Quick Snack - Masala Pori

Every morning, breakfast is religiously eaten at home. 10 o clock snack and 12 o clock lunch is packed in different dabbas and off we go to work. The snack is normally some fruit or milk shake. Lunch comprises some mixed rice or roti-sabji along with curd rice. My body perhaps has some alarm clock internally that signals every two hours that food needs to be consumed. What happens is that the gap between lunch and the time when i return from work is much longer. As a result, first thing after freshening up every evening is to attack whatever is available to eat. Most cases, it will be a packet of cookies or dry fruit or some deep fried item picked off the shelf in the supermarket. While dry fruits are good, how much can one eat? Somehow for me, the snack should be of a large quantity- consumed before and after tea.
Pori or puffed rice is one such thing which is light, yet filling. You can eat a bowlful without upsetting your calorie count much. So it is wise to make it in big batches and store it for munching.
It is super easy, with most ingredients available readily. Just grab a pack of puffed rice and you are almost good to go!

Preparation Time: 10 Mins
Cooking Time: 5 Mins

Ingredients:

Puffed Rice/Pori         4 cups
Red chillies                 4-5 or according to your taste
Garlic                         4-5 pods, crushed
Mustard                     1 tsp
Curry Leaves             1 sprig
Peanuts                      1/2 cup
Dry coconut               1/4 cup, thinly chopped
Salt                             to taste
Sugar                          1 tsp
Oil                               for tempering
Turmeric                      1/2 tsp

Preparation

The sole intention of the above picture is to show off the newly acquired Pure Komachi chef's knife. She cuts like a dream!
All you need for this recipe is to get the ingredients ready, at hand.
In a large kadai or pan, heat oil. Add in all the ingredients except the puffed rice- starting with mustard first, everything else after the mustard crackles and then the sugar in the end.

Once the peanuts change color and look done, add the puffed rice. Now increase the flame and work on the kadai by stirring it constantly on high flame. This is to crisp up the pori. Turn off the gas after 2-3 minutes.

Check the salt and adjust. You could add some amchur powder if you want some tang to this. But it tastes good without that too - a little sweet and a little spicy. The flavors are mostly in the tadka ingredients, so make sure you mix the pori well to incorporate all the flavors.
Serve with a cuppa chai, munch it while reading your favorite book or simply eat it if you are bored! Top it with some bhujia if you are not really watching your waistline :)