Crunchy Mixture Namkeen — Sev, Boondi, Peanut & Curry Leaf

This is the bowl that comes out at five o’clock. Chai on one side, a handful of mixture on the other, and nothing else required. Thick-cut sev, boondi, whole roasted peanuts and real curry leaf — four things fried separately and tossed together by hand while the spice is still warm.

Made in small batches in our kitchen in Raipur, fried in sunflower oil, and sealed into a zip-lock pouch the day it is made. Medium heat: garlic and hing lead, chilli follows.

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( what’s inside )

Four components, fried separately

Most mass-made mixture is fried as one batch, which means one thing is right and the rest are either underdone or burnt. Sev, boondi, peanuts and curry leaves all want different oil temperatures and different times in the pan, so we do them separately and combine them at the end.

• Thick-cut sev — 2 to 3 mm strands, not the fine nylon sev that turns soft in a week.
• Boondi — small besan pearls, fried until they rattle.
• Whole roasted peanuts at 8% — whole, not split, not powdered into the seasoning.
• Real curry leaves at 0.5% — tempered in whole, so you find actual leaves in the bowl rather than a green note in a spice mix.

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( the sev )

Thick-cut, and that is deliberate

Fine nylon sev looks impressive in the bag and is soft within a week of opening, because there is almost no thickness to hold the crunch. We push the besan through a wider plate — 2 to 3 mm strands — which fries slower, absorbs less oil and keeps its bite considerably longer.

It also gives the mixture something to chew on. A bowl of fine sev collapses into a mouthful of powder. This does not.

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( the part nobody talks about )

Fried in sunflower oil, never palm

Almost every packaged namkeen on an Indian shelf is fried in palm oil, because it is the cheapest fat available and it survives being reused many times over. Palm oil is roughly 50% saturated fat. Sunflower oil is roughly 11%.

We fry in sunflower and we change it often. It costs us more per kilo, and it is the single biggest cost difference between this and the packet sitting next to it in a shop.

Never vanaspati either. Our declared saturated fat is 3.8 g per 100 g, which is on the label for you to check.

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( the heat )

Medium. Warm rather than sharp.

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( what goes in )

The full list, printed in order

Why gluten, when there is no wheat flour in the list? Because compounded asafoetida — the hing sold in every Indian kitchen — is cut with wheat flour to keep it free-flowing, and ours is no exception. It is only 0.5% of the recipe, but it is enough to matter to somebody who cannot eat gluten. Most brands do not mention it. We would rather you knew.

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( when to eat it )

The five o’clock bowl

• With evening chai. The reason this product exists.
• On the desk through the workday. One bowl, no plate, no spoon.
• When guests arrive. Out with the tea, before you decide what else to make.
• Scattered over poha, upma or chaat. The thick sev holds up instead of dissolving.
• Alongside something sweet. A bowl of mixture and a couple of til laddu is how most of our customers order.

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( choose your size )

Same small batch, same day fried

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( nutrition )

What is in a 30 g handful

Approximate values. This is a fried, salted snack and we have printed the numbers rather than dressed them up. What we control is the oil it is fried in and the fact that nothing is added to make it keep.

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( keeping it crisp )

Storage and shelf life

There are peanuts in this, and peanut oils stale faster than plain flour does. That is why the open window is a week rather than a fortnight, and why every pouch has a zip-lock.

• Press the zip-lock shut properly the moment you have taken some out. An air-tight tin is better still.
• Finish within about 7 days of opening for the best crunch.
• Store in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight.
• Do not refrigerate. The fridge is damp and it will go soft.
• Best before 3 months from the date of manufacture, printed on every pouch.
• Ready to eat. Nothing to heat, fry or prepare.

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( the details )

Product information

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( our story )

Fried by hand, in Raipur

Savita Kitchen started at my mother’s stove. She has been frying sev and tempering curry leaves for thirty years — first for the family, then for neighbours who kept asking, and now for homes across India.

Every batch is fried in components, tossed by hand and sealed the same day. Orders leave the kitchen within 24 hours, so what reaches you is close to what came out of the pan.