Spicy Puffed Rice

This is one of those recipes which is very close to my heart. Me and my brother used to love these whenever our mom or granny used to make them. The flavor is so heavenly that, even today I cannot stop myself from munching these. As soon as I prepared the spicy puffed rice today, even before publishing the post, I was busy emptying a big bowl of spicy puffed rice :)

Ingredients:

Puffed Rice - 2 cups

Garlic - 3 large cloves

Curry Leaves - 6

Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp

Chilli powder/Paprika - 1/2 tsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Raw Peanuts - a handful

Roasted Chana Dal - a handful

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Oil - 4 tbsp

Method of Preparation:

1. In a small mortar, add the cumin seeds, salt and chilli powder. Crush them slightly using a pestel so that the cumin seeds get crushed roughly.

2. Add the curry leaves and crush them too.

3. Add the garlic cloves and crush them finely.

4. In a deep non stick dish, heat the oil and add raw peanuts. On medium flame, cook for a minute or two till the peanuts get cooked, add the roasted chana dal and turmeric powder. Mix well.

5. Now add the ground mixture on low heat and mix well so that no lumps of the mixture remain. 

6. Mix well for a minute on low heat, till the raw smell of garlic disappears. 

7. Now add the puffed rice and on very low heat, mix them in such a way that each and every puffed rice gets coated with the mixture in the dish.

8. Take off the heat and transfer the spicy puffed rice into a dish or container, close the lid after the spicy puffed rice cools down.

Note: Always try this recipe in a small batch first, so that you do not end up with burnt puffed rice.