This Poha chivda | Poha Namkeen is sweet and spicy, basically an Indianized version of a trail mix. Learn how to make this healthier, guilt-free snack with few teaspoons of oil which is just as good at the traditionally prepared, deep-fried poha chivda.
WHAT IS POHA?
Poha or aval is nothing but rice that has been flattened into flakes. It is also known as beaten rice. There are two kinds of poha that are available in the market- thin and thick poha. For this chivda, we will be using thin poha, so it is also known as patal poha chivda.
Thick poha (jada poha) is used to make another breakfast dish, that is also popular in the Maharashtrian cuisine, Kanda poha. That is soft and moist as opposed to this poha chivda which is crisp. You can even make crispy chivda with thick poha variety, but I prefer the ones made with thin poha. Chivda or chiwda or even pauva no chevdo as it is known in Gujarati is generally made in a large batch and stored, it lasts for many days, and is a great option for snacking!
HOW TO MAKE POHA CHIVDA | POHA NAMKEEN?
For this chivda mixture, thin poha is combined with dry fruits, coconut, and raisins and tempered with mustard seeds, curry leaves, and few other ingredients.
Now, traditionally each ingredient is deep fried and then everything is assembled, but keeping the health quotient in mind, I’ve dry roasted most of the ingredients and used little oil for the tempering. The roasted poha chivda was still as great and crisp as the fried poha chivda 🙂
You can also make chivda in the microwave by roasting each ingredient separately in intervals. You may coat the ingredients with a little oil if you wish too.
This poha chivda recipe was shared by my mum in law’s Maharashtrian neighbor. I’ve adjusted the quantities to suit our taste buds. There is no fixed rule to use these quantities, you can add more or less of any ingredient and customize it totally to suit your palate.
Each household probably has their own little variation to this poha chivda. Mostly this is prepared as a savory snack during Diwali, along with other savory snacks like chakli, masala sev, gathia etc which is distributed along with other delicious sweets to family, friends, and neighbors.
This time I thought of making some at home. I like to munch on these savory snacks along with my evening cuppa masala chai.
Moreover my son is a big fan of this poha chivda too, actually, he likes to pick up the peanuts from the chivda. So I’ve added a lot of peanuts and all the other dry fruits. I’ve not made this very spicy, coz as I said my son eats it too. So if you like a spicy chivda, you could add more green chillies in the tempering.
This recipe makes a pretty healthy chivda, as there is minimal oil that is used, so you can feel good about snacking on this 🙂
You can also make other poha snacks such as poha cutlets, poha idlis or add them to your regular idli batter while grinding rice to make softer idlis. In Goa, we also use this poha to make another sweet tea time snack. Simply mix soaked poha with grated coconut, jaggery, and cardamom. Tastes amazing!!
Do try this easy chivda recipe this Diwali or simply make some to snack on 🙂
ENJOYED THIS ROASTED POHA CHIVDA RECIPE? HERE ARE SOME MORE DIWALI SWEETS TO TRY
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE PATAL POHA CHIVDA | POHA CHIWDA | ROASTED POHA NAMKEEN
1.Dry roast the thin poha (flattened rice) in batches in a sufficiently big heavy-bottomed pot or kadai. Do not brown the poha. Set it aside to cool on a plate. Now roast all the ingredients one at a time, first the peanuts, then dalia dal, cashew nuts. Add about a teaspoon of oil, and roast the raisins until they puff up, remove and set aside. Finally, roast the dried coconut slices. Remove all the dried fruits and nuts in a plate. Set aside.
2.In the meanwhile prepare the tempering, Add 1 tablespoon oil in the same kadai, once it’s hot enough, splutter mustard seeds, add in fennel seeds next followed by chopped green chillies and curry leaves. Fry on hot heat until the curry leaves and green chillies crisp up, make sure they don’t change color.
3.Switch off the heat, and add in the dry spices – salt, sugar, turmeric. Mix well.
4.Return the pot to heat, and add in the dry roasted poha and roasted nuts, dalia dal, dried coconut slices and raisins. Mix well stirring continuously for 2-3 minutes on medium-low heat. Switch off the heat. The chivda will be slightly chewy when it’s warm, it will crisp up upon cooling completely. Leave it in the pan itself for extra crispiness, or transfer to a wide plate and let it cool. Store in an airtight container once it is completely cool.
HOW TO MAKE POHA CHIVDA | POHA NAMKEEN?
