Spice, Crackle, and Pop Recipe

Heat the oil in a 5- to 6-quart nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the asafetida and mustard seeds and stir until the seeds begin to pop, about 30 seconds. Reduce the heat to low and add the turmeric, peanuts, and cashews. Stir for about 30 seconds, until the nuts are completely covered with the flavored oil.

Keeping the heat on the lowest possible setting, add the cereal and stir until it is completely covered with spiced oil and golden throughout, about 1 minute.

Remove from the heat. Add the sev (if using), raisins, sugar, coriander, cumin, fennel seeds, and mango powder. Continue to mix—your hands are your best tools here—until the cereal is well coated with the spices, about 2 minutes.

Let the mix cool completely. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container.

A kid-favorite recipe—recommended and reprinted with permission from Monica Bhide.

Note (from Monica): This recipe uses sev (gram flour vermicelli), a very versatile ingredient. When I was growing up, a distant aunt showed me how to make it—it is a long, tedious, and involved process and we are lucky that we can now buy it ready-made at the Indian grocery stores!

You can sprinkle it on salads, top plain yogurt with it, or even just munch on it as is.