Indian Grocery Snack Aisle Findings Frome A Total Nube

Hi, I'm seebee, and I'm an Indo-Pak food a holic.

"HI, SEEBEE!"

No, really, for the past few years, I've been gorging on Indian / Pakistani foods.
I even dabble in creating it at home, and I do ok. I love going to the Indian markets around the area, and trying new things. ANYTHING. (I still have yet to find my "pickle" ideal, it might just NOT happen, but I keep trying them. I think I have three unopened jars in my pantry right now waiting for me to suck it up and dive in, hoping for the best.) Anyway, the snack aisle has always seemed a little daunting to me. Even if you read the ingredients, really, who knows what you're gonna get? I decided to take the plunge, and start some trials. A few bucks for a a bag of some kind of crisps and whatnot - not too big of a splurge, and with my love of the flavors anyway, hopefully I'll find some great stuff to share with friends. So, this first trial kind of stems from the fact that we had to take a 6+ hour drive up to the Upper Peninsula which we do several times a year. Snacks on a drive this long are absolutely mandatory, so along with the standard bad hershey/nestle twizzler goldfish, I made a stop at Shital Grocery on Dundee in Wheeling (near where I work,) to grab a few bags of probable Indian road trip noshes:

The first trials of what I hope will be many:

MAHEK brand "Chai Masala Puri"



These were fried. Consistency of a slightly more dense RITZ cracker, with a non threatening standard "indian inspired" masala with a nice after touch of hot chile. After about three of these, the chile flavor was well pronounced, you know these are "spicy" after a few of them.I'd use these for a cream cheese dip, perhaps. They were really rich. I ate them plain however, and after, say five or six, the richness of these wore me down. Tasty indeed, but a little heavy.



Haldiram's brand "Mathri"



These were, well, not to my liking at all. Consistency: Peanut butter cookie made with veg shortening instead of butter. Flavor: I'm pretty sure these were again, a standard "Indian inspired" masala but their kicker was a heavy, heavy dose of methi (fenugreek.) I opened a corner of the bag while driving, and within a few seconds, the whole car smelled like a fenugreek farm. Too strong for my Western "Butter Chicken and paratha, please!" palate. I have a feeling these are gonna wind up in the garbage unless I can find someone who digs them. Live and learn.


Amma's Kitchen brand "Madras Murukku"



Easily my favorite of the trials. Consistency: Crunchy, crunchy, crunchy! Like corn nuts crunchy.
Flavor: Corn nuts with a little bit of salt, a little bit of a light masala, and a nicely pronounced hit of chile at the end. These were da BOMB! I'll definitely get them again. aside from the light flavor, but strong heat, I really liked that these were not really salt bombs at all. I wish they were a teeny bit smaller so the could be dip material. I think they are two biters, so youd have to dip, bite, chew, and then eat the rest.

I'll post more findings soon. This will be fun, I think. Feel free to share any findings or suggest anything if you know of any good snacky, bagged treats.

seebee wrote: I wish they were a teeny bit smaller so the could be dip material. I think they are two biters, so youd have to dip, bite, chew, and then eat the rest.

Perhaps you might want to break them in half for dipping efficiency (and then you wouldn't have to deal with the hole in the middle either )

Tnx for doing this seebee, taking one for the team. We'll be eagerly awaiting your reports!

I've never been able to make it past the Bombay Mix section of the snacks aisle. I bought a bag from a street cart in Leeds in 1976 and it's been stuck in that gear ever since. Not that I'm complaining, mind you!

Keep those bulletins coming!

Geo

I agree that the pre-packaged mathri aren't very good...however, if you aren't averse to doing a little deep-frying at home, I bet a taste of homemade mathri (or as we grew up calling them, mathi) would catapult them to a higher spot on your snacking list. There are a bunch of recipes available online, but I'll refrain from linking because I don't want to endorse any one in particular in case it sucks. The next time I talk to my mom, I'll ask her how she makes hers.

If you happen to spot chakli, I'd recommend giving those a shot too. They're shaped like murukku (spirals with big holes in the middle), but a much darker, almost orange-ish brown, and have a rough, soft-palate-lacerating exterior instead of the braided look of murukku. Chakli have an even crunchier texture which I find more enjoyable for snacking.

One of my faves are the mini bhakarwadi...I've only had the pre-packaged ones, and have to exercise some serious will power to keep myself from devouring the whole back in one shot. I've never had them fresh, but I've heard they're awesome. Here's what they look like:

I don't remember the brand name, but I've bought them a few times at Patel Bros. on Devon.

Khaopaat wrote:
One of my faves are the mini bhakarwadi...I've only had the pre-packaged ones, and have to exercise some serious will power to keep myself from devouring the whole back in one shot. I've never had them fresh, but I've heard they're awesome...I don't remember the brand name, but I've bought them a few times at Patel Bros. on Devon.

