Spicy Aval/Poha (Flattened Brown Rice) with Black Chickpeas

Aval is the Malayalam name for flattened or beaten rice. Growing up, one of my favorite snacks used to be Aval Nanachathu (which translates to wet aval), which is just flattened rice mixed with grated coconut and jaggery or sugar. It is very easy to make, so it was a frequent tea time snack at my house. But after I left home, I never bothered to make it myself, no idea why!  When I went to India in March, I found brown rice Aval at the store, anything brown rice gets my attention these days, so I brought some back with me .

One weekend I was raiding the pantry for a snack when I found the packet of Aval that I had forgotten all about. I was in the mood for something spicy and I had seen some savory Aval recipes before. So I searched the web, and every single recipe I found asked for soaking the aval in water, so of course that was the first thing I did. Alas, in just a minute, it turned into mush! Apparently there are different types of aval, and mine was the thinnest variety. The thicker ones are more popular and needs soaking to soften the rice. Anyway I didn’t waste it though, I boiled the mushy aval along with some milk and added some cardamom powder and agave nectar and voila! an instant dessert was ready!

I was more careful with the second batch, didn’t do any soaking at all. I sprinkled some hot water after mixing it with spiced chickpeas which softened it enough and still maintained the crunch. This was an awesome snack, in fact I skipped dinner that day as this was extremely filling.

 

Ingredients

• 2 cups thin aval/flattened rice
• 1 cup cooked black chickpeas (Kadala)
• 1/4 cup shallots sliced
• 1 tbsp thinly sliced green chilies
• 1 tsp crushed red chilies
• Salt to taste
• Lemon/Lime juice for taste
• Oil

Method

Heat oil in a pan and saute the shallots and green chilies till soft. Add the crushed red chilies and saute for a minute. Add cooked chickpeas and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the aval and mix well. Sprinkle 1 tbsp hot water and mix well, remove from the heat. Serve with a generous amount of lime/lemon juice sprinkled over.

Notes:

• This was quite spicy, so reduce the amount of green and red chilies to suite your tastebuds
• If using thick aval, do soak it for couple of minutes to soften it.

South Beach Diet Tip : This is a perfect snack for SBD Phase 2 and 3.

Sending this one to Nags who is hosting Monthly Mingle #33 – Ravishing Rice Recipes, an event started by Meeta.

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Category: Appetizers and Snacks, India - Kerala, Lentils and Legumes, Rice, South Beach Diet Friendly, Vegetarian