Nei kadalai

Nei kadalai is one of my favorite childhood snacks that I relished along with wheat halwa. It brings me back fond memories associated with this delicious savory as our family get-togethers were incomplete without spicy crunchy flavorful nei kadalai and soft gelatinous wheat halwa. I still cherish all those happy moments with my father when he brought me nei kadalai and Tirunelveli halwa.

Nei kadalai recipe:

Cooking time: 20 min

Yields: 1½ cup (approx 300 g)

Ingredients:

1. Split chickpeas (split Bengal gram or kadalai paruppu) – 1 cup (200 g)
2. Garlic – 10 pods (or 1 bulb)
3. Curry leaves – 2 sprigs
4. Red chilli powder – 1/8 tsp
5. Salt – 1/4 tsp
6. Groundnut oil, I used about 400 ml for deep frying

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How to prepare nei kadalai:

• Wash & soak chickpeas for 2 hours; soaked lentils get doubled in quantity (ie. 2 cups).
• Drain water completely and spread on a towel till water is completely absorbed (about 30-45 min).
• Wash curry leaves and keep aside on a towel to absorb water.

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• Heat a deep frying pan with oil in high flame.
• When oil reaches the temperature of 200 deg C (just before its boiling point), reduce the flame to medium.
• Ideally you can deep fry these lentils between 160 & 190 deg C.
• Place 1/3 cup of lentils onto a wire skimmer and immerse into hot oil.
• Leave them until sizzling sound begins to settle.
• Remove skimmer from oil when lentils are in yellow color (even before turning golden).
• Place fried chickpeas on a tissue towel to absorb excess oil.
• Repeat the same for next batch of chickpeas (totally 6 batches- 6 times 1/3 cup gives 2 cups).
• It took 2 to 3 minutes for frying, depending upon the temperature.

• Add red chilli powder and salt to the hot lentils.
• Finally you can fry curry leaves & crushed garlic (as shown in the picture) for garnishing.
• Store fried chickpeas in an air-tight container when they reach room temperature.
• Serve delicious nei kadalai along with hot tea or coffee in the evening.

Tips & Tweaks:

• It is important to remove chickpeas from oil before they turn golden as they get cooked even after removing from oil;  otherwise they become hard to bite.
• I used cold-pressed groundnut oil; alternatively you can use coconut oil or any neutral oil.
• Frying chickpeas inside wired skimmer helps to fry them uniformly and also helps to gather them easily.
• I have added garlic generously, if you want you can reduce or leave garlic.
• I have crushed garlic pods along with their skin to enhance its flavor.
• We can also fry minced ginger along with crushed garlic.
• Some may like to add pepper powder instead of red chilli powder.
• We can also add 1/4 tsp of hot ghee (clarified butter) and mix well before serving to enhance the flavor & taste.