Our naasto (snack) jar is the equivalent of a cookie jar — one minute it’s full and the next only a few crumbs remain at the bottom. It’s most often filled with chakri (savoury rice sticks), gathia (spiced chickpea flour noodles) and chevdo (the spicy-sweet-sour mix of dreams). The moment when you sit down to masala chai and ‘naasto’ is when troubles fizzle away. The soothing, milky masala tea erases the furrows in your brow and the crunchy, savoury, sweet and spicy snacks are a welcome cuddle from the inside. It’s the kind of home comfort that becomes an occasion without even trying. Flawless.

Of course, there is no naasto time without chevdo.

Chevdo is a crunchy, savoury Indian snack in which every ingredient is fried or baked to golden perfection before being tumbled together with salt, turmeric, cinnamon, cloves, sugar and chilli. The ingredients vary from recipe to recipe but the essentials include: potato sticks, roasted moong daal, corn flakes, nuts, crispy curry leaves and sultanas. You’re probably thinking that this sounds similar to that notorious bar snack, Bombay mix? Let me assure you that it’s not the same.

Bombay mix is a form of chevdo in the sense that it’s a load of sweet, spicy, salty, crunchy ingredients but traditional chevdo isn’t made up of mainly chickpea flour noodles like Bombay Mix is. The flavours aren’t as complex in Bombay Mix which usually includes salt and chilli.

I’ve created a quick, lightened up version of chevdo using a mix of unsweetened breakfast cereal and much less oil than the traditional recipe (which involves a lot of deep frying of everything). It includes all the usual spices for an explosion of flavour without all the deep frying.

The crispy curry leaves and spices are tempered in rapeseed oil and then mixed thoroughly with the cereal, nuts and potato sticks. My recipe makes 1.5kg — it sounds like a lot but in our home, it’s traditional to bag it up and share with friends and family, especially during special occasions.

Serve with masala chai or a cold beer for snacking that goes above and beyond your usual bag of nuts down the pub.

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Baked Cereal Chevdo

A spicy-savoury Indian snack mix using breakfast cereal, nuts and seeds.

Course Snack

Cuisine Indian

Keyword baked, cereal, chevdo, easy, healthy

Prep Time 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 1 kg

Ingredients

• 375 g unsweetened multigrain cereal loops
• 375 g unsweetened cornflakes
• 500 g unsalted baked potato sticks or crisps
• 150 g cashews
• 85 g almonds
• 85 g redskin peanuts
• 12 g curry leaves approx 50 leaves
• 5 green chillies
• 50 g sesame seeds
• 30 g coconut
• 25 g raisins
• 25 g coriander leaves
• 20 g fennel seeds
• 10 g cinnamon sticks 1 stick, broken
• 2 g cloves 15 cloves
• 5 g citric acid don’t substitute lemon/lime juice as they will add moisture and affect the shelf life of the chevdo
• 12 g salt
• 70 ml oil
• 6 g turmeric 2 tsp

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
• Place the cereal on a large baking tray and bake for 6-8 minutes until golden and toasted. Allow to cool.
• Place the nuts on a large baking tray and bake for 6-8 minutes until golden and toasted. Allow to cool.
• In a large container, add the cereal, nuts and potato sticks.
• Heat the oil in a pan. Add the remaining ingredients and saute for 2 minutes until aromatic. Mix this with the cereal and nuts and toss well to coat everything well.

Notes

Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. The chevdo will keep well for a month.

Pin it for later!

A lighter take on Indian trail mix with a surprising ingredient… breakfast cereal! Add a mix of nuts, spices, chilli and crispy curry leaves for a snack you simply can’t stop eating.

The post Easy Cereal Chevdo appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

So, I united chevdo and chocolate chip cookies and their baby turned out to be a goddamn champion.

Imagine this – the perfect balance of sweet, salty, spicy, crunchy and chewy in one little disc of happiness. The edges are slightly crisp, while the middle is soft, chewy and studded with chocolate chips, peanuts, potato chips, corn flakes, puffed rice and crispy lentils. If you love salted caramel or chocolate with chilli or sea salt, you’re going to go doolally for these egg-free cookies.

