Kachari - Crispy Rice Snack

I always wonder why is it called 'Kachari', but then as Shakespeare said...

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

 So, despite my curious thoughts, I never did any research on the name. (If ever you do it, please share with me). Anyways, however crappy the name may sound, this is a nice n crunchy snack. Diwali is just around the corner and it's about time we all start preparing our sweet n snack menu. I remember how the days just before Diwali were spent preparing sweets and namkeens of all kinds. As fun as it was, I will have to say it used to get a little tiring too. But my mom preferred preparing every thing just 2-3 days before the festival so that it will be all fresh when served to guests. For those of you who face this dilemma too, I present this recipe (*Tadaa...*). You can prepare kachari and store it months in advance and when you have to serve it, just fry it and you will have a fresh hot snack ready in minutes. And, here is another secret, I usually prepare it when I have leftover steamed rice. 

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

• Rice: 1 cup (soaked for at-least 20 mins)
• Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp
• Green chilies: 4
• Salt to taste

Method: 

• Using pressure cooker:  Add all the ingredients in pressure cooker. Add 4 and 1/2 cup water. Cook for 5 whistles.
• Using micorwave: Alternatively, you can cook it in microwave for 25 minutes.
• The mixture should be mashy. Whisk for a few seconds. If it is too dry, add some water and whisk.
• Let it cool for some time. 
• Now you need to make strands from this mixture on parchment sheet/ plastic sheet. For this you can use a sev maker with a broad sev template like the star one. Or, you can use your cake decoration tubes (like I have used in this pic.). Or, make a cone using a plastic bag (cut in a corner).
  
• And now is the time to be creative, you can make rings, stars, spirals or just curves. I couldn't help the artist in me, this what I made (:)).
  
• Let them dry completely. You can sun dry them or keep in any dry place. It may take 2-3 days to dry completely, depending on the weather.
• Store them in air tight container.
• When you have to serve, just deep fry in hot oil on high flame. To make sure oil is hot enough, drop a small piece of kachari in oil, it should swell and rise to surface. Serve hot or you can store fried kachari as well. 

Tip:

• You can add coriander to this.
• You can use red chilly flakes instead of green chilly.
• If you have stored fried kachari, it may turn soft. Heat them in microwave for few second before serving. 
• If you are using leftover steamed rice, you will need just 2 whistles in pressure cooker or 7 mins in microwave.

Prepare and stock it for Diwali.

Till my next post,

Bye n keep budding.