Spicy Kerala Mixture or The South Indian spicy Mixture recipe

Kerala Spicy Mixture Recipe: I think, the mixture might be one of the most popular snacks in India. We can make so many different varieties of mixture by changing its ingredients.  The sweet mixture is also available.

We all bought mixture from bakeries, but did you ever think of making mixture at home. About me, never! Normally, I don’t like to buy any food items form bakeries due to hygienic reasons. If possible I will try to make at home. Last week , I decided to make mixture at home.Tried many repetitions to get the correct texture and taste.

OK, let me give an introduction about this recipe. The mixture dish is made with gram flour. Finely ground rice flour is also used to induce crispiness. Ground nuts and roasted grams are the other major ingredients. I usually make a moderately spicy mixture. If you want more spicy, just increase the amount of chili powder.

In this dish, two main items are made with gram flour are the seva or omapodi and boondi. Omapodi or sevai are the strings or vermicelli where as boondis are the small fried droplets of gram flour.

There is no fixed recipe and different ingredients can be assembled and flavoured based on individual taste. So feel free to add or change the ingredients like fried cashews, raisins, rice flakes, gram flour strips, etc. based on availability and individual taste. OK, let us move to the recipe. You will love this savoury, spicy Kerala mixture.

Spicy Kerala Mixture or South Indian spicy mixture recipe Author: Anju Aneesh Recipe type: Snacks Cuisine: India, South India, Kerala Preparation time: 20 minutes | Cooking time: 30 minutes | Total time: 50 minutes. Ingredients 3 cups gram flour\ kadalamavu \ besan 1/2 cup rice flour 1 teaspoon + 1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder A pinch + 1 teaspoon asafoetida 3/4 cup ground nut \ peanut \ Kappalandi with skin 3/4 cup roasted gram or porikadala 4 springs curry leaves Salt to taste Oil for frying Direction of preparation of Spicy Kerala Mixture or Spicy South Indian Mixture In a mixing bowl,  add the rice flour, gram flour, turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon chili powder and salt. Mix well. Transfer 1/2 cup flour into another vessel and reserve for boondi. Combine well the remaining half and knead into smooth dough by adding water little by little. The consistency should be a little bit looser than the chapati dough. In the beginning, it may stick on your hands but as you progress with kneading, you will get a smooth dough. Set aside. This is for seva or sevai. Take the reserved 1/2 cup flour and make a loose batter (like idli batter) by adding water little by little. Heat oil in a wok, Fry curry leaves on medium flame till crispy. Drain excess oil on a paper towel. Now fry fried gram ( pottukadala) until it fetches a light brown colour. Drain on a paper towel. Then, fry peanuts (kappalandi) till golden brown colour. Note: Both Roasted gram and peanut cook very fast, so do not over fry them. To prepare seva, fill the idiyappam \ string hopper / sevai mould with the dough after putting medium sized hole disc in it. Press the dough into hot oil in a circular motion and fry over medium flame till each side gets a nice golden colour. Drain excess oil on a paper towel. Now let us fry the boondi, hold a perforated spoon about 1 to 1 1/2 inches above the oil over the centre of the frying pan with one hand. With other hand pour some batter onto the perforated spoon. Spread the batter lightly with a spoon. The round shaped batter droplets will fall into the oil. Then fry till the boondis are light golden in colour. Remove the boondis out of oil with another spoon. Drain on a paper towel. Now preparation is almost over. Next is mixing steps. Place the seva in a large bowl, and crush it into small pieces. (Not too small) Then add fried curry leaves, boondis, peanuts, fried gram, 11/2 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon asafoetida and salt. Mix well with your hand. Yummy mixture is ready now. When it is completely cooled, store it in an airtight container. This will stay fresh for one month if properly stored.

Let us go to the step by step preparation of Spicy Kerala Mixture

1. In a mixing bowl, sift and add the rice flour, gram flour, turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon chili powder and salt. Mix well. Transfer 1/2 cup flour into another vessel and reserve. It is for boondi.
2. Combine well the remaining half and knead into smooth dough by adding water a little by little. The consistency should be little bit looser than the chapati dough. In the beginning, it may stick on your hands, but as you progress with kneading, you will get a smooth dough. Set aside. This is for seva or sevai.
   
3. Take the reserved 1/2 cup flour and make a loose batter (like idli batter) by adding water little by little.
   
4. Heat oil in a wok, Fry curry leaves on medium flame till crispy. Drain excess oil onto a paper towel.
   
5. Now fry fried gram ( pottukadala) until it fetches a light brown colour. Drain onto a paper towel.
   
6. Then, fry peanuts (kappalandi) till golden brown colour. Note: Both Roasted gram and peanut cook very fast, so do not over fry them.
   
7. To prepare seva, select the medium sized hole disc.
   
8. Then fill the idiyappam \ string hopper / sevai mould with the dough .
   
9. Press the dough into hot oil in a circular motion and fry over medium flame till each side gets a nice golden colour. Fry all the dough in two or three batches.
   
10. Drain excess oil in a paper towel.
    
11. Now let us fry the boondi, hold a perforated spoon about 1 to 1 1/2 inches above the oil over the centre of the frying pan with one hand. With other hand pour some batter onto the perforated spoon. Spread the batter lightly with a spoon. The round shaped batter droplets will fall into the oil. Then fry till the boondis are light golden in colour. (Note: Boondis are made with a perforated ladle, the ladle should place one or one and half inches above the oil. Do not keep too much on a height, it will not give the expected round shape.)
    
    
12. Remove the boondis out of oil with another spoon. Drain onto a paper towel.
    
13. Place the seva into a large bowl, and crush it into small pieces. (Not too small)
    
14. Then add fried curry leaves, boondis, peanuts, fried gram, 11/2 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon asafoetida and salt.
    
15. Mix well with you hand.
    
    
    
16. Yummy mixture is ready now. When it is completely cooled, store it in an airtight container. This will stay fresh for one month if properly stored.
    

My notes

1.  Sevai: Do not make the dough too watery. The consistency should be little bit thinner than chapati dough and at first it may stick on your hands, but as you progress with kneading, you will get a soft dough.
2. For Making boondis, The boondis should have round shapes. If they became flat, the batter is thin and if they get tail ends, the batter is thick. If thin, then add more gram flour and check by frying few boondis. If thick, add a bit of water and then do the same frying test. Once you get correct consistency, proceed with the next step, the frying.
3. Boondis are made with a perforated ladle, the ladle should place one or one and half inches above the oil. Do not keep too much on a height, it will not give the expected round shape.
4. The curry leaves, peanut and fried gram cook very fast, remove it from the oil immediately before it burned.