This is my Mum’s heirloom recipe for Chevdo. The nashta jars at Mum’s always, always had chevdo, chakris, jaada ghanthiya, jinni sev, tikhi jadi sev,  jeera puri and the ginger biscuits- always.

Teatime or anytime, you would visit; her serving trolley would roll around clinking with glass jars filled with homemade nashtas, garam, garam, masala chai in a teapot covered with a tea cozy, Corning ware cups with the green ivy pattern, and if you were expected then some batata poha or garam bhajiyas or something new she was trying out. 

There are many variations to the East African chevdo, my granny would put raisins in the tempering, while my MaaIL sprinkled “limbu na phool:- citric acid for that tart taste.  I make it exactly as my Mum taught me. No shortcuts, so no ready-made crisps or dals, everything is fried at home. 

I remember when some ladies back home sold packaged homemade chevdo, I would tell Mum, why don’t we get that instead of making it at home, she would say “nah, batrisi todi nakhe evo chevdo che” – “it would break your dentures!” referring to the hard fried dals that would literally loosen a tooth if you are not careful. 

She taught me how to fry the dals so that they would be cooked to a perfect crunch but still be airy soft, not hard like popcorn kernels. 

 Ingredients:

• 3 KG Chevdo (if following the measurements in brackets it will yield 1 KG of chevdo) 
• 5.5 lbs. bag of Red potatoes (8 Medium sized)
• 3 cups split chana dal- Yellow Chickpea (1 cup)
• 1.5 cups whole green moong (½ cup) 
• 3 cups Thick Poha or beaten rice flakes (1 cup or 1.5)
• 3 cups raw peanuts (1 cup)
• 2 cups raw cashews (½ cup)
• For flavoring:
• 4 tbsp. salt (3tsp)
• 4 tbsp. turmeric powder (3 tsp.)
• 4 tbsp. red chili powder (3tsp.)
• 12 tbsp. white sugar (3 tbsp. you can grind the sugar in a coffee grinder) 
• For tempering:
• 1 tsp. Asafoetida/Hing (1/2 tsp.)(Use GF Hing or pure Hing for GF version)
• 1 cup mix of dried coriander seeds, cumin seeds, sesame seeds, “variyali”- fennel seeds, mustard seeds -all these should equal 1 cup (1/4 cup)
• 5 small cinnamon barks (2)
• 1/4 cup cloves (7 cloves)
• 6 Thai hot chilies cut into small rounds (3)
• 2 stalks curry leaves (6 curry leaves) 
• 1.5 cups chopped cilantro leaves (1/2 cup)
• 5 tbsp. olive oil (2 tbsp.)
• Oil for Frying
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Method: 

 24 HOURS BEFORE

• 24 Hours before making the chevdo:
• Wash and soak the chana dal in cold water overnight or at least 24+hrs. 
• Wash and soak the whole moong dal in warm water overnight or at least 24+hrs somewhere halfway in this time, drain and change the water again. 
  
  

AFTER 24 HOURS:

• Line baking trays with paper towels- so that as you fry the excess oil gets absorbed otherwise you will end up with a lot of oil in the chevdo.

• Mix the flavoring mix in a bowl and keep aside.

1. Peel and wash the potatoes.
2. Attach the large shredding disc to your food processor.
3. Using a food processor shred the potatoes by pushing them through the feeder or grate using a box grater with the largest shredding side.
4. Remove the shredding disc, collect your shredded potatoes, and soak them in cold water.  Best potatoes to use for making crisps are new red potatoes.
5. Wash the grated potatoes under running cold water to remove all the starch, and then drain and spread them on a couple of clean dishcloths (I have a large bath towel I use just for this), pat dry- wet potatoes will give soggy crisps.
6. Drain the chana dal and moong dal in a colander then dry them both separately by spreading them out on a dishcloth and using another to cover it and pat dry.
7. Wash and chop the cilantro finely, then dry it on a kitchen towel.
8.  Heat the oil in a large wok or karai on medium high.
9. To test if the oil is ready, drop a potato chip in the oil, and if it rises to the surface quickly and crisps up it’s at the right temp.
10. Give the potatoes a final dry with a dry dishcloth and then carefully fry a handful of the potatoes in the oil, the crisps will float to the surface, once they are all golden and crispy, fish them out with a slotted spoon or a spider spoon and allow oil to drain.
11. Transfer them to the baking tray and sprinkle 1/4 of the flavoring mix after each batch you fry, continue until all the potato crisp are done.
12. Next fry the dry chana dal- sprinkle the dal in the oil and let it float to the surface- DO NOT STIR THE DAL, as they float to the surface, scoop them out transfer them to the lined baking tray with the crisps and sprinkle 1/4 of the flavoring mix after each batch.   Any dal that has sunk to the bottom should be scooped up and discarded- these will be rock hard.
13. Repeat with the rest of the dal.
14. Next fry the dried moong dal- sprinkle the dal in the oil and let it float to the surface- DO NOT STIR THE DAL, transfer it to the lined baking tray with the crisps and chana dal and sprinkle 1/4 of the flavoring mix after each batch. Any dal that has sunk to the bottom should be scooped up and discarded- these will be rock hard. 
15. Repeat with the rest of the dal.
16. Next fry the peanuts and cashews on low heat – watch them closely so they don’t burn, just about under 40 seconds.
17.  Next,  fry the flattened rice, if you have a metal sieve, use that by filling it with 1/2 cup of the flattened rice and lowering it into the oil, then using a slotted spoon swish it around and the rice will puff up in 4 seconds, using a sieve makes it easier to scoop them up before they burn, transfer them the lined tray and sprinkle 1/4 of the flavoring mix after each batch. Repeat with the rest of the rice.  
18. Next, using the sieve or working fast, fry the cilantro, and green chilies and add them to the mix.
19. Transfer everything to a humongous container or pan where you can toss and turn the mixture.
20. Finally the tempering or vaghar heat oil in a pan, add the cinnamon and cloves, once the cloves pop add the cumin, coriander, rai and variyali and the curry leaves, stir with a wooden spoon until the leaves are crispy, then add the sesame seeds.
21. Pour this tempering over the chevdo mix.
22. Toss everything gently so that you don’t crush the crisps, until well mixed, adjust seasoning if needed, cover and leave all the flavors to develop, next day toss well again and store in an airtight container.
    
    

Tip: I store extra chevdo in Ziploc bags or the Quality Street daabas in the freezer, and bring it out of hibernation, by leaving it out on the kitchen counter to come to room temperature overnight.  It stays crispy and fresh for months.

Season each batch of crisps and lentils as they come out of the Karai.