Isn’t it wonderful how you get to meet unknown, faceless people through the Internet that creates a bond between you and feel a certain connection between you both. One such person whom I had the fortune to come into contact was Meenalochani Kumar. She sent me 3 wonderful recipes after I announced the event “Let’s Cook ~ Rice”. When I came to know that today happens to be her Birthday, I could not think of a better way to wish her on this day, other than to cook one of the recipes sent by her and give her a visual treat. Here’s me wishing dear Meena, a very Happy Birthday and May the years ahead bring you peace, prosperity, wisdom and good health.
In her own words, “My name is Meenalochani Kumar. I am a Palakkad Iyer and based in Bangalore. I love to cook. Since I am employed as an Organization Consultant and travel quite a lot, I try to focus on recipes that can be cooked with ease and is nutritious when I am home”.
Many thanks to you Meena, as my children loved this tangy snack topped with the crunchy peanuts very much and for introducing me to yet another healthy snack that can made in a jiffy. I usually make the sweeter version but equally enjoyed this savory version too. The Recipe below is in her own words, I only did the cooking, clicking and editing.
Puli Aval (Tangy Parched Rice)
(Print this Recipe)You’ll need:
- Aval / Poha / Rice Flakes / Parched rice – 2 cups
- Green chili – 1
- Curry Leaves – 6-7 leaves
- Mustard – 1/2 tsp
- Asafetida / Hing – a pinch
- Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
- Red Chilli Powder – 1 tsp
- Tamarind - Half a lemon size
- Fried ground nuts – 2 tbsp
- Salt – to taste
- Oil – 3 tbsp
Method:
Soak the tamarind in lukewarm water for about half an hour. Extract the juice and keep aside. You can add water to increase the volume of tamarind juice such that you get enough to immerse the parched rice.
To the tamarind water, add salt, turmeric, red chilli powder, asafetida. Mix well. To this mixture, add the washed and cleaned parched rice, and let it marinate for about 10 minutes.
Heat a frying pan with oil. When hot, add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds splutter, add the green chilies, curry leaves to this. A lovely aroma emanates from this and keep sautéing till you get the aroma ( the contents should not burn).
Finally add the parched rice (by now it would have soaked up all the tamarind water). Mix the ingredients gently. Garnish with fried ground nuts and serve hot.
- The water used for soaking the poha should be just enough to cover it. Adding more than necessary water will make them mushy while cooking.
This is off to my event Let’s Cook – Rice
