Healthy snacks - Roasted red poha and coconut palm sugar coated peanuts

These two  snacks are the easiest to make and comes together in 10 to 15 minutes if the ingredients are available. Red poha is a better choice than regular white poha due to its cholesterol-lowering benefits. It is also pan-fried rather than deep fried.  The peanuts are usually made with jaggery, this time I tried them out with coconut palm sugar and it was equally tasty as the other version. These snacks come in handy when we are craving for something sweet and savory during evening teatime.

Roasted Red Poha 

Ingredients:
1. Red poha (aval), 1 cup.
2. Raw peanuts, 1/2 cup.
3. Roasted channa dal, (pottu kadalai), 1/4 cup.
4. Curry leaves, a few.
5. Mustard seeds, 1/4 teaspoon.
6. Asafetida,  pinch.
7. Chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon.
8. Salt, as per taste.
9. Cashews, broken, 1/4 cup.

Preparation:
Heat a pan with a tablespoon of oil. Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Now add the curry leaves, cashews and the peanuts and keep frying for a few seconds until the peanuts are well roasted. Reduce the flame now and add the poha, roasted channa dhal, chili powder, asafetida, and salt and keep mixing under low flame for 5-8 minutes until the poha is well roasted. Turn off the flame once the raw smell from the poha is gone. Serve once cooled.

Variations:
Roasted dry red chilies (mor milagai) can also be broken and added for a different taste.

Coconut palm sugar coated peanuts:
Ingredients:
1. Raw peanuts, 1 cup.
2. Coconut palm sugar, 2/3 cup.
3. Cardamom powder, 1/4 teaspoon.

Preparation:
Heat a pan with a cup of water. Once the water comes to a boil, add the coconut palm sugar and cardamom powder and keep mixing it. Once the sugar syrup reaches string consistency,( at this stage if jaggery is used instead, it is advisable to drain the syrup to avoid any grains of sand in the mixture) add the peanuts and keep mixing it under low flame.  Once everything comes together, turn off the flame and let it cool. Once cooled, the peanuts tend to get hard. Break them into separate bite-size pieces and serve.