Authentic Kenyan Chevdo

Kenyan Chevdo, also known as Kenya Chevdo or Chevro, is a sweet, spicy and crunchy East African Gujarati snack. It's a delicious mixture of crispy potato sticks (katri), flattened rice, fried lentils, nuts and aromatic spices.

I often use ready-made potato sticks for ease and to save time, but you can also make your own katri from scratch using the instructions below. This recipe is naturally vegan and gluten-free. We always make a generous batch because it never lasts very long in our house!

Jump to:

• What Is Kenyan Chevdo?
• More Chevdo Recipes:
• Kenyan Chevdo Ingredients
• Let's make Kenyan Chevdo In Steps
• Hayley's Tips
• How to make Katri at home
• Storage
• FAQS
• Other East-African recipes:
• 📖 Recipe

What Is Kenyan Chevdo?

Kenyan Chevdo, or Kenyan-style Chevro, is the East African Gujarati version of this popular snack. It has a wonderful balance of sweet, tangy and mildly spicy flavours, often served with masala chai.

What makes this version different is the generous amount of crispy potato sticks, known as katri. They give the mixture its distinctive crunch and texture.

My mum learnt to make Kenyan Chevdo from my paternal grandma, whose family had roots in East Africa. I remember Mum preparing enormous batches for Diwali, and it's a tradition we've continued in our family. After so many years, making chevdo has become second nature to us.

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.

Kenyan Chevdo Ingredients

See full ingredients list with measurements in the recipe card below.

• Potato sticks (katri) – I often use ready-made potato sticks to save time, but you can make your own from scratch. I've included the method below.
• Mag ni dal (yellow moong dal) – I soak the dal overnight and dry it thoroughly before frying.
• Thick flattened rice (jada poha) – I use thick poha for its lovely crunch. Look for it in Indian grocery shops.
• Mixed nuts – I like using a combination of cashews, almonds and peanuts for different textures. You can adjust the proportions to suit your taste.
• Caster sugar – I prefer finely ground sugar because it coats the chevdo more evenly. I usually grind granulated sugar myself.
• Red chilli powder – I use both Kashmiri chilli powder and regular red chilli powder for colour and heat.
• Amchoor powder – This adds the characteristic tangy flavour. Citric acid is another option, but you'll need considerably less.
• Curry leaves – I wouldn't skip these. They add a lovely fragrance to the oil and finished chevdo.

Let's make Kenyan Chevdo In Steps

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.

Hayley's Tips

Use a metal sieve: I find this the easiest way to fry smaller ingredients like dal and poha. You can lift everything out of the oil quickly without having to fish out individual pieces.

Fry the aromatic ingredients first: I start with cinnamon and cloves, followed by green chillies and curry leaves. This flavours the oil before frying the remaining ingredients.

Work quickly with the poha: It only takes a few seconds to puff, so keep a close eye on it.

Add the masala while everything is warm: I add the seasoning a little at a time, mixing thoroughly and tasting as I go.

Taste again before storing: I like to taste the chevdo again after about an hour, once the flavours have had time to settle.

Use finely ground sugar: This helps the sweetness distribute more evenly, rather than collecting at the bottom of the container.

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

Kenyan Chevdo is one of those snacks I love keeping in a large container for everyone to help themselves to. It's especially popular in our house during Diwali, although we happily eat it throughout the year.

Serve it on its own or alongside a hot cup of masala chai. Once completely cool, transfer the chevdo to an airtight container to keep everything crisp.

FAQS

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

📖 Recipe