Sunday, February 3, 2008

Indochine Chaat Mix



Who doesn't love a good Chex mix? I remember making it when I was a kid in the early 80's and it's still one of my favorite party snax. It shows up at most country shindigs (especially abundant during the holidays, for some reason) and everyone has their own spin on the recipe. This is my take, inspired by a recipe my sister gave me at Christmas, spiced up with Indian and Asian flavors (thus Indochine; I'm a big fan of neologisms).

Chaat is a term for savory snacks sold in roadside food carts or stalls throughout India and South Asia. They are generally small servings intended to carry you through to the next meal, or you can make a meal out of several, like tapas. Chex mix is like that, too. You can have a little handful, or you can eat the entire bowl...

The best thing about this recipe is you can really just throw in whatever kind of cereal/nuts/snacks you have on hand. Keep it loose and have fun with it!

Ingredients
Seasoning:
1 cup oil
1 small package Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp lemon pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp Chinese Five spice
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Dry Ingredients:
1/2 lb pretzels (about half of a big bag)
2 cups Rice Chex
2 cups Corn Chex
2 cups Wheat Chex
1 cup cashews
1 cup Spanish peanuts
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup wasabi peas
1 cup sesame sticks

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Whisk seasonings together and pour over dry ingredients in a large bowl. Turn to coat. Spread evenly on baking sheet(s) and bake for 1 1/2 hours, shaking the sheet halfway through baking to separate the mix. Cool on paper towels and store in an airtight container.

Chris Freeland
cfreeland27 (at) gmail.com

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