Found 'em!
And am I glad I did! Thanks!

Haldiram's brand "Mini Bhakarvadi:"


Consistency:
Kind of like a combo (those pretzel / cracker snack things) but the filling is less of a creamy texture (more like just a different dough) and it's rolled into the dough like a jelly roll. The whole thing has a crunch to it.

Flavor:
They started off like a combo, with a tiny bit of sweet cracker type flavor, then had a hint of an Indian Masala, and then finished with a light hit of chile heat. These are dangerous. I could easily see polishing a few bags of these off in an hour. Very good recommendation indeed, Khaopaat!

Wow, you work fast

Glad to hear they were a hit!

If you happen to spot chakli, I'd recommend giving those a shot too. They're shaped like murukku (spirals with big holes in the middle), but a much darker, almost orange-ish brown, and have a rough, soft-palate-lacerating exterior instead of the braided look of murukku. Chakli have an even crunchier texture which I find more enjoyable for snacking.

I love chakli, I think maybe I've also seen it spelled as chakri or chukri before. My Indian-American roommate throughout college brought back these in plastic baggies whenever she visited her parents. I think her mom made them at home and sadly, I don't think I've ever found ones that taste as good as hers. But they are a very tasty and guilty snack, probably my favorite. But I have a feeling I might like those mini bhakarwadi, I see a stop at my local Indian market in my near future...

Been a while, but back to the grind!

This edition:
Two Balaji Namkeen products - Farali Chevdo and Chataka Pataka




The farali chevdo were not to my liking at all. The first flavor was a pronounced sweetness, and it's a personal preference thing. I'm really limited in the the things that I like that have a sweet/savory thing going on. Normally, I like one or the other. In this case, the sweetness was off putting to me, and I just didn't care for these at all. After the sweet, it mellowed out to a mild masala with a little hint of heat. Texture was mildly crunchy.

The chataka pataka* (on the right) was much more pleasant, imo. These were essentially cheetos with no cheese, but the flavor of andy capp hot fries dusted with a masala. These could be dangerous.

More trials coming sooner than later.


*Sounds like a character from a Sid & Marty Croft show, right?

I like something called chivda. Well pronounced that way. Tiny balls of dough fried and mixed with spices. Kind of like an indian version of chex mix. I think you can buy it in the Indian stores. I don't know what its called there.

seebee wrote:(I still have yet to find my "pickle" ideal, it might just NOT happen, but I keep trying them. I think I have three unopened jars in my pantry right now waiting for me to suck it up and dive in, hoping for the best.)

You need an awesome Indian coworker like I have, who'll hook you up with his wife's homemade hot mango pickle. Way better than anything I've ever had out of a jar from the store.



She also makes a sweet pickle, which is also damn fine.

-Dan

These were both pretty boring. The "Roast Toasty" soybeans had a very pronounced toasted nutty flavor, but other than that, both things were very lightly flavored, and just...boring. Little hit of chile gave them each a little boost after three handfuls or so, but I wouldn't get either again. The Mahek brand things on the right were essentially a cereal flake like a corn flake dusted with masala. The Roasty Toasty thingies were roasted soybeans with a light masala flavor.

I tend to troll the aisles of Tai Nam and other Vietnamese groceries looking for funky snacks. I especially like the ones with peanuts (though my absolute favorite peanuts are the Barcel Hot Nuts--Japanese style with chile and lime which I have only found in Mexico to date--the other brands don't hold a candle...)

Here are some recent finds:


I especially enjoyed the shrimp-flavored cracker coated peanuts. The durian chips...not so much. Worse than actual durian to be honest.

For some reason, whenever I'm trolling the aisles looking for snacks, I also end up with some type of cracker coated peanut.
Most recently, I brought home these Thai Tom Yum peanuts from Tai Nam. Not as good as Barcel Hot Nuts, but pretty good.

Been on a mild Bhel Puri kick lately. Found myself driving by an Indian Grocer at lunch, and popped in to roam the snack aisle and pick up some curry leaf, deshi chutney, and perhaps ask the proprietor what he'd buy to make bhel puri at home.
Spotted:



Figured "Why not?" (never go shopping when you're hungry, right?)

Contents:

Bhel mixture, chutney, spoon, and a napkin!

Empty the crunchies into the bowl:


Add chutney (I only used about half)


Mix and Enjoy!


I didn't hate it, I didn't love it. The chutney was a tad gloppy, and had a processed kind of chemically taste to it. Nice hit of heat tho. Don't think I'd buy this exact one again, but I would try another "make yer own bhel puri bowl" again. They had a few other flavors/brands.

After reading the threads I went back and looked on the internet for chivda. Yes its a real thing...I am not Indian but half my family is.........that is what they call it. You can buy it at the store...maybe its also called bombay mix...but have you ever thought of making it? There are recipes on the internet. Also you could modify the recipe for Chex Mix and make an indian variant of that. I am thinking of making that for Xmas and putting it in a big tin for a gift.

