Phova Upkari

Phova Upkari

A tasty & crispy snack in Konkani Cuisine. Excellent combo with Tea / Coffee or Upma !!

Ingredients

For Phovu (Aval):

4 cups / 800 ml (Indian standard measuring cup of 200 ml / 8 oz capacity) white phovu / aval (pick good quality and fresh packet with latest manufacturing date)

Heat a wide iron kadai on a medium heat. Gently dry roast phovu on a medium to low heat until crisp (approximate dry roasting time 12 – 15 minutes). Keep aside.

1, For kara boondi:

Please use same measuring cup to measure besan and water.

1 cup / 200 ml (Indian standard measuring cup of 200 ml / 8 oz capacity) gram flour (besan / kadala maav / chone pitti)

1 teaspoon rice flour (optional)

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon red chilli powder

¼ teaspoon hing (asafoetida)

¾ cup water

200 ml oil (to deep fry)

Method

For batter:

In a bowl, mix gram flour, rice flour (optional), red chilli powder, hing and salt with water and make a smooth batter. Batter should be slightly thinner than dosa batter and bajji batter / pouring consistency. Keep aside for half an hour.

Method

Heat oil in a frying pan / kadai. Reduce the heat to medium and pour the batter over perforated ladle and gently shake the ladle. Then the batter will fall through the holes of the ladle evenly into hot oil. Fry till golden color and crisp. Drain out from oil and place on kitchen towel to absorb extra oil. This boondis are also very useful to make boondi raita.

2, For peanuts

Ingredients

100 ml / 1 / 2 cup (Indian standard measuring cup of 100 ml / 4 oz capacity) peanuts

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon water

200 g oil

Method

Mix peanuts with salt. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon water and mix well. Keep aside for 20 - 25 minutes.

Heat oil in a frying pan. Reduce heat to medium and fry peanuts in batches (till golden color). Drain and place on kitchen paper to absorb excess oil.

3, For happolu (Kerala pappadam):

8 small size happolu or 6 big size happolu

Cut into ¼ - inch bits and deep fry in hot oil and keep aside.

For seasoning (phann):

Please do not use leftover oil. Use only fresh oil.

2 tablespoon oil

2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon jeera seeds (cumin seeds)

6 green chillies (small size), slit lengthwise

12 – 15 fresh curry leaves (dark green color)

½ to ¾ teaspoon turmeric powder

¼ teaspoon hing (asafoetida)

Method

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. When they start spluttering add jeera and sauté for 2 minute until fragrant. Add green chillies and curry leaves. Fry for 3 – 5 minutes on a medium heat until crisp and color changed on green chillies. Add turmeric powder and hing. Stir well for 3 - 4 minutes on a low heat or until well combined with other ingredients.

Final mixing:

Transfer dry roasted phovu in a wide bowl and pour seasoning over it. Gently mix with a flat spatula until seasoning and turmeric color well coated on phovu. Mix very carefully and slowly. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste). Adding salt at this stage is very important. Already added salt for peanuts and kara boondi. Happolu contains salt. So be careful.

Add deep fried peanuts, kara boondi and fried happolu. Mix again gently. Store in an airtight container for latest use.