Haldi Farsan

My Take on the Mixes

Over the years I developed a rather unhealthy attraction to the multitude of spicy fried snacks available at most Indian Grocers. Bombay Mix, Madras Mixture, Gujarati Mix, bhujia, sev, boondi, I couldn’t seem to get enough of them and tried as many as possible. A few I liked a lot, while others were tried only once.

Eventually I started to consider the nutritional aspects — or lack thereof — with these mixes: the salt, type of oil and carbs. I began to read the ingredients more carefully and became more picky about the ones I would buy. I started by avoiding the snacks that were higher in fat or salt in particular. After reading a bit about palm oil, I decided to eliminate products that used that as much as possible. But I am not fooling myself. None of these snacks are health-food, and I’d be better off to pass that aisle in the store without tempting myself! Still…

I still long for some of these snacks, however, so I thought about creating my own mix. I even wrote down an outline for a recipe. And then did nothing! For a year. But upon finding my notes one day, I was inspired to give my concept a try. The next time I went to Waltham, I bought all the ingredients; checking carefully so that I could at least limit the oil to Canola. I also opted for plain (non-spiced) sev and boondi to reduce collisions with the Tum Tums and Chana Dal, which remained spiced.

Next, I edited my notes guessing at proportions and decided which spices I wanted to use. I was aiming for a simpler more distinctive flavor rather than a blend of too many competing flavors. I wanted two different “hero” flavors to predominate: curry leaves and turmeric.

As opposed to many of my recipes that develop over a long period of time, this one came together quickly. I only changed proportions of a few ingredients and opted to change the thin sev to either a medium sev or ganthia. Spices were adjusted a couple times, but by the third attempt, the recipe was solid. I was quite happy with the recipe, and it even got good reviews from family members when they tried it.

If you feel like giving it a shot, check out the recipe below.

1. Heat oil in a wok (or similar) and sizzle curry leaves until they turn crisp.
2. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the spices. Stir and allow to sizzle for 30 seconds.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well to make sure everything is evenly coated by the spices.
4. When the murmura turns yellow it is done. Turn off the stove and allow to cool.