Kenyan Chevdo (video recipe + tips)

Kenyan style Chevdo or Kenya Chevdo / Chevro is sweet, spicy and incredibly tasty. It's a delicious blend of deep-fried potato crisps, beaten rice, fried beans, lentils, nuts and some basic spices. This East-African savoury snack is crunchy and full of flavour.

You can make this recipe easily and in less time by buying ready-made potato sticks (katri). Or, make the recipe from scratch by making the katri yourself at home! The recipe is naturally vegan and gluten-free!

Be prepared to make a large batch as this recipe will lead to third helpings!

What is Chevdo/Kenyan Chevdo?

Chevdo/chewro/chivda/ is an umbrella term for deep-fried savoury mix consisting of crunchy dried ingredients such as puffed rice, potato and lentils along with nuts and spices. It is enjoyed as an afternoon snack along with a piping hot cup of masala chai.

Chevdo can also be used as a topping for curries such as chana bateta, typically enjoyed by East-African Gujaratis.

Chevdo can be prepared at any time of the year but is most commonly eaten during Diwali. It is perfect to serve to the many guests that visit during festivities.

Kenya Chevdo or Kenyan Style Chevro is the East African Gujarati style version of chevdo. The flavours are sweet, sour and mildly spicy!

The bulk of Kenyan Chevdo is made with crunchy potato crisps or katri giving it a unique taste and texture compared to other chevda recipes.

It is extremely popular amongst British Asians, especially with those who grew up in East Africa and migrated in late 60's or early 70's to the UK. 

It is widely available in Indian sweet shops, but many older generations of British Asians make this at home. Some families supply this unique Kenyan Chevdo to their customers as it is made in a unique way.

My Mum learned to make Kenya Chevdo from my Grandma and in just a couple of hours, she had prepared a big batch of it! Since then, it is guaranteed to be a part of our Diwali snacks every year!

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.

Ingredients

For kenyan chevdo, you will need:

• Potatoes/ready-made Katri - you can easily purchase readymade crinkle cut chips and potato chips (katri) from supermarkets or Indian grocery stores. You can also make katri at home, the recipe is included below.

• Mag ni dal/Yellow Moong Beans - you will need mag ni dal which has been soaked overnight then thoroughly dried. You can also use green moong dal

• Chana Daal - chana dal (split chickpeas) should also be soaked overnight and dried.

• Thick flattened rice - also known as jada poha or thick poha which are available in Indian grocery stores are quintessential to chevdo

• Mixed nuts - you will need cashew nuts, almonds and peanuts. Use all for the best flavour but for allergy reasons, you can use whichever nuts suits you.

• Oil - you need oil to deep fry. Use sunflower, vegetable or olive oil

• Salt - to taste

• Caster sugar - use caster sugar rather than granulated so it dissolves faster. I tend to grind down granulated sugar in a food processor rather than buying caster sugar

• Red chilli powder - I used a mix of kashmiri and ordinary chilli powder so I get good red colour and not too much spice

• Turmeric Powder

• Amchoor Powder - use amchoor powder (dried mango powder) for the sour, lemony flavour. You can also use citric acid but use less compared to amchoor powder!

• Cinnamon bark

• Cloves

• Slit green chillies - either slit or cut green chillies. Check the heat level of the chillies to assess how many you will need.

• Curry leaves - do not skip the curry leaves as they lend incredible flavour

How to make Kenyan Chevdo

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.

Tips

Use caster sugar - use caster sugar rather than granulated as it dissolves faster and sweetens evenly. Shop bought packets tend to have sugar pooled at the bottom!

Use a metal sieve - for chevdo, it is common to add the ingredients to a sieve and lower the sieve into the hot oil. It makes it easier to remove small ingredients like the mag ni daal quickly from the hot oil (you might want to use gloves for this one!)

Fry the most fragrant ingredients first - this is so the oil becomes infused with all the fantastic flavours and reaches every morsel of the chevdo! I start with the cinnamon and cloves, then the chillies and the curry leaves.

Combine everything and especially the masala whilst the fried ingredients are still warm - this helps the masala to set and stick.

Taste the chevdo every hour and adjust the masala/seasoning - it takes a while for the flavours to set so the initial taste test might not taste the same as the end product!

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

Chevdo is often made days in advance and so needs to be stored correctly. The ingredients in chevdo can go stale fast so keep it in an airtight container for up to 4 weeks.

Ensure the chevdo is well cooled before storing or else some moisture may remain and spoil it.

I have also read that many people freeze their chevdo in freezer bags and simply remove the amount they want to eat and thaw for a few hours. This keeps the chevdo crunchy for even longer. I have not tried this technique myself.

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