**Namkeen Boondiyaan**

Boondiyaan are drops made with the normal chickpea flour, they are dropped through a sieve with thick holes in it. A very hearty tea time snack and very favorite specially in Ramadhan. The salty taste is a delight after the days fast :)

I remember as Mama dear used to make these always as a side dish whenever she cooked any Daal : ) We ate it after the lunch with so much chutney on it and did …ccccc..cccccc and ate even more : )

There are so many memories attached to this one dish, living in Kuwait we didn’t get all those typical big small sieves for this purpose, of course we did have the ones to drain rice water, or wash Vegetable but the specific to take out boondiyaan was missing.

So what dear Abbajan did, he took an old frying pan which had may be served us quite good and was in his retirement age lol; and drilled so lovely even holes all around, We as kids were so excited to see the end result and kept pointing and showing him… here too and here too … I’m not sure if we still have it somewhere…I so wish those days come back….

Anyway so Mama used to make in big bulks and she had those big jars which we call “Martabaan” where she filled it, and we used to eat them as a dry snack coz the simple besan tasted so good and really so yummy : )
Sorry the story was so alive that I got carried away… so back to the recipe…

I also make and preserve in tin boxes, they stay good and soft, you just soak them before you need them…So simple
I actually never measure as after some time one only knows how to make them but I have measured it so you can have an idea : )

2 cups besan (chickpea flour)
½ cup soda water(Fizzy or gassy water)
½ cup or may be more or less water
1tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp chaat masala
¼ tsp cumin powder

*just mix all dry ingredients and mix with the liquids
*take care, it should not be very runny nor too thick
*mix and leave it to set, as the soda water brings air in it and it becomes very fluffly, and as you fry them you feel the soft structure yet crispy
*now pour with a deep spoon in any borad sieve with big holes and just press it thru , the drops will fall in the hot oil and get cooked very soon
*if you have no such sieve you can use a normal slotted spoon
*after frying just put them in a sieve, let cool and then save in any tin box or glass jar

Here I have made 1 bowl:
1 cup boondiyaan
1 bowl hot water
300gram yogurt
1 large boiled potato (fine cubes)
1 red onion (fine sliced)
3-4 green chilies
Salt to taste
½ tsp chaat masala
¼ tsp roasted cumin powder
1tbs sugar
Some pepper from mill

*soak bonndiyaan in hot water for 2-3 minutes
*drain out on a slotted spoon, just pressed very slightly and put them directly in the yogurt
*let it rest 15 minutes so they absorb yogurt
*serve with Imli Chutney a must!!!
I also make papurri with it as it is yummy crunchy but had no time so dint make:/ you can sprinkle Chewra on it makes crunchy noises : )