HOW TO MAKE SEV

INGREDIENTS:

METHOD:

• Combine all the dry ingredients and mix well.
• Melt the butter and pour the hot butter into the above ingredients and mix well.
• Add a little bit of water at a time and knead it into a soft dough.
• Grease the Sev "press" with attachment.
• Roll some dough and fill the cylinder of the Sev Press with the dough and close it.
• Heat oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. 
• Oil should be moderately hot while dropping the Sev Strands into it 
• Now hold the Sev press over frying pan and press the handle.
• Press out thin strands of Sev directly into the oil making a whole circular motion.
• Stop as you complete one circle. 
• Deep-fry the Sev on a very low flame until the colour changes from all the sides and sizzling stops. 
• Remove the Sev with slotted spoons and drain on an absorbent paper.
• Follow the suit and deep-fry the remaining sev.
• Keep aside to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Transfer the sev into a deep bowl and break them into small pieces.
• Store in an air-tight container and use as required.

NOTES :

• Use water as required.  The amount mentioned is how much I used while preparing the dough.
• Deep fry the Sevs in very low flame, otherwise, they will turn brown.
• Drop the Sevs into hot oil in swirls and wait until the sizzling stops before turning up to the other side.
• It is perfect to fry them into nice yellow colour. 

Bombay Mixture Recipe | Crispy Homemade Snack with Tea

For Deep Fried Masoor Dhal:

    Once you’ve prepared your Sev/Oma Podi, it’s time to elevate your Bombay Mixture by adding crispy Masoor Dhal. Follow these simple steps for a delightful crunch!

Preparing Whole Masoor Dhal

• Fry the Masoor Dhal:After the Sev/Oma Podi is ready, gently drop a handful of whole Masoor Dhal into the hot oil. Ensure the oil is at the right temperature for optimal frying.

• Achieve Crispiness: Fry the Masoor Dhal on a medium-low flame. This ensures they become perfectly crispy without burning. Keep an eye on them, stirring occasionally for even cooking. 
  

• Drain Excess Oil: Once crispy, carefully remove the fried Masoor Dhal using a slotted spoon. Allow them to drain on absorbent paper to remove any excess oil.

• Repeat the Process: Continue frying the remaining Masoor Dhal in batches until you have a golden, crunchy finish.

• Fry the Curry Leaves: In the same hot oil, deep-fry fresh curry leaves for a burst of flavor. Remove them once they become crisp and fragrant.

• Cool Down:Let the fried Masoor Dhal and curry leaves cool for about 5 to 10 minutes before adding them to your Bombay Mixture.

Preparing the Perfect Bombay Mixture

Now that you have your crispy Omapodi/Sev, fried Masoor Dhal, and aromatic curry leaves ready, it’s time to combine them into a delicious Bombay Mixture. Follow these easy steps for a delightful snack.

• 
  

  Combine the Ingredients: Transfer the Omapodi/Sev into a deep bowl. Break them into small, bite-sized pieces for easier mixing and enhanced texture.
   
• Add the Crunch: Next, add the deep-fried Masoor Dhal and crispy curry leaves to the bowl. This will give your Bombay Mixture a lovely crunch and a burst of flavour.
   
• Season to Perfection: Sprinkle a generous amount of black salt over the mixture. This adds a unique, savory taste that enhances all the flavours.
   
• Mix It Up: Gently toss all the ingredients together until well combined. Ensure the black salt is evenly distributed for a balanced taste in every bite.
  

Optional Ingredients

    If you’d like to elevate your Bombay Mixture further, consider adding optional ingredients. Here’s how:

• 
  Fry Each Optional Ingredient: For a unique twist, fry each optional ingredient in oil until crispy. Once cooled, mix them into your Bombay Mixture for added texture and flavour.
• Storage Instructions: Store your Bombay Mixture in an airtight container to maintain its crispiness and freshness. Enjoy as needed!

