Indian Snacks

Indian Snacks - Some of the Varieties

 
Indian snacks range from murukku to namkeen.  Such food is usually savored with a hot cup of coffee or tea.  What are the key traits of these snacks?   They are tasty.   Some snacks could be hot, because they may have much chili powder and or pepper powder as an ingredient(s).  Others may be moderately spicy or be not spicy at all.  A few of the varieties of Indian snacks have mildly sweet-and-spicy or sweet-and-sour taste.

If you make the snacks at home, you can tailor them to meet your taste needs:  For instance, use less chili powder to make them less hot and use salt in quantities that is just right for you.

Murukku

The snacks such as murukku, which is also known as chakli or chakkuli, namkeen, fried groundnuts, fried moong dal, and sev are among the popular snacks.  These can be called as the traditional Indian snacks, because of their popularity since several decades.

In the past, come summer or winter, many used to prepare snacks in quantities that would last weeks and sometimes, months.  Today because of busy lifestyles that many may follow and its potential impact on health, making snacks, perhaps, is no more a routine.

As everyone generally likes to eat snacks like the above, making them once in a while, in limited quantities, might be a good idea.

Namkeen

What else, on a rainy or cold day, other than an Indian snack, whether it is murukku or fried groundnuts, with a steaming cup of coffee or tea, can enliven the mind?

From a health angle, do watch on how much of the snacks that are deep-fried you eat.

What are some of the common ingredients you need to make an Indian snack?  A key and common ingredient, say for snacks like namkeen and sev, is chickpea / besan / chana flour.  For murukku, rice flour is a main item.

Hing or asafoetida is an ingredient in many of the Indian snacks that gives these foods a unique flavor.

Sev

To make snacks like murukku and namkeen, you need the murukku machine or one similar to it.  Such a machine is usually available in stores that sell steel and other metal utensils.

Here are the links to the recipes with step-by-step instructions and photos to make:

1.  Murukku

http://southindianvegrecipes.com/snacks_recipes/how_to_make_murukku.html

2.  Namkeen

http://southindianvegrecipes.com/snacks_recipes/namkeen_recipe.html

3.  Sev

http://southindianvegrecipes.com/snacks_recipes/how_to_make_sev.html