Kenyan style Chevdo or Kenya Chevdo / Chevro is sweet, spicy and incredibly tasty. It’s a delicious blend of deep-fried potato crisps, beaten rice, fried beans, lentils, nuts and some basic spices. This East-African savoury snack is crunchy and full of flavour.
You can make this recipe easily and in less time by buying ready-made potato sticks (katri). Or, make the recipe from scratch by making the katri yourself at home! The recipe is naturally vegan and gluten-free!
Be prepared to make a large batch as this recipe will lead to third helpings!
What is Chevdo/Kenyan Chevdo?
Chevdo/chewro/chivda/ is an umbrella term for deep-fried savoury mix consisting of crunchy dried ingredients such as puffed rice, potato and lentils along with nuts and spices. It is enjoyed as an afternoon snack along with a piping hot cup of masala chai .
Chevdo can also be used as a topping for curries such as chana bateta, typically enjoyed by East-African Gujaratis.
Chevdo can be prepared at any time of the year but is most commonly eaten during Diwali. It is perfect to serve to the many guests that visit during festivities.
Kenya Chevdo or Kenyan Style Chevro is the East African Gujarati style version of chevdo. The flavours are sweet, sour and mildly spicy!
The bulk of Kenyan Chevdo is made with crunchy potato crisps or katri giving it a unique taste and texture compared to other chevda recipes.
It is extremely popular amongst British Asians, especially with those who grew up in East Africa and migrated in late 60’s or early 70’s to the UK.
It is widely available in Indian sweet shops, but many older generations of British Asians make this at home. Some families supply this unique Kenyan Chevdo to their customers as it is made in a unique way.
My Mum learned to make Kenya Chevdo from my Grandma and in just a couple of hours, she had prepared a big batch of it! Since then, it is guaranteed to be a part of our Diwali snacks every year!
More Chevdo Recipes:
Mixed Cereal Chevdo – this recipe avoids deep-frying and is literally made from breakfast cereals!
Panchratna Chevdo
Sabudana Chevdo
Matoke (Raw Banana) Chevdo
Oats Chevdo
Makai (Cornflakes) Chevdo
Sprouted Beans & Cornflakes Chevdo
Diet chiva – consists of puffed rice (mamra) and peanuts which are lightly roasted in basic spices
Farali Chevdo – eaten during Hindu fasting season, farali chevdo is made with potato sticks and peanuts and spiced with black pepper and green chillies. Poha is not added to this recipe.
Ingredients
For kenyan chevdo, you will need:
Potatoes/ready-made Katri – you can easily purchase readymade crinkle cut chips and potato chips (katri) from supermarkets or Indian grocery stores. You can also make katri at home, the recipe is included below.
Mag ni dal/Yellow Moong Beans – you will need mag ni dal which has been soaked overnight then thoroughly dried. You can also use green moong dal
Chana Daal – chana dal (split chickpeas) should also be soaked overnight and dried.
Thick flattened rice – also known as jada poha or thick poha which are available in Indian grocery stores are quintessential to chevdo
Mixed nuts – you will need cashew nuts, almonds and peanuts. Use all for the best flavour but for allergy reasons, you can use whichever nuts suits you.
Oil – you need oil to deep fry. Use sunflower, vegetable or olive oil
Salt – to taste
Caster sugar – use caster sugar rather than granulated so it dissolves faster. I tend to grind down granulated sugar in a food processor rather than buying caster sugar
Red chilli powder – I used a mix of kashmiri and ordinary chilli powder so I get good red colour and not too much spice
Turmeric Powder
Amchoor Powder – use amchoor powder (dried mango powder) for the sour, lemony flavour. You can also use citric acid but use less compared to amchoor powder!
Cinnamon bark
Cloves
Slit green chillies – either slit or cut green chillies. Check the heat level of the chillies to assess how many you will need.
Curry leaves – do not skip the curry leaves as they lend incredible flavour
How to make Kenyan Chevdo
Follow the step-by-step instructions:
Soak mag ni daal and chana daal overnight or at minimum for 4 hours. Once soaked, dry thoroughly using a kitchen towel.
Mix together red chilli powder, turmeric powder, amchoor powder and salt and leave aside
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan on medium heat
In metal sieve, place the cinnamon bark and cloves. Lower the sieve into the hot oil and fry the spices for a few seconds. Life away the sieve from the oil and remove the spices into a large bowl.
Next, fry the chillies in the same way, remove and then the curry leaves.
Repeat these steps for each of the nuts. Work quick as the nuts will not need long and you do not want them to burn on the outside, simple turn golden.
Next, fry the dal. You may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your sieve. Do not fill the sieve to the top as the oil will splutter and the ingredients expand as they fry
Next, fry the poha. Swirl the sieve gently as you go to ensure each grain is able to fry and expand. Poha only take a couple of seconds.