Poha Chivda With Thin Flattened Rice | Poha Namkeen
Ingredients
Measuring cup used, 1 Cup = 250 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml
- 3 cups thin poha
- 1 cup peanuts
- 3 tbsp roasted split dalia dal
- 1/2 cup cashew nuts, halved
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup half inch dried coconut slices
For the tempering
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 to 1 tbsp fine sugar
- Sprig of curry leaves
- 2 to 3 green chillies, finely chopped, adjust as per desired heat
- 2 tsp salt, or to taste
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp oil
Instructions
- Dry roast the thin poha (flattened rice) in batches in a sufficiently big heavy-bottomed pot or kadai. Do not brown the poha. Set it aside to cool on a plate. Now roast all the ingredients one at a time, first the peanuts, then dalia dal, cashew nuts. Add about a teaspoon of oil, and roast the raisins until they puff up, remove and set aside. Finally, roast the dried coconut slices. Remove all the dried fruits and nuts in a plate. Set aside.
- In the meanwhile prepare the tempering, Add 1 tablespoon oil in the same kadai, once it's hot enough, splutter mustard seeds, add in fennel seeds next followed by chopped green chillies and curry leaves. Fry on hot heat until the curry leaves and green chillies crisp up, make sure they don't change color.
- Switch off the heat, and add in the dry spices - salt, sugar, turmeric. Mix well.
- Return the pot to heat, and add in the dry roasted poha and roasted nuts, dalia dal, dried coconut slices and raisins. Mix well stirring continuously for 2-3 minutes on medium-low heat. Switch off the heat. The chivda will be slightly chewy when it's warm, it will crisp up upon cooling completely. Leave it in the pan itself for extra crispiness, or transfer to a wide plate and let it cool. Store in an airtight container once it is completely cool.
PIN IT FOR LATER
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Regards,
Freda
Winnie says
Tried this a few times. So crispy and yummy. Love it.
Freda Dias says
Thanks for sharing your feedback, Winnie 🙂
Sudha says
Turned out very well
Thank you Freida
Freda Dias says
Thanks for sharing your feedback, Sudha 🙂
lallie says
Hi Freda
It looks delicious n healthy
Love how you used few ingredients
What is poha
I am in Cape Town ,South Africa
Is there an alternative I can use
Freda Dias says
HI Lallie!
Poha is unflattened rice, you get a thick variety which is like rice and is used for making another breakfast dish and a thin one which is specifically used for this recipe, as it gets crisp upon frying. You can use roasted oats, or cereals, puffed rice or even cheerios. Basically anything that is not flavored and has a crunch. You can even use cornflakes. If you have an Indian store nearby, finding Poha will not be difficult 🙂
Sonia says
They r though available in Indian store but the taste of the home was unique . Family loved it .
Freda Dias says
Thanks Sonia 🙂
Sumith says
Love these, crispy and delicious!
Freda Dias says
Thanks Sumith 🙂
Shubha says
All time fav..we make it often esp during diwali..as always great pics:)
Freda Dias says
Thanks Shubha 🙂
Nasreen Shaik says
Tried it n loved it alot. Thanks for sharing dis in cal.. wanted to thank u personally!
Freda Dias says
Glad to know! Thanks for sharing your feedback Nasreen:)
Love Served Daily says
Super healthy
Freda Dias says
Yep totally 🙂
Opinionated Man says
Now that is food blogging! Love the photos and run down of info!
Freda Dias says
Thank you Jason 🙂
Pragati joshi says
Healthy poha chiwda….wowsome..!!
Freda Dias says
Thanks a lot Pragati 🙂
Lynz Real Cooking says
This looks really interesting and so good Freda! Something new for me xx
Freda Dias says
Thanks Lynn 🙂
CHCooks says
I love this so much 🙂 Great looking chivda Freda!
Freda Dias says
Thank you 🙂
youthfoodblog says
This is wonderfully aromatic!
Freda Dias says
Thanks Chris:)
Smiling Notes says
Poha Chivda is an all time favorite! Growing up, we always used to tell mum to make it and Diwali meant more Chivda 😀 This looks so delicious!
Freda Dias says
I can imagine, I used to love it when our neighbors distributed it 🙂 Thanks Shamira 🙂
hummingbirdthyme says
Oooh, this sounds so yummy! A fantastic healthy snack!
Freda Dias says
Thanks so much Laura:)
IreneDesign2011 says
This looks so very delicious Freda, I wonder if I can buy these rice here. I would like to try your recipe 🙂
Freda Dias says
Thanks, Irene! It’s easily available in most Indian grocery store. You could also replace the poha with any other cereal or plain conflakes/cheerios.