Appa's Mixture Bhel

A twist to appa's original recipe!

My dad prides himself on being a very 'unconventional cook'. At least thats what he calls himself when he makes beetroot sambhar, choco panchamrutham, and the best of them all - mixture bhel!

Bhel puri as it is called, is typical Bombay or Mumbai street snack. It mainly consists of puffed rice, sev, papdi (fried little puris), tomatoes, onions, boiled potatoes, chilies and some sweet (date) and sour (tamarind) sauces.

This recipe of appa's contains the south indian mixture as the base for the bhel. The mixture contains sev(called omapodi), boondhi, peanuts, ribbon pakoda (flat papdi-like muruku) and puffed rice crispies all tossed together with some salt, chilli powder and lots of asafoetida (which is what gives it the distinct south indian flavor). The base is more or less the same as bhel, but the flavor is uniquely south indian. My take on how appa came up with this is that getting Bhel ingredients was not all that easy in Trivandrum in the early ninties and since we all loved bhel, appa came up with the next best. Surprisingly, I love this version much more than the actual bombay bhel itself!

True to being an appa-ponnu I try to recreate the easy mixture bhel snack as often as possible. K too is hooked on to it these days. So....without further ado...here it goes!

What you need:
1 cup of madras mixture (available at indian stores)
½ cup of chopped red onions
1 tbsp boiled lightly mashed potatoes (optional)
1½ tsp chilli sauce (hot and sweet is good)
½ tsp lemon juice
½ tsp sugar
1 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
1 tbsp chopped raw mango

Add all the ingredients to a big bowl, and mix just before serving! A piping hot masala chai or filter coffee makes a perfect complement to this tasty snack!