Fry the potato if you are making these from scratch
Lastly, if you wish, fry the sultanas for a couple of seconds.
Mix together all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Use a large bowl as possible as you need plenty of space to mix everything.
Add the masala a bit at a time and taste test as you go. Check for sweetness, tartness, spice and salt levels.
Allow the chevdo to cool and taste test again.
Tips
Use caster sugar – use caster sugar rather than granulated as it dissolves faster and sweetens evenly. Shop bought packets tend to have sugar pooled at the bottom!
Use a metal sieve – for chevdo, it is common to add the ingredients to a sieve and lower the sieve into the hot oil. It makes it easier to remove small ingredients like the mag ni daal quickly from the hot oil (you might want to use gloves for this one!)
Fry the most fragrant ingredients first – this is so the oil becomes infused with all the fantastic flavours and reaches every morsel of the chevdo! I start with the cinnamon and cloves, then the chillies and the curry leaves.
Combine everything and especially the masala whilst the fried ingredients are still warm – this helps the masala to set and stick.
Taste the chevdo every hour and adjust the masala/seasoning – it takes a while for the flavours to set so the initial taste test might not taste the same as the end product!
How to make Katri at home
Making katri at home is easy, just requires a little bit of work!
You will need potatoes and oil to deep fry.
Firstly, peel the potatoes, grate and wash in running water to discard the starch. You can use a food processor to speed up the grating process
Dry the potato sticks thoroughly with a clean kitchen towel
Heat oil in a kadai/pan over medium heat. Add the potato sticks to the hot oil and fry until they are crispy.
If you are making these at the same time as the kenyan chevdo, you can fry the potato straight after the cinnamon and cloves. The flavour of the whole spices will infuse the oil and therefore the katri.
Storage
Chevdo is often made days in advance and so needs to be stored correctly. The ingredients in chevdo can go stale fast so keep it in an airtight container for up to 4 weeks.
Ensure the chevdo is well cooled before storing or else some moisture may remain and spoil it.
I have also read that many people freeze their chevdo in freezer bags and simply remove the amount they want to eat and thaw for a few hours. This keeps the chevdo crunchy for even longer. I have not tried this technique myself.
Chevdo will remain crunchy for up to 4 weeks. After this, it may start to go stale
Yes, you can although the flavours will not be balanced. Some sweetness is provided through the sultanas. As an alternative, you can use natural sweetener such as stevia , but this often has a cooling aftertaste.
This particular recipe requires deep-frying for the best results, but you could also air fry some of the ingredients such as the daal and the poha. Cereal chevdo is made without deep-frying (link in post above)
To make this chevdo nut-free, simply omit the nuts or only add the nuts which you are aware are safe for your guests to consume.
Other East-African recipes:
I absolutely love East-African Indian food! You’ve got to try out some of these dishes too:
Kasoli and Jugu nu Saak (Sweet Corn and Peanut Curry)
Mogo ni Bhaji (Cassava stir-fry)
Easy Masala Chips
Masala Mogo
Kenya Style Chevdo/Chevro
Ingredients
- 100 grams potato crisps katri
- 50 grams moong dal yellow
- 50 grams chana dal split chickpeas
- 100 grams flattened rice thick-Jada Poha / pava
- 200 grams nuts peanuts, Almonds and cashew
- 5 tablespoon raisins or sultana
- 500 ml oil to deep fry
- 6 tablespoon sugar powdered
- salt per taste
- 3 teaspoon chilli powder Red chilli Powder + Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 cinnamon bark taj
- 8-10 cloves laving
- 3 green chillies cut
- 25-30 curry leaves fresh
- 1 teaspoon amchoor powder dry mango powder
Instructions
- Wash and soak moong dal and chana daal separately in cold water. Leave overnight or at least 4 hours
- Drain the water and dry thoroughly
- In a small bowl mix salt, red chilli powder, turmeric and amchoor powder
- Heat the oil over medium heat and fry cinnamon and cloves, then fry green chillies and curry leaves and put it separately aside on a plate.
- Now fry the nuts, keep everything in a big bowl or a plate.
- Then fry chana dal and moong dal until nice and crispy. (it can take up to 2-3 minutes for each batch)
- Quickly fry flattened rice in small batches.
- Turn off the heat then quickly fry raisins.
- In a big bowl, or plate add poha and both fried lentils (dal), add mixed spice powders and mix.
- Then add nuts, chillies, whole spices and curry leaves. Add mixed spice powders and mix well.
- Then add powdered sugar, combine everything.
- Now add potato crisps/wafers or katri and gently mix until everything evenly coated in spices and sugar.
- After about an hour mix the chevdo again and let it cool completely.
