Rice Krispie Bhel

It's been almost two years since I have logged into this virtual kitchen of mine!! YES!!! It's been that long and I am alive!! 

So let me start off by saying a big Hello to all the lovely readers of Paaka-Shaale. It's been almost two years since this blog has seen any posts. So much has happened in the last two years that I really don't know where to start. First, there was this unexpected move to Bangalore. Which turned our world upside down to say the least. Along with this move came a series of challenges. One of them being Purvi's school. It was such a major challenge for us, that she had to change the school twice in one year. There were also issues with our cargo. At one point of time, I felt like my stuff was scattered all over the globe. All of this sort of left me feeling like a nomad. Even after all these days, if someone asks me if I am settled, I am not sure what to answer them. With all this happening, blogging invariably took a back seat and this virtual kitchen of mine got neglected. So neglected, that I even thought of shutting down the blog.

However, thanks to my family and some friends who kept bombarding me with talks of "wasted talent" and "opportunities". I pulled myself together and decided to breath a new life into this virtual kitchen of mine. So thanking the almighty and my family for everything, I am here today to share a simple yet fantastic recipe for rice krispie bhel.

As you all know Bhel Puri is a chaat and savory snack that is traditionally made with puffed rice, vegetables, sev, chutneys and peanuts. In this case however, I have replaced the puffed rice with the rice krispie cereal. The rice krispie is a breakfast cereal that snaps, crackles and pops. Unlike the puffed rice, this cereal doesn't turn soggy very fast and I believe that they retain the crunch a few minutes longer. I would also like to warn you that this version of bhel is a tad bit more addictive than the one with puffed rice. I believe that there is 99.9% chance that you will start eating from the ladle itself. But Jokes apart, lets proceed to the recipe. Shall we?? 

Rice Krispie Bhel recipe:
Preparation time: 20min
Cooking time: 10mins
Serves- 4

Ingredients:
Rice Krispie- 2 cups or 240ml, lightly roasted
Flat papdi- 8-10
Red Onion- 1medium sized, finely chopped
Potato- 1 medium sized, boiled, peeled and cubed
Tomato- 1 large, deseeded and finely chopped
Roasted peanuts- 1/4cup
Green mango- 1-1/2tbspn- finely grated.
Black salt or Kaala namak- 1/2tspn or to taste
Red chili powder- 1tspn
Chaat masala- 1/2tspn
Date and Tamarind chutney- 2-3tbspn
Greeen chutney- 1tbspn
Nylon sev- 1/3 cup
Coriander leaves- 2tbspn
Lemon Juice- 1tspn

Method:

• In a large bowl, combine the roasted, rice crispies along with the chopped onion, boiled onion, tomato, boiled potatoes, peanuts and grated mango and mix well.
• Add the date tamarind chutney, green chutney, Black salt, red chili powder, and chaat masala and mix.
• Top the mixture with Nylon sev and crushed papdi and toss. Garnish with coriander leaves and lemon juice and serve immediately.