Hurigalu is a Karnataka-special spicy snack prepared with lentils and legumes. In Kannada, huri means fry/roast, and galu means lentils and legumes. It’s a guilt-free snack prepared without any oil.
Karnataka-style savory/spicy trail mix
The recipe is simple but time-consuming for sure. But as we all know, no pain, no gain. With proper planning, you can easily make this snack at home and customize it as per your preference. The store-bought ones are typically hard to chew, but homemade ones are perfect as you can roast to your desired level of crunchiness. I learned this recipe from my co-sister, and I followed her recipe to T. You don’t need any exotic ingredients to make this hurigalu. Most of the ingredients are pantry staples, except the kobbari/dry coconut, atleast in my case. While you can find fresh and frozen coconut in my fridge, it’s hard to find the dry kobbari or kopparai thengai, and I buy it as required. I highly recommend the dry coconut pieces/kobbari for this hurigalu. As the recipe procedure is lengthy, let’s get straight into the ingredient details and procedure.
Ingredients
Lentils and legumes: I have used green mung beans and black chickpeas in this hurigalu. You can also include cowpeas, moth beans, and horsegram. But we mainly use green mung beans and black chickpeas, and I went with the same for this recipe. Roasted gram, dry coconut, and peanuts: Along with lentils and legumes, we add roasted gram (pottukadalai in Tamil, hurigadale in Kannada), dry coconut/kobbari/kopparai, and peanuts for added crunch. Spices: Along with salt, we need red chili powder, ground turmeric, and asafoetida. I add a little extra asafoetida, especially with beans and legume-based recipes, as it aids digestion. But feel free to reduce it by ¼ tsp. Adjust the spice measure to your preference and the below measure is slightly on the spicy side. We need water to make the spice paste, but that’s about the ingredients.
Dietary Specifications
It’s a vegan dish by nature. I wouldn’t skip peanuts, but feel free to skip the peanuts if you are highly allergic to nuts. Make sure to use gluten-free asafoetida for a gluten-free version. It’s a perfect snack to relish with tea or coffee or just like that to munch. Store it in an air-tight container, and it stays good for 2 to 3 weeks at room temperature. We all love it and finish it within 2 to 3 weeks, so I can’t talk much about the shelf life beyond three weeks.
Hurigalu recipe with detailed step-wise pictures
We first soak the lentils and drain them. Then spread it out on a cloth and let it rest for few hours. Then we roast them all one by one. Next, we prepare the spice paste and mix it with the lentils, and roast again. Finally, mix it with the other ingredients.
A few things to note-
Make sure you use heavy/thick bottomed pan. I used my indolium kadai/uruli. Be patient and roast the lentils and legumes over medium/ medium-low heat. Do not leave them unattended for a long time while roasting.Do not over roast the lentils as it becomes hard. When the lentils pop, taste one, check for the texture and crunch, and adjust the roasting time; note that we will be roasting the lentils again after adding the spice paste. After making the spice paste, I recommend to mix the spice paste and roasted lentils by hand. I missed doing that part. But it ensures even coating.
Soaking and drying the lentils:
Soak the green mung beans and black chickpeas separately with sufficient water for 6 to 8 hours. Overnight soaking is fine too. Then drain the water, spread the soaked lentils on a cloth, and let it rest for 2 hours—no need to keep it under the sun. The green mung beans and chickpeas should be moist but not wet.
Roasting the ingredients:
Heat a heavy-bottomed kadai or pan and start roasting the ingredients one by one without any oil. I first started with dry coconut pieces. Roast the coconut pieces until they turn lightly golden brown and crisp over medium-low heat. It usually takes about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the roasted coconut and set it aside on a plate or bowl.
Next, add the black chickpeas to the same pan. Roast the chickpeas until they are dry and crisp. It will start to pop and split like below. It took me 25 minutes to roast the chickpeas. I would recommend tasting the chickpeas. If it has reached the desired crisp texture, stop roasting. Now remove the roasted chickpeas and set them aside in a bowl. (do not mix it now with roasted coconut)
Next, add the green mung beans to the same pan. Like chickpeas, roast the green mung beans until they are dry and crisp. It took me 15 minutes to roast the green mung beans. Taste the beans and if it has reached the desired crip texture, stop roasting. Remove the roasted mung beans and set them aside in the same bowl as black chickpeas. You can mix the green mung beans and chickpeas.
In the same kadai, add the peanuts and roast for 3 to 4 minutes until the skin turns light brown. Remove the peanuts and set them aside.
In the same kadai, add the roasted gram and roast for two minutes, and turn off the heat. Let it stay in the kadai for a couple of minutes so that it becomes crisp in the residual heat. But keep an eye on them.
Here are the roasted ingredients. Let them cool down completely.
Preparing the spice paste:
Combine the red chili powder, salt, ground turmeric, asafoetida, and water. Make a paste. Now add this paste to the roasted green mung beans and black chickpeas mixture. Mix well and make sure the spice paste is evenly coated. You can mix it with hands also.
Roasting the lentils again:
Heat a pan and add the spice-coated lentil/legume mix. Dry roast until the mixture is dehydrated. The moisture from the spice mix should be gone. Keep on medium flame and fry till the lentils get dried, and it took me about 15 minutes.
Turn off the heat and add the roasted coconut, peanuts, and roasted gram. Mix well and let it cool. Store in an air-tight container.
Recipe notes:
The cooking time depends upon the pan and the heat setting. Keep an eye on the lentils/legumes, and don’t leave them unattended. Also, do not roast them at high heat. I recommend medium to medium-low heat.Adjust the salt and spices as per your taste preference. This trail mix is slightly on the spicy side. You might have to roast a little longer if you add more water while making the spice paste. I have made that mistake a couple of times. For this measure, 1.5 tbsp water is sufficient. But I did add 2 tbsp of water.You can add more lentils and legumes like moth beans, black-eyed peas, horse gram, etc. You have to roast them one by one. When you add more lentils and legumes, make sure to adjust the salt and spice accordingly. I usually don’t remove the peanut skin. You can also use skinned peanuts or remove the skin after roasting. Fresh or frozen coconut doesn’t work in this recipe. So make sure to dry kobbari, and you can readily find them in Indian groceries.
Explore other snack recipes
Looking for some guilt-free snacks? These check these easy yet delicious snacks from my archives. To check the entire snacks collection, click the link here – snack recipes.
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