- Once cooled completely store in an airtight container.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Kenya Style Chevdo/Chevro
Ingredients
- 100 grams potato crisps katri
- 50 grams moong dal yellow
- 50 grams chana dal split chickpeas
- 100 grams flattened rice thick-Jada Poha / pava
- 200 grams nuts peanuts, Almonds and cashew
- 5 tablespoon raisins or sultana
- 500 ml oil to deep fry
- 6 tablespoon sugar powdered
- salt per taste
- 3 teaspoon chilli powder Red chilli Powder + Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 cinnamon bark taj
- 8-10 cloves laving
- 3 green chillies cut
- 25-30 curry leaves fresh
- 1 teaspoon amchoor powder dry mango powder
Instructions
- Wash and soak moong dal and chana daal separately in cold water. Leave overnight or at least 4 hours
- Drain the water and dry thoroughly
- In a small bowl mix salt, red chilli powder, turmeric and amchoor powder
- Heat the oil over medium heat and fry cinnamon and cloves, then fry green chillies and curry leaves and put it separately aside on a plate.
- Now fry the nuts, keep everything in a big bowl or a plate.
- Then fry chana dal and moong dal until nice and crispy. (it can take up to 2-3 minutes for each batch)
- Quickly fry flattened rice in small batches.
- Turn off the heat then quickly fry raisins.
- In a big bowl, or plate add poha and both fried lentils (dal), add mixed spice powders and mix.
- Then add nuts, chillies, whole spices and curry leaves. Add mixed spice powders and mix well.
- Then add powdered sugar, combine everything.
- Now add potato crisps/wafers or katri and gently mix until everything evenly coated in spices and sugar.
- After about an hour mix the chevdo again and let it cool completely.
- Once cooled completely store in an airtight container.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
A blissful bowl of Tomato, Harissa and Orzo Soup, is bursting with amazing flavours! There is just so much comforting goodness in every spoon of this soup. It’s vegan, hearty and spicy that keeps you full and warm. It’s a perfect choice when you want to have a full meal yet light on the tummy.
Yet I am posting one more recipe for soup! While in the other parts of the world some of you guys are making pickles in scorching heat and holding chilled drinks in your hands to beat the heat. we are far away from that kind of weather yet as a week ago we were badly battered by a snowstorm which left all of us in a very vulnerable condition.
In many places being sub-zero temperatures, and heavy downpour there were power cuts and the whole country faced transport chaos. Many had to face empty shelves in the supermarkets as delivery drivers could not deliver to the stores and the stores had to cancel thousands of home delivery services due to icy conditions and transport chaos. It is all well to enjoy visually all these piles of snow like in Yash Raj films and getting by mesmerized by the white snow, Only looks so pretty in Bollywood movies, but becomes a huge problem in real life as it does cause so much havoc and chaos for all. But spring is around the corner!
Although the situation is under control now, snow is gone and temperatures are going slightly up. But while I’m drafting this post, just came to know that we may need to bring out our woollies again because freezing weather is coming again with more snow on the way this weekend!
More Soup Recipes:- Roasted Carrot, Chickpea Soup with Coriander and Lime Vinaigrette | Thai Style Squash and Sweet Potato Noodles Soup | Creamy Mixed Vegetable Soup
As soon as temperatures drop my mind turns to the simple pleasure of stirring a big batch of soup. I was more than happy to prepare family’s favourite Tomato and Orzo Soup with Harissa , that you want to make again and again. This frugal soup is loaded with the goodness of tomatoes, harissa paste and energy providing Orzo ( rice-shaped pasta) with full of taste and texture.
You can serve this soup any weeknight along with wholemeal or multigrain crusty bread and fresh salad for a hearty and filling meal or on its own for a light lunch on the next day.
Tomato, Harissa and Orzo Soup
ingredients:
- 500g Ripe tomatoes
- 1/2 can canned tomato
- 1 Tbsp. Tomato Puree (Optional)
- 2 Tbsp. Harissa Paste
- 75g Orzo Pasta
- 1 big Onion roughly chopped
- 5-6 Garlic cloves
- 3 Tbsp. Celery
- 2 Tbsp. Oil
- 1 Tbsp. Dried Italian herbs
- 500mls Vegetable Stock
- 3 Tbsp. Freshly chopped parsley
- Pinch Freshly ground black pepper and red chilli flakes
instructions:
How to cook Tomato, Harissa and Orzo Soup
- Heat oil in a saucepan and add onion, celery and garlic.
- Cook until translucent.
- Add the harissa paste and fry for a few seconds.
- Then add fresh tomato, canned tomato and tomato paste.
- Mix all well then add vegetable stock and salt.
- Bring the soup to boil and simmer until tomatoes are done.
- Turn off the heat, then puree the soup with a hand blender, you can keep some tomato chunks intact.
- Then add orzo pasta, Italian herbs, and little water if the soup is too thick.
- Cook the pasta until well cooked.
- Add black pepper powder and red chilli flakes if using.
- Serve in a serving bowl, garnish it with the fresh parsley and enjoy hot with crusty bread.
- Enjoy!
