MAMRA

I am certain most gujaratis are partial to a bit of sev mamra. Chickpea noodles fried crisp to which home made mamra (rice crispies) are added along with a few basic spices. Children in our households have grown up eating sev mamra with poori or thepla (sev mamra rolled into the poori) with tea. Manu still eats sev mamra in this manner rolled into the thepla or poori a childhood habit of all the Vithlani children.

My kids had a habit of eating sev mamra as they played and they would want these in a small steel vatki (bowl). My elder sister Jyoti knew my children loved these sev mamra and so she would send me coloured mamra which would entice the kids further. I don’t buy ready puffed rice but make the mamra at home, drying out cooked basmati rice until well dehydrated. All I do is cook the rice then drain it and spread on a tray lined with a tea towel then leave the tray near the window so the moisture evaporates and the rice totally dehydrates. Once the rice grains feel totally dry to touch, the mamra are ready to deep fry.