Kerala Mixture

Spicy Kerala mixture is something that would stand first among the choices to pick from the snack aisle at the Indian store. I like it super hot/spicy, no matter how much ever it may make me cry when I have them.

I remember my mom making it once when we were kids. It does involve a bit of an effort I must say, because even though you are frying the same dough they need to differ in shapes. But that is what defines mixture right. 

I might sound boasting about it. But I felt, trying it was much worth the effort because I knew the mixture was made in fresh batch of oil and not the ones that might have been kept on using for months. I could feel the difference clearly. But the hesitation of not making it too spicy, made me go for less chilly powder which I repent now. So I have adjusted the amount of chilly powder accordingly in the recipe. 

Ingredients

1. 2 cups of Chickpea flour/Besan
2. 1 cup of roasted rice flour
3. 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
4. 1/2 tsp of powdered Asafoetida
5. 1 tsp of chilly powder
6. Salt to taste
7. 3-4 sprigs of curry leaves
8. 1/2 cup of yellow split peas/ channa dal
9. 1/2 cup of raw peanuts
10. Water as required
11. Oil for frying
12. 1 tsp of red chilly powder to sprinkle over mixture

Method

• In a bowl, take the ingredients 1-6. Give it a mix to spread all the ingredients evenly. Pour in water little by little while you mix it with your hands to form a dough that is non sticky and soft.
• Heat the oil for frying in a large skillet. Once hot, turn down the heat to medium high.
• Fill the dough in a string hopper/Idiyappam mold with the idiyappam/noodle disc and press down the dough directly into the hot oil. Fry it till the bubble stops foaming around it. Flip it and cook as needed. They cook pretty fast so make sure you do not burn them and drain it off the oil to a tray lined with paper towel, once they are golden brown in colour.
• The last batch of dough can be piped down in the form of ribbon pakodas with the ribbon shaped disc fit to the string hopper mold. Fry it and remove it on to the same tray lined with paper towel. Now gently crush the noodle and ribbon shaped fried dough with your hands to break them down into 1 - 1 1/2" length.
• In the same oil, fry the raw peanuts and chana dal in separate batches untill they are golden brown and drain them on to a plate lined with paper towel.
• Now fry the curry leaves and drain them on to the same plate lined with paper towel.
• Take a large mixing bowl. Make sure it is free of moisture. Add the broken down fried noodle, ribbon pakodas, fried peanuts, chana dal and curry leaves into it. Sprinkle 1 tsp of red chilly powder(ingredient 12) and 1/2 tsp of salt and toss it well, so that everything gets evenly spread.
• Let it cool down before you store it in an air tight container.

Tips

1. You could make spicy bhoondis to add to the mixture. For that you will need to mix ingredients 1-6 with water to a consistency of a paste, free from lump, in such a way that they easily drop, into the oil for frying, through the holes of a slotted ladle. You could refer the recipe of bhoondi here to get a better idea of forming bhoondis while you use the ingredients mentioned in this recipe.
2. I found that my mixture was not as spicy as the usual kerala mixture and hence have adjusted the measure of the chilly powder in the above recipe. Do adjust the spiciness as per your requirement.