The moment when you sit down to masala chai and ‘naasto’ (snacks) is the instant your troubles and stresses fizzle away. The soothing, milky masala tea erases the furrows in your brow and the crunchy, savoury, sweet and spicy snacks fill you with the feeling of home comforts. It’s a simple pursuit that inadvertently becomes an occasion without even trying. Flawless.

Of course, there is no naasto time without chevdo. A crunchy, savoury Indian snack in which every ingredient is fried to golden perfection before being tumbled together with salt, turmeric, cinnamon, cloves, sugar and chilli. The ingredients vary from recipe to recipe but the essentials include: potato sticks, whole mung beans, corn flakes, puffed rice, chana daal, peanuts, curry leaves and sultanas.

So you’re probably thinking that this sounds similar to that notorious bar snack, Bombay mix? Yeah, well it’s definitely not the same as that.

However, Bombay mix is a derivative/form of chevdo in the sense that it’s a whole load of sweet, spicy, salty, crunchy ingredients fried and combined for a snack sensation that’ll set your taste buds alight.

Chevdo can come in a variety of forms. My favourite is the mild kind with a decent ratio of crunchy ingredients to nuts and spices to sultanas. Perfectly balanced chevdo is a tough thing to come by but once you find your brand, you’ll always be able to count on it.

You can buy it from the supermarket in the Indian snacks section, from speciality shops that are probably still using the family recipe, perfected over decades or order it online.

For my recipe, I went for a mild corn flake chevdo mix but you Kenya chevdo (mild and not spicy in the slightest) is also a delicious option. The only thing I’d say is steer clear of commercial Bombay mix packets or really spicy chevdo mixes. They will overpower your cookies and the balance of sweet, salty and spicy will be all out of kilter.

These cookies are bonkers-awesome and you should definitely make them. Your friends and family will welcome the surprise of flavours and let me tell you now, they are the most addictive things that will ever come our of your oven.

Sweet and Salty Chevdo Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 18-20 cookies

Ingredients

225g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g caster sugar
80g soft light brown sugar
150g milk chocolate chips
130g unsalted butter, room temperature
100g mild chevdo mix (regular or Kenya chevdo)
30g dehydrated potato powder
40g liquid from a can of chickpeas (aquafaba)
½ tsp vanilla extract
Melted dark chocolate, for dipping (optional)
More chevdo for decorating (optional)

Method

1. Whip the butter in a stand mixer until light, fluffy and pale. You can also do this by hand or use a hand-held electric mixer.

2. Add the caster sugar and brown sugar and whip for 3-4 minutes until super light.

3, Add in the dehydrated potato powder and chickpea liquids (this is the egg replacer and will make your cookies super soft, chewy and delicious – you won’t taste them in the finished cookies). Add the vanilla extract and beat for a few minutes.

4. Combine the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Gradually add this in to the butter mix in two stages. Do this slowly so you don’t overwork the mixture.

5. Fold in the chocolate chips and chevdo and use your hands to bring the cookie dough together. It should be soft, not sticky.

6. Pre-heat the oven to 160C. Line three large baking trays with non-stick baking paper and roll the dough into ping-pong ball sized rounds using your hands.

7. Space each cookie dough ball onto the trays, leaving space around each one – they will spread in the oven. Place the trays in the fridge for 10 minutes.

8. Bake the cookies for 7 minutes, remove them from the oven and use the back of a teaspoon to press them down gently. I find this results in a chewier middle. Return to the oven and bake for a further 7-8 minutes until golden. If you prefer your cookies cakey, skip the flattening step and bake for 14-15 minutes.

9. Remove the cookies from the oven – they will be super soft and delicate so leave them to cook on the trays for 10 minutes.

10. Gently lift the cookies onto a wire rack using a spatula and allow to cool completely.

Once cooled, you can serve them as they are but if you want to be fancy, dip each one in melted dark chocolate and sprinkle with more chevdo. Chill until the chocolate sets.

Store the cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature. They are best eaten fresh but will keep for 3-4 days.

I doubt they’ll last that long.

Love Sanjana

The post Sweet and Salty Chevdo Chocolate Chip Cookies appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.