Chivda recipe

By | February 3, 2017

I’m learning to cook my mom’s specialities. This particular dish (pronounced “chew-da”) is a good afternoon snack. I ate it everyday after school. For years and years. To this day, Ma puts a bag or two in my suitcase when I visit. It screams “childhood.” My childhood. Probably not yours.

Every family in India will have a different recipe for this. Here’s my family’s version.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1/2 cup peanuts
  • 5 cups of rice crispies type of cereal
  • 2 cups of cornflakes type of cereal
  • 1 cup of cheerios type of cereal
  • 15-20 dried curry leaves
  • One large dehydrated onion. This is what makes the chivda. You cut up the onion, put it in a food dehydrator for however long it tells you and then it comes out the other side looking like this.
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Dehydrated Onions

Spices

  • 1/2 tsp each:
    • cumin seeds
    • mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp each:
    • coriander powder
    • salt
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp of garam masala
  • 2 tbspn sesame seeds

 

Directions

1. Pour oil in a pot on the stove.

2. Add in the mustard, cumin seeds and peanuts.

3. Let cook until it looks done. Kind of like this.

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Peanuts. Cooked in oil for a few minutes.

4. In a large bowl, mix the cereals together well.

5. Scoop out the peanuts you just cooked and add it to the cereal. Don’t add in the oil or the seeds yet.

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Peanuts and cereal, unmixed.

6. Put the oil back on the stove.

7. Add in the cumin leaves, the sesame seeds and the dehydrated onions.

8. Cook for like, a minute. The onions will puff up. They’re ready super fast. Don’t let them burn.

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Fried previously dried onions

9. Add in the powder spices.

10. Shut the stove off and mix well.

11. Pour the mixture over the cereal and peanuts.

12. Mix well.

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Chivda!

My favorite way to enjoy chivda is with yogurt. You can also eat with lime juice. Or use it as a substitute for bhel mix in this recipe. I have been known to put it in my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I get a weird look from family members when I do, but I just ignore them.

Acceptable Deviations

1. You can use fresh curry leaves if you don’t have dried ones.

2. You can add raisins.

3. Don’t buy a food dehydrator just for the onions. Although, it really does make it pretty delicious.

3 thoughts on “Chivda recipe

  1. tt

    drop the yogurt, add in your taco bell hot sauce & voila (you travel with super bowl snacks.)!

    Very timely, especially your mom’s warning about burning…

    Reply

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