Kara Pori / Spicy Puffed Rice
The sun was out, a gentle breeze was blowing, glorious weather was here for the weekend, basking in all the warmth, I stepped out to water my plants, a sudden urge to make this Kara Pori/Spicy Puffed rice took over.Growing up in a little town in South India, where street vendors were a common sight, I can almost remember the Pori or puffed rice vendor in his bicycle balancing the two huge bags of Pori on either side of his bike, calling out “Poriyo Pori” ringing a bell exclusively meant to convey that it was him & not the other vendors.So we would buy a tin of Pori/Puffed rice & make various snacks with it, some sweet , some spicy…but one staple kind was the “Kara Pori/ Spicy puffed rice” which was a given in almost all households where I grew up.Friends and family would drop in with no prior notice ( those things were unheard of grin emoticon ) & stop for a cup of coffee…..the instant guilt free snack with coffee then, would be “Kara Pori”.It was the easiest & least time consuming snack to make & could easily be stored in airtight containers to be used as ” Norrukku theeni”/Munch snack for all times & all seasons.There are days when we watched movies on TV both teary eyed ones & suspense thrillers, only to the sound of the crunching munching sound of “Pori” in our mouths, there are times when an instant picnic was planned & ‘Pori’ saved the day, at times giggles & laughter were shared with friends over a bowl of ‘Pori’….yup, the famous “Kara Pori” has seen it all smile emoticon.So this evening when this urge to have this along with my evening coffee took over, it was only a minutes thought away to stir the ingredients together & have it hot & spicy with coffee & watch a Saturday night movie on TV.Yes, east or west “Pori “still is the best
Table of Contents
KARA PORI/ SPICY PUFFED RICE
Ingredients
1 1 big packet Puffed rice/Pori/Murmuru
2 tbsp 2 Coconut Oil
1 tsp 1 Mustard
3 tbsp 3 Split chick peas
1/2 cup 1/2 Peanuts
5 5 -6 Dry Red chilies
1/2 tsp 1/2 Turmeric powder
5 5 -6 Curry leaves
1 tsp 1 Chili powder/Sambar powder
5 5 -6 Garlic cloves ( crushed)
Salt- to taste
Directions
- Warm oil in a wok, to this add the mustard seeds along with the split chick peas & garlic, when the seeds splutter add the curry leaves, peanuts & dry red chillies & stir till light brown.
- Now add the turmeric ,chili/sambar powder & salt to this mix & stir well.
- Now gently add the puffed rice/pori to the mix & stir all the ingredients well, so that the “pori” is coated with all the flavors. Remove from heat.
- Serve in bowls, as an evening snack along with hot coffee & store the rest in air tight glass jars or containers for future use.
- Enjoy !
Notes
- Chili powder can be substituted with sambar powder( another spicy powder of South India)
- Since I did not have curry leaves handy, I used curry leaf powder, still taste’s the same.
- One can use any oil, but coconut oil adds to the flavor.