A crunchy, flavourful Bombay Mixture

 

Important Notes & Tips for Perfect Bombay Mixture

To ensure the best results when making your Bombay Mixture, keep these essential tips in mind:

Preparation Tips

• Water Usage: Use water as needed when preparing the dough. The amount specified is what I used, but adjust according to your consistency preference.
• Filtering Ground Ajwain: After grinding the Carom Seeds/Ajwains, remember to filter them before adding to the dry ingredients. This prevents the seeds from blocking the holes in the Sev press.
• Hot Butter and Oil: Ensure the butter and oil used for kneading the dough are hot. This will help achieve the perfect texture for your Omapodi.

Frying Tips

• Use Thin Holed Lid: I used a thin-holed lid for making these Omapodi. This ensures they have the right texture.
• Low Flame for Frying: Deep-fry the Omapodi/Sev on a very low flame to avoid browning. Patience is key!
• Swirl Technique: Drop the Omapodi/Sev into hot oil in swirls and wait until the sizzling stops before flipping to the other side. This helps them cook evenly.
• Ideal Colour: The Omapodi/Sev should turn a beautiful yellow colour when done.

Seasoning Alternatives

• Alternative Spices: Feel free to add asafoetida powder or red chili powder instead of black salt for a different flavour profile!

Pro Tips for Making Bombay Mixture:

• Ensure the Masoor Dhal is soaked and dried completely before frying for the perfect crunch.
• Store your mixture in an airtight container to maintain its crispiness for days.
  

Bombay Mixture Recipe | Crispy Homemade Snack with Tea

More Snacks & Savouries to Try:

    If you loved this recipe, don’t miss out on my other snack recipes that are perfect for festive occasions or tea-time snacks.  Click here for more Snacks & Savouries!

Why This Bombay Mixture Stands Out

    Unlike other mixtures, Bombay Mixture from Lala Sweets always stood out for its bold flavours and the distinctive addition of Masoor Dhal. It’s the perfect blend of crunch and spice, making it an irresistible snack for chai-time or festive occasions.

Bringing a Piece of Coimbatore to Your Home

    Recreating this iconic snack has been a labour of love, bringing back memories of home. If you're craving an authentic taste of Coimbatore or simply looking for a crispy, flavourful snack to accompany your evening tea, this homemade Bombay Mixture recipe is for you!

 Related Recipes You Might Love:

• Oma Podi Recipe
• Mixture/Chivda Recipe
• Diwali Sweets & Snacks Collection

HOW TO MAKE OMAPODI- SOUTH INDIAN PLAIN SEV

SOUTH INDIAN MIXTURE RECIPE

Total Preparation & Cooking Time

HOW TO MAKE SOUTH INDIAN MIXTURE

FOR SOUTH INDIAN MIXTURE :

Sev/Omapodi :

INGREDIENTS :

METHOD:

• Combine all the dry ingredients and mix well.
• Melt the butter and pour the hot butter into the above ingredients and mix well.
• Add a little bit of water at a time and knead it into a soft dough.
• Grease the Sev "press" with attachment.
• Roll some dough and fill the cylinder of the Sev Press with the dough and close it.
• Heat oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. 
• Oil should be moderately hot while dropping the Sev Strands into it 
• Now hold the Sev press over frying pan and press the handle.
• Press out thin strands of Sev directly into the oil making a whole circular motion.
• Stop as you complete one circle. 
• Deep-fry the Sev on a very low flame until the colour changes from all the sides and sizzling stops. 
• Remove the Sev with slotted spoons and drain on an absorbent paper.
• Follow the suit and deep-fry the remaining Sev.
• Keep aside to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Transfer the Sev to a deep bowl and break them into small pieces.
• Store in an air-tight container and use as required.

For detailed recipe on Sev, click here ...

NOTES:

• Use water as required.  The amount mentioned is how much I used while preparing the dough.
• Deep fry the Sevs in very low flame, otherwise, they will turn brown.
• Drop the Sevs into hot oil in swirls and wait until the sizzling stops before turning up to the other side.
• It is perfect to fry them into nice yellow colour. 

