Smart and Snazzy Snacks

As the latest addition to the new crunch world, meet the lotus root. It has a refreshing soft, taste. Lotus root can be prepared in various ways and featured here is the making of the lotus root snack, a fried version. All you got to do is slice a lotus root after peeling the skin and giving it a thorough wash. The thinner you slice, the better. Deep fry in hot oil until they turn light brown and flavour with your choice of seasoning, such as with cumin and salt, while it is still hot. 

The Miris Kokis is a crispy crunchy bite to any revelry. Coated in flour, turmeric, chillies and salt; mixed with coconut milk, egg and fried deep in oil. The art of frying is to dip the kokis mold into the batter and gently immerse the mold into the heated oil and let it fry till golden brown.  

The jackfruit chip and the breadfruit chip are also favourites. Slice them according to julienning strips and add some turmeric, together with any other seasoning you wish. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and toss them well. Deep fry till golden brown. Fried breadfruit can also be enjoyed as a sweet snack. the fried breadfruit is then dipped in sugar mix and left to give a crunchy bite. 

Another is the sweet potato. Take a sweet potato. Wash it, peel and then cut into thin slices. Put them in a bowl, sprinkle some turmeric and mix it well. Deep fry the thin slices till golden brown. Sprinkle some salt and toss well. The sweet, delicious and crunchy chips are ready. Sweet potato can also be baked. cut them into wedges. Take a bowl and add a dash of some sea salt, turmeric and pepper. Add a teaspoon of oil and toss them. Place on a baking tray and bake till they turn golden brown.

The Neem Vadagam and the fried Neem flower are snacks from South India that are becoming increasingly popular in Sri Lanka. The Neem Vadagam is a flat vadai-like seasoned snack of the Indian kitchen, made up of onion, garlic, urad dhal, mustard seed, gram dhal, cumin, fenugreek seeds, turmeric powder and salt; mixed with castor oil. Its then rolled into balls, flattened and then sun-dried. Finally, when you need to crunch one, just dip it in hot oil and fry it.

The neem flowers can also be prepared in another way. Taking a pan, add some oil, the neem flowers, cubed potatoes, onions, curry leaves, mustard, cumin seeds, turmeric and a pinch of salt. Stir fry for a minute or so. Enjoy these wonderful snacks that are ideal anytime of the day.