¾ cup
- Sugar – 1 cup
- Energ – G powder – 1 ½ tablespoons
- Soy milk/ almond milk- ¾ cup
- Baking powder- 1 teaspoon
- Baking soda- ¼ tsp
- Vanilla essence – 1 tsp
Directions
1. Pre heat oven to 375° F.
2. Cream margarine, apple sauce and soy milk. Add sugar and ener- G powder and beat well.
3. In a large bowl mix all purpose flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add the wet ingredients and mix well. Stir in tutty fruity.
4. Line cup cake tray with cup cake holders. Spoon in batter ¾ full, giving them space to rise.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cake tester inserted comes out clean.
Notes
1. The original recipe called in for ½ cup of butter/ margarine. I used ¼ cup of apple sauce and 4 tablespoons of margarine. The out come was defect less.
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My kitchen has become more like a lab. I try out many new recipes from books, magazines and my collection. Sometimes, I try to modify the existing recipes and some turn out to be good and some becomes a disaster. But always have learnt lessons from disasters and have tried to perfect them in my next try. But here is one recipe which turned out to be good with the first try and was greatly appreciated by my friends.
Ingredients
- Semolina/ white rava – 2 cups
- Soy milk – 1 cup (curdled with a teaspoon of lemon juice)
- Onion – 1(chopped finely)
- Mixed veggies – 1 cup (I used frozen carrot, beans and corn)
- Cumin seeds- 1 teaspoon
- Green chili – 2 (slit)
- Mustard seeds – 1 (teaspoon)
- Baking soda- ¼ teaspoon
- Salt to taste
- Olive oil – 1 tablespoon
- Coriander leaves/ cilantro – 1 cup
Directions
1. Pre heat the oven to 350° F. grease a square cake pan.
2. Set a pan, add oil. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Let it splutter. Add onions and green chilies, once they have become translucent, switch off the stove.
3. Mix semolina, salt and baking soda. Gradually add curdled soymilk and mix well. Stir in mixed veggies, fried onions and finely chopped cilantro.
4. Pour the batter into a greased pan and bake for 40 minutes or until the cake tester inserted comes out clean
5. Remove from pan, cool and slice it.
6. This cake is good as a evening snack with ketchup or mint chutney.
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I always look forward to Friday nights as our family gets to watch a movie together. It is always fun to stay awake, watch movie, pass comments and snack in between. It’s more relaxed as we need not get up early the next day. This Friday as we sat to watch movie we realized there was nothing left behind to snack in between. How can a movie be interesting without something to munch? My son was ransacking the cabinets and pita chips came to our rescue. We made home made pita chips and it was a low calorie snack and definitely gave us the crunch we longed for that night.
Ingredients
- Pita pockets – 4
- Garlic powder – 1 tablespoon
- Chili flakes – 1 teaspoon
- Dried parsley – 1 tablespoon
- Salt to taste
- Olive oil – 2 tablespoons
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 ° F.
2. Cut pita into 8 pieces. Separate the layers of pita and place pita on lined cookie sheets.
3. Combine garlic powder, chili fakes, dried parsley, salt in olive oil and brush on the pita triangles.
4. Bake in the oven for 7 minutes. Be careful as they tend to burn easily.
We enjoyed the chips as well as our Friday night movie. Can say both of them are addictive.
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