Chevdoચેવડો
Thin flattened rice tossed with peanuts, split chana, curry leaves and dry fruit. Make it once and it lives in a tin for weeks, which is why every Gujarati home makes it at Diwali.
Ingredients
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- 4 cups thin poha
- ½ cup peanuts, ¼ cup roasted split chana, ¼ cup cashews
- ¼ cup raisins or dried coconut slices
- Curry leaves, 3 slit green chillies
- 1 tsp turmeric, 2 tsp sugar, salt
- 4 tbsp oil, mustard seeds, asafoetida
Method
- Dry roast the poha on low heat for 5-7 minutes until crisp, and set aside.
- Fry the peanuts, cashews and split chana separately in oil until golden and remove.
- In the same oil, crackle mustard seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves and chillies, then add the turmeric.
- Turn off the heat and fold in the roasted poha, fried nuts, sugar and salt.
- Cool completely before storing in an airtight tin.
Tips
- Storing it warm traps steam and softens everything.
- Taste a flake to check the poha is properly crisp before mixing.
Storing and reheating
Once completely cold, chevdo keeps three to four weeks in a glass jar or an airtight steel tin. Do not refrigerate it; condensation every time you open it will soften the mix. Raisins shorten its life because they carry moisture. If it does go limp, dry roast it on a tawa for two minutes, cool it fully and re-pack.
What you can swap
- No thin poha? Use the very fine 'nylon' poha. Thick poha will not crisp by dry roasting at all; it has to be fried.
- No roasted split chana? Fried chana dal, puffed rice or masala peanuts fill the same gap.
- Use powdered sugar rather than granulated. Granules clump in one spot, while powdered sugar coats everything evenly.
- If you like a tang, dust in a pinch of black salt or amchur. Do not use lemon juice, the moisture will spoil the batch.
What to serve with it
No Diwali nasta tin is complete without chevdo sitting next to the mathiya, ghughra and chorafali. The rest of the year it is the snack with evening chai, the first dish put out when guests arrive, and the thing that travels in a box on long journeys.
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not drop turmeric into very hot oil. It scorches instantly and turns bitter, so lower the flame before it goes in.
- Add the salt and sugar after the heat is off, while the mix is still warm. On cold chevdo they just settle at the bottom.
- Do not fry the raisins with the nuts; they burn in seconds. Toss them in the residual heat after the nuts come out.
- Do not stir hard with a spoon. Lift and fold with your hands or a wide ladle, or the poha breaks down into powder.
Questions people ask
How long does chevdo keep?
Three to four weeks if it was cooled properly and sealed. After that the peanuts and the oil begin to turn. If it smells odd or feels greasy rather than dry, throw it out.
Why is my chevdo chewy instead of crisp?
Either the poha was under-roasted, or the tin was closed while it was still warm. A roasted poha flake should snap the moment you bite it. If there is any chewiness at all, roast it two minutes longer.
Can I fry the poha instead of roasting it?
Fried poha gives a crunchier, richer chevdo much like the shop-bought kind. If you fry, keep the oil properly hot and lower small handfuls in a strainer; they puff up white in about two seconds.
