Charmurya Upkari - Konkani Bhel

Charmuro/Murmura/Pori/Puffed rice/Bhel don't they shout aloud that they are from across the street?;-).So famous for the chaats that they are in..Charmuro is a favourite in our home.Amma is famous for her Charmurya laddoo(a sweet laddoo using charmuro and jaggery syrup) and Charmurya mixture,something which invariably finds a way into our travel bags on our way back to Chennai from Ekm.More so since its a favourite of my hubby!!I have never ventured into making any of charmuro specials because I really find the charmuro difficult to handle,they just don't stay in one place..like small kids;-)

I remember me and my hubby's first trip after marriage-To Udupi & Mangalore,to meet his granny,relatives and cousins.We were having an overload of good food,what with being the "newly married couple" tag attached to us.One such evening,we two,along with hubby's cousin J had an evening out in Udupi.We were in Car Street and J asked whether I would like to have charmurya upkari..I thought it must be the mixture that amma makes and said yes.There were small carts which had all those yummy ingredients lined up for the evening's chat sale.The speed with which the chatwala prepared it was extra ordinary,I couldn't even see what went into it!!He made a small paper cone,poured the upkari into it and added a dash of coconut oil.Hmm..I can even remember the distinct aroma it had.I should say we ordered at least 3 cones per person that day!!It was that yummy!!!



Charmurya Upkari

Ingredients

Charmuro/Puffed rice - 2 cups
Onion - 1 big,chopped finely
Grated coconut - 1 tbsp
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp(or more according to one's taste)
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Lime juice - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves - 3-4 tbsp,chopped finely
[Some people also add tomatoes,grated carrots,raw mangoes etc into it to enhance the taste,but here I have made the basic charmurya upkari]

Method

In a broad vessel,add the chopped onions,grated coconut and red chilly powder.
Add the coconut oil and mix well with your hands.
Add salt to taste.
Keep adding the charmuro and mix well.
When everything is mixed well,add the chopped coriander leaves and a dash of lime juice.
Serve immediately.

Charmurya Upkari goes to this month's MBP hosted by Sia of Monsoon Spice.I did my blog patrolling and came across this recipe in Shilpa's blog.As I mentioned in the recipe,I have made the basic recipe while Shilpa's is a special one,adding grated carrots, tomatoes, cucumber,peanuts etc.Check out her recipe here.

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