Crunchy and delicious, roasted Poha Chivda is a traditional savory Indian snack mix (Namkeen) recipe made with thin flattened rice (poha), nuts, fried gram, dried coconut, curry leaves, and spices. Vegan, gluten-free.
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What is Poha Chivda?
'Poha' is flattened rice, and 'Chivda' refers to a crunchy, savory snack.
Poha Chivda, also referred to as just Chivda (or Chiwda), is a classic Indian snack recipe, made using thin poha, peanuts, spices, and tempered in oil with chilies and curry leaves. It is most popular in Maharashtra and North Karnataka.
It is delicious, and crunchy, great for road trips, busy mornings, tea time, or after-school snacks. Chivda is best if served with a hot cup of masala chai. Other popular chivda variations include makhana chivda, puffed rice chivda, cornflakes chivda, etc.
Chivda, along with other sweet dishes like besan ladoo, rava ladoo are made for festivals like Diwali, Holi, and Ganesh Chaturthi in India. It is served to neighbors, friends, or guests, alongside other traditional Indian sweets and savories.
My mom used to make a big batch of these all around the year, as we liked to relish it for snacks and milk after school.
There are different ways to make this chivda, pan-roasted, deep-fried, air fryer, or oven-roasted.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients required to make the poha chivda recipe at home.
- Poha: You will need thin poha (rice flakes) for making roasted chivda. It can be found easily in Indian grocery stores or on Amazon. Thick or medium variety poha will not work well for this chivda. A thick variety is used for making the breakfast dish kanda poha or hariyali poha.
- Nuts: I used peanuts and cashew nuts, but you can also use other nuts of your choice, like almonds, walnuts, and pistachios. Peanuts are a must in the chiwda;
- Dried coconut slices, Roasted Chana Dal: adds perfect texture, crunchiness, and is delicious and nutritious. Roasted Chana Dal is also known as fried gram, dalia.
- Green chilies, Curry leaves: are added for the heat and flavor, respectively. You can replace green chilies with dried red chilies or red chili powder.
- Spices: Mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida, and turmeric powder are added to the tempering (tadka) for earthy and warmth.
- Sugar: use powdered sugar if possible. It helps to balance the flavors of the savory chiwda recipe.
- Oil: Traditionally, peanut (groundnut) oil is used, but use any cooking oil of your choice.
How to Make Poha Chivda
Roasting the Poha
- In Pan/Kadai: Heat a heavy bottom kadai or pan on low flame. Add 3 cups thin poha (thin rice flakes) and dry roast gently with a spatula for 5-6 mins or until they become crisp (Make sure you don't over-roast them). Remove the roasted poha to a plate and set it aside.
Other ways you can roast the thin poha are as follows
- In Oven: Spread the thin poha on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast in a preheated oven at 350°F for 15 minutes or until they become crispy; stir once halfway through.
- In Microwave: Put the poha in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high powder for 2-3 minutes on high power or until crisp. Toss halfway through once.
- Sun Dry: Spread the poha on a large plate or thali and keep it in direct sunlight for 1 hour or until it becomes crispy.
Preparing the Chivda
In the heavy bottom kadai, heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil on medium flame. Add ¼ cup peanuts and roast until light golden while stirring continuously.
Then, add ¼ cup cashews. Roast until the cashews start turning lightly golden in color.
Then, add 2 tablespoons fried gram (dalia) and ¼ cup dry coconut slices. Roast them together for a minute or until the coconut slices change color and become a little brown.
Next, add 2 tablespoons of raisins and roast for 30 seconds or until they swell up a bit.
Push the roasted nuts to the side and add 1 teaspoon mustard and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds. Stir for a few seconds.
Lower the heat to low and add 2 chopped green chili, 1-2 stalks curry leaves, and 1 pinch asafoetida. Saute for 1-2 minutes or till curry leaves, and green chilies become crispy. Make sure there is no moisture in curry leaves and chilies otherwise, they can make the poha soggy.
Then add ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, salt, and 2 teaspoons powdered sugar (ensure the heat is low). Mix well. Turn off the flame.
Immediately add the roasted poha and gently mix the poha with a spatula or your hands (making sure the flakes do not break).
Remove the kadai from the stovetop. Let the poha chivda cool completely, then store it in an airtight container or serve this poha chivda with a cup of masala chai.
Serving Suggestions
Serve Roasted Poha Chivda as a tea-time snack with a hot cup of masala chai. It is also great for road trips, picnics, or after-school snacks. You can also munch at any time of the day.
Make-Ahead & Storage
You can store Poha Chivda in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 15 days.
If it gets soggy after a few days, roast it in a pan on medium-low flame for a few minutes or bake it in a preheated oven at 300F (150C) for 10-12 minutes. Once it cools down, store it back in the airtight container.
Tips to make the Best Poha Chiwda
- Always use a thin variety of poha (beaten rice).
- Make sure to roast all the ingredients on a medium-low flame in a heavy or thick bottom kadai or pan. If you roast on high flame, ingredients can get burnt easily.