Kara Boondhi :

INGREDIENTS :

 METHOD:

• Combine all the dry ingredients and mix well.
• Add a little bit of water at a time and mix it into a batter, make sure there are no lumps.
• The batter should be in pouring consistency.
• Heat Oil in a Pan, reduce to medium flame while frying the Boondhis.
• You will need TWO slotted ladles for the purpose.
• One to pour the batter through for making Boondhi and the other one for draining it.
• Hold one slotted ladle just above the hot oil, Pour a ladle full of batter over the ladle and spread it.
• Ensure that the batter flows evenly through the slotted spoon and falls into perfect balls.
• If so the consistency of the Boondhi Batter is perfect, otherwise, adjust the consistency.
• Fry the Boondhi on a low flame turning them constantly.
• This is to ensure even cooking.
• When the sizzling sound stops, drain them with the other slotted spoon.
• Spread them over Paper towels.
• Repeat the process for the remaining batter.
• Kara Boondhi can be had as such too.  If so add some fried Cashewnuts, Groundnuts, Crushed Garlic, Asafoetida and Curry Leaves to the fried Boondhis. 
• Season it with some Salt if required and there you go with a spicy Kara Boondhi.

NOTES:

• Adding Cooking Soda is totally optional. It will add crispiness to the Boondhis.
• Adding Rice Flour also helps in adding crispiness to Boondhis. 
• Deep fry the Boondhis on a very low flame, otherwise, they will turn brown.
• Drop the batter into hot oil through the slotted ladle and fry turning the Boondhis constantly until the sizzling stops.
• It is perfect to fry them into nice yellow colour.
• If using Boondhis as such for Kara Boondhi, add some fried Cashewnuts, Groundnuts, Crushed Garlic, Asafoetida and Curry Leaves to the fried Boondhis. Season it with some Salt, if required.

To Check the Consistency :

• If the Batter flows evenly into perfect balls, then the consistency is perfect.
• If the batter is too thick, you will get boondis with a tail. So adjust the amount of water until you get the desired consistency.
• If the batter is too watery then the boondis may fall flat. So add more gram flour.

For South Indian Mixture:

INGREDIENTS :

METHOD :

• Heat ghee in a pan and fry the Cashew nuts until they turn into golden brown colour.
• Heat oil in a pan. Can use the same oil used for frying Sev and Boondhi.
• Deep fry, Groundnuts on a medium flame stirring constantly.  I usually use groundnuts with skin over it. Remove them with slotted spoons and spread it over a paper towel.Care should be taken not to burn the ingredients.
• Deep fry Roasted Gram Dhal(Pottukadalai) on a medium flame stirring constantly. Can use whole/broken Roasted Gram Dhal for the recipe. Remove them with slotted spoons and spread it over a paper towel.
• Next deep fry the Curry Leaves, remove them from oil and keep them aside.
• Next deep fry the Corn Flakes on a medium flame stirring constantly until they turn crispy.  Spread them on a paper towel.
• Finally, fry the Beaten Rice(Poha/Aval) until they fluff up and turns crispy. 
• Transfer all the fried items to a mixing bowl, add Salt, Turmeric Powder, Red Chilli Powder and Asafoetida Powder to the fried ingredients while they are still hot.
• Gently toss them until well combined.
• Finally, when the ingredients are at room temperature, add Sugar and give a quick toss.
• Store the spicy South Indian Mixture in airtight containers.

 NOTES :

• The ingredients apart from Sev/Omapodi and Kara Boondhi can be altered to your preference.
• Care should be taken not to burn the ingredients while frying them.  This will totally alter the taste of  South Indian Mixture. 
• Mix the seasonings with the ingredients while they are still hot.
• Otherwise, the spices may smell raw in South Indian Mixture.
• Adding Asafoetida and Sugar are truly optional.
• Frying Cashew nuts in Ghee gives an authentic flavour.
• For a rich version of South Indian Mixture, can fry all the nuts and dhals in ghee too.

