Borugula Mixture Puffed Rice Snack

Method

1. 1

   Roast the peanuts first: Place 1/2 cup raw peanuts in a dry pan on medium heat. Roast stirring continuously for 5 to 6 minutes until the skins blister, they smell roasted and turn golden when you bite one open. Remove from heat. Cool completely. Rub between palms to remove most skins. Keep aside.

2. 2

   Check the puffed rice: Puffed rice should be completely dry and crunchy. If it feels slightly soft or has absorbed moisture, spread on a tray and microwave for 30 seconds or heat in a dry pan on low heat for 2 minutes to crisp up.

3. 3

   Heat oil and make the flavoured oil: Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wide, deep pan on medium. Add mustard seeds — wait for them to pop. Add asafoetida, curry leaves (they will crackle) and dried red chilli. Stir 15 seconds. Turn heat to the lowest setting.

4. 4

   Add the spice powders to the oil: Add turmeric and red chilli powder to the tempered oil. Stir for 10 seconds on very low heat. The spice-infused oil is what flavours the puffed rice.

5. 5

   Add the roasted peanuts: Add the roasted peanuts to the spiced oil. Stir gently to coat each peanut with the spiced oil. Cook on low heat for 1 minute.

6. 6

   Add the gram flour noodles (sev): Add the ready-made sev to the pan. Stir very gently to mix with the peanuts and spiced oil. Heat for just 30 seconds — do not over-stir or the sev will break into fine dust.

7. 7

   Add the puffed rice: Add all 3 cups of puffed rice to the pan at once. Working quickly with two spoons or a wide spatula, gently toss and fold the puffed rice with the spiced peanuts and sev. The goal is to coat every grain of puffed rice with the spiced oil without crushing the rice.

8. 8

   Add salt and sugar: Add salt and a pinch of sugar. Toss gently once more. Taste — the mixture should be salty, mildly spicy, slightly sharp from the mustard seeds and slightly sweet from the pinch of sugar.

9. 9

   Cool before adding fresh ingredients: Remove from heat. Spread on a wide plate to cool for 3 minutes — the mixture loses its crunch if you add fresh ingredients while it is hot.

10. 10

    Add lemon juice and coriander: Once cooled to room temperature, squeeze lemon juice over the mixture. Add the chopped coriander leaves. Toss gently once. Serve immediately.

11. 11

    Note: Borugula Mixture (borugulu = puffed rice in Telugu) is the everyday evening snack of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. It is sold from roadside pushcarts where vendors toss it fresh to order, adjusting spice to the customer's preference. A simpler version eaten during fasting is just plain puffed rice with lime, onion and green chilli. The full spiced version with peanuts and sev is the standard tea-time snack.