- You can also roast the peanuts, cashews, roasted gram, and dry coconut slices in the oven or air fry them separately to make a low-oil snack.
- Gently mix the poha (or toss the poha), so the flakes don't break.
- You can adjust the quantity of nuts, coconut slices, and fried gram as per your liking.
- Make sure to cool down the chivda to room temperature before storing it in an airtight container.
- Add the turmeric, salt, and sugar at the end just before mixing in the poha so that they don't get burnt with increased exposure to heat.
Variations
- Garlic: If you like garlic flavor, you can add slightly crushed whole garlic cloves along with curry leaves during the tempering.
- Nuts and seeds: You can also add almonds, pecans, walnuts, or nuts of your choice. Seeds like sesame seeds, melon seeds, flax seeds, or hemp seeds.
- Spicy: You can also use dry red chilies or red chili powder for the heat instead of green chilies.
- Other Flakes: In place of poha or along with it, you can use oats, makhana, puffed rice, quinoa flakes, chana jor garam, red rice flakes, or corn flakes. Just make sure to roast them if required before adding them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, Homemade poha chivda is healthy as, it is rich in carbohydrates, dietary fiber and, low in calories, low in fat content. You can munch this as a snack any time of the day.
Yes, Poha chivda is vegan. You can make it gluten-free, if you use gluten-free asafoetida (hing) or skip it. I used GF asafoetida in this recipe.
Other Indian Snack Recipes
Poha Chivda Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups thin poha (about 200 grams)
- 3 tablespoons oil
- ¼ cup peanuts
- ¼ cup cashewnuts
- 2 tablespoons fried gram (dalia)
- ¼ cup dry coconut slices
- 2 tablespoons raisins
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 green chilies (or dry red chilies)
- 1-2 stalks curry leaves
- a pinch asafoetida (hing)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt to taste
- 2 teaspoons powdered sugar or to taste
Instructions
- Measure all the ingredients and keep them ready.
Roasting the Poha
- In Pan/Kadai: Heat a heavy bottom kadai or pan on low flame. Add the thin poha (thin rice flakes) and dry roast gently with a spatula for 5-6 mins or until they become crisp (Make sure you don't over-roast them). Remove the roasted poha to a plate and set it aside.
- Other ways you can roast the thin poha are as followsIn Oven: Spread the thin poha on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast in a preheated oven at 350°F for 15 minutes or until they become crispy, stir once halfway through.In Microwave: Put the poha in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high powder for 2-3 minutes on high power or until crisp. Toss halfway through once.Sun Dry: Spread the poha on a large plate or thali and keep it in direct sunlight for 1 hour or until it becomes crispy.
Preparing the Chivda
- In the heavy bottom kadai, heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil on medium flame. Add peanuts and roast until light golden while stirring continuously.
- Then add the cashews. Roast until the cashews start turning lightly golden in color.
- Then add the fried gram (dalia) and dry coconut slices. Roast them together for a minute or until the coconut slices change color and become a little brown.
- Next, add the raisins and roast for 30 seconds or until they swell up a bit.
- Push the roasted nuts to the side and add mustard and cumin seeds. Stir for a few seconds.
- Lower the heat to low and add the chopped green chili, curry leaves, and asafoetida. Saute for 1-2 minutes or till curry leaves, and green chilies become crispy. Make sure there is no moisture in curry leaves and chilies otherwise, they can make the poha soggy.
- Then add turmeric powder, salt, and powdered sugar (ensure the heat is low). Mix well. Turn off the flame.
- Immediately add the roasted poha and gently mix the poha with a spatula or your hands (making sure the flakes do not break).
- Remove the kadai from the stovetop. Let the poha chivda cool completely, then store it in an airtight container or serve this poha chivda with a cup of masala chai.
Notes
Tips to make the Best Poha Chivda
- Always use a thin variety of poha (beaten rice).
- Make sure to roast all the ingredients on a medium-low flame in a heavy or thick bottom kadai or pan. If you roast on high flame, ingredients can get burned easily.
- You can also roast the peanuts, cashews, roasted gram and dry coconut slices in the oven or air fry them separately to make a low-oil snack.
- Gently mix the poha (or toss the poha), so the flakes don't break.
- You can adjust the quantity of nuts, coconut slices, and fried gram as per your liking.
- Make sure to cool down the chivda to room temperature before storing it in an airtight container.
- Add the turmeric, salt, and sugar at the end just before mixing in the poha so that they don't get burnt with increased exposure to heat.
Variations
- Garlic: If you like garlic flavor, you can add slightly crushed whole garlic cloves along with curry leaves during the tempering.
- Nuts: You can also add almonds, pecans, walnuts, or nuts of your choice.
- Seeds: To make it healthy, you may add sesame seeds, melon seeds, flax seeds, or hemp seeds.
- Spicy: You can also use dry red chilies or red chili powder for the heat instead of green chilies.
- Other Flakes: In place of poha or along with it, you can use oats, makhana, puffed rice, quinoa flakes, chana jor garam, red rice flakes, or corn flakes. Just make sure to roast them if required before adding them.
Nutrition
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