FALOODA

    Falooda, this recipe is what I have eaten it as Falooda.  My recent mishap with understanding Falooda as the one & only Falooda Drink & the story of  Kulfi Falooda.... Anyway, I have always loved to order Falooda and the last time I ate it was in Cochin in 2018.  A tall glass of Falooda layered with Rose Syrup, Sabja Seeds in Milk based concoction, a few slices of Kulfi & garnished with copious amount of Nuts & more nuts. This tall glass of Falooda even made me skip my dinner and skipping a meal when in India is a big taboo according to me.  The reason being, it would be the only time we would get a chance to succumb to our cravings with local delicacies.  But this Falooda made me so full & satiated.

    A Falooda recipe has taken its twists & turns and is catered in numerous versions with whims & fancies, it is one special Indian cold drink which masquerades itself as a Dessert too. This Falooda recipe is served as a cold drink layered with Rose Syrup, Sabja Seeds, Falooda Sev/Vermicelli, a thick milk base - sometimes Rose milk or sometimes a sweet thick concoction of Milk & sugar, some recipes even serve it with Rabri/Rabdi.  This tall glass of cold drink can be served chilled topped with a hearty dollop of Ice cream/Kulfi.  Garnishing Falooda also goes with the whims & fancies - you can garnish it with chopped nuts, dry fruits, fresh fruits, jelly, honey, saffron, rose petals etc., & etc.,

FALOODA

    What is the difference between a Kulfi Falooda and a Falooda recipe is that, the Kulfi Falooda is more or less like a dessert which you can scoop out at eat.  Whereas this Falooda is a cold drink with a flavoured Milk base.  Whatsoever a Falooda recipe should be sinfully rich, decadent and utterly delicious. See... who is explaining the difference between both the recipes.  Haa!!! Mistakes happen paa... and it is from where we learn too...

    In this Falooda recipe, I have made it with Rose Milk base and have served it with Kulfi instead of Ice cream.  

For KULFI FALOODA RECIPE, click here...

Cuisine - Iran(Mediterranean), Indian

Course - Dessert

Difficulty - Medium

Serves - 1

Author - SM

Preparation Time - 20 - 30 Minutes

Soaking Time - 30- 45 Minutes(Sabja Seeds)

Cooking Time - 7-10 Minutes(Vermicelli/Falooda Sev)

LAYERS IN FALOODA DRINK

FALOODA

We need the following items to make a Falooda Drink:

• ROSE SYRUP
• FALOODA SEV
• SABJA SEEDS
• SWEETENED MILK BASE/ROSE MILK/RABRI/RABDI
  
• KULFI/ICE CREAM
  
• NUTS FOR GARNISHING

ROSE SYRUP:

ROSE SYRUP

    First we would need a Rose Syrup to drizzle all over the base & the Rose Syrup gives a wonderful colour & flavour to this drink. You can use this Rose Syrup to make Rose Milk base. 

FALOODA SEV -  

FALOODA SEV

Falooda means ‘shredded’ in idiomatic Urdu & it refers to the thin Vermicelli/noodle like ingredient made out of corn flour, which is the  integral part of Falooda. Make it from scratch, or we can easily get it incorporated with store-fought Falooda Sev, I was not in any way lucky to get hold of it.  And my son was like, why don't you make it from scratch.  Me with my lethargic attitude gave a wide smile, convinced him and finally settled with Vermicelli/Semiya. Whatsoever both the ingredients does total justice to the recipe.  One main thing to keep in mind is to leave the cooked Falooda Sev/Vermicelli in cold water for a few minutes.