Major clunker alert. This stuff was flat out nasty, imo:


They were thick, dense, pastry like, rounds. The main flavor was flippin bleach. Yeah, i said it. These things tasted like the smell of chlorine. Just weird. No other way to describe. I took a second one out of the bag and took a nibble only to confirm that the first one was not "off" in some way. Yuck. Not for me at all. I've already done my next taste tasting. It's the first of hopefully many trials of homemade bhel. First trial was for learning. It came out decent. I'll capture a few shots of the next one.

Here in London we can get *4* different kinds of snack mix. Bombay is clunky and mild but Balti is hot and crispy. Yum!

Geo

One step closer to home Bhel goodness.
Stopped in the ol' Indian Grocer, and asked the guy behind the counter to suggest what he'd try first, After a short story on homemade bhel, and the many varieties, and street vendors, he pointed me to a ready made chutney to try. The fried crunchy things in bags come in seemingly endless choices, so I grabbed a few using the "One Cheap, and One Mid Priced" method and the trial was underway. The counter guy actually recommended a different bag than what I started off with. He gave some reason which I didn't understand, but I went with his suggestion.




The chutney was very tamarindy. Sweet and sour, and had a decent kick of heat at the end. I added the cilantro chutney, onion, cilantro, a lil bit of diced chile, and a squeeze of lime.




The crunchy fried guys:


In goes the sauce component:


All mixed up:


Conclusion:
Mild success. I'd like to find a better version of crunchy things. It seemed the ones I got had a mildly sulfuric tinge to them which is probably a side effect of some preservative added. The bhel chutney was also a tad sweeter than I'd like. I'd assume there are plenty of other jarred versions out there to sample.

seebee wrote: It seemed the ones I got had a mildly sulfuric tinge to them which is probably a side effect of some preservative added.

Check the ingredients - its more likely due to a specific ingredient (asafoetida, aka hing). Its presence is an indication of a product that actually has the correct chaat spice mix.

Does it have to be completely authentic? You could cut the indian mixes with some puffed cereal that you spice up almost like a chex mix. I find the imported mixes sometimes greasy and unpleasant and not having the freshest taste. On new years eve I made a coriander dip with yogurt and mayo that I modified for american tastes. I served it with samosa appetizers I purchased at Target under the Archer farms brand. They were quickly eaten up.

Athena wrote:

seebee wrote: It seemed the ones I got had a mildly sulfuric tinge to them which is probably a side effect of some preservative added.

Check the ingredients - its more likely due to a specific ingredient (asafoetida, aka hing). Its presence is an indication of a product that actually has the correct chaat spice mix.

I did check, and one of the mixes did have hing. Interesting - never thought that would be the sulphuric note. I use the powdered hing a lot, never found it to have a sulphuric scent / taste, but perhaps..

toria wrote:Does it have to be completely authentic? You could cut the indian mixes with some puffed cereal that you spice up almost like a chex mix. I find the imported mixes sometimes greasy and unpleasant and not having the freshest taste. On new years eve I made a coriander dip with yogurt and mayo that I modified for american tastes. I served it with samosa appetizers I purchased at Target under the Archer farms brand. They were quickly eaten up.

Well, I try to stay away from the word "Authentic" in cases like this, because there are 7 million different "Authentic" versions of bhel puri, just depends on who you ask to make it, but I get what you're saying here. Rice Krispies, and flake cereals could fit right in if I can't find a packaged bhel mix I really dig. Thanx. I've never had a bhel mix as sulfuric as this one in the five or six times I've ordered bhel puri in a resto, so I'm guessing there are less sulfur tasting versions are out there.

Found these in the Indian aisle at Fresh Farms in Niles the other day . . .


Festive Masti Kurkure

I have to say these are pretty tasty/addictive. They're Cheetoh-like in texture but the "magic dust" tastes just like green chutney, and a fairly spicy version, at that.

Good stuff!

=R=

Fresh Farms
5740 W Touhy Ave
Niles, IL 60714
(847) 779-7343

seebee wrote:

Athena wrote:

seebee wrote: It seemed the ones I got had a mildly sulfuric tinge to them which is probably a side effect of some preservative added.

Check the ingredients - its more likely due to a specific ingredient (asafoetida, aka hing). Its presence is an indication of a product that actually has the correct chaat spice mix.

I did check, and one of the mixes did have hing. Interesting - never thought that would be the sulphuric note. I use the powdered hing a lot, never found it to have a sulphuric scent / taste, but perhaps..

I'm much too late to get to this, but chaat masala usually has black salt (kala namak) which is quite "eggy" in flavor, aka "sulphurous." I could see hing/asafoetida being described that way, too, although I think of it more as oniony/sweaty in scent. Black salt tastes just like hard boiled egg yolks, in my opinion.