SABJA SEEDS - 

SABJA SEEDS

     The next ingredient we need are the Sabja Seeds/Sweet Basil Seeds/Tukhmaria.  A long- awaited ingredient lying safely in my freezer since my last India trip which was in 2019.  Soaked it up for about 30-45 minutes and there it was all the items ready to be catered for making a Kulfi Falooda. Soaking Sabja Seeds makes it edible & makes it easily digestible. 

MILK BASE - The milk base needed for Falooda drink can be a simple milk & sugar based concoction or, we can get experimental by

ROSE MILK

RABRI/RABDI

VERMICELLI/SEMIYA PAYASAM

• ROSE MILK: Making the Base with Rose Milk/Bandung.
• RABRI/RABDI: Then if you love to serve Falooda in its utter rich version, then it would be perfect to serve it with Rabri/Rabdi. 
• VERMICELLI PAYASAM:  Or, if you already have Vermicelli Payasam simply add is a base with other ingredients & there you are with a delicious Milk base & here you can also skip making Falooda Sev/Vermicelli.
  
• SWEETENED MILK: Yet another quick-fix version would be to simply mix milk & condensed milk for the Milk base.

ICE CREAM/KULFI - Some Falooda Drink recipes are served topped with a big scoop of Ice Cream or with slices of Kulfi in it.  But serving with Ice cream/kulfi are purely optional. 

For more KULFI RECIPES, click here

NUTS - Serve Falooda garnished heartily with chopped nuts of your choice.  I have used finely chopped Cashew Nuts, Almonds & Pistachios.  

GARNISHING - You can get easy with the choice of garnishing a Falooda. Simply serve it with finely chopped nuts or can go to the extent of making it rich & decadent by adding a few strands of Saffron, Rose Petals etc., Some recipes serve Falooda with dry fruits, cut fresh fruits, jelly etc.,  

     Once all the items are ready, it is time to serve it.  Falooda is a cold drink served in layers of Rose Syrup, Falooda Sev or Vermicelli, Sabja Seeds(Sweet Basil Seeds) in a Milk Base, & served topped with Ice Cream/Kulfi and garnished with nuts or dry fruits.

HOW TO MAKE FALOODA

FALOODA

INGREDIENTS:

For Falooda:

Rose Syrup - 2-3 Tbspns

Sabja Seeds - 11/2 Tspn

Falooda Sev - 11/2 Tbspn

Rose Milk/Sweetened Milk/Rabri/Rabdi - 1 Cup

For Toppings:

Kulfi - 1 No.(medium Sized) 

or 

Ice Cream - a Scoop

For Garnishing:

Cashew Nuts - a few

Almonds - a few

Saffron - a few strands(optional)

METHOD:

• First, take a tall glass for serving Falooda.
• Chill the glass leaving it in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes(Optional).
• Then, drizzle a few teaspoons of Rose Syrup at the base and all over the glass.
• Add a few teaspoons of Sabja Seeds over it.
• Then, place a few tablespoons of Falooda Sev/Vermicelli over it.
• Gently pour in the Rose Milk/Sweetened Milk/Rabri/Rabdi.
  
• Place a Kulfi over the above ingredients.  Can cut the Kulfi into Slices of 2 or 4.
• Alternatively can serve it with a scoop of Ice cream.
  
• Now, drizzle some more Rose Syrup over the ingredients.
• Garnish heartily with finely chopped nuts of your choice & Saffron Strands.
• Serve Falooda chilled, immediately. 

 

FALOODA

NOTES:

• For sweetened Milk Base, can simply blend Milk(Boiled & chilled) along with Condensed Milk and use it as a Milk base.
  
• I have added Vermicelli/Semiya in this recipe instead of Falooda Sev.  Cook according to the instruction & then once cooked, leave it in cold water for a few minutes.
• This is to avoid getting the Vermicelli/Falooda Sev sticking to each other.
• Adjust the amount of Rose Syrup to suit your preference.
• Garnish Falooda with your choice of Nuts or dry fruits.
• Can serve Falooda with fresh fruits/jelly.