Uggani / Buggani / Puffed Rice Pulihora

My husband laughs heartily at the very mention of this word - Uggani/Buggani. But I don't somehow see anything funny in that word. Perhaps, because it brings back fondest memories of my childhood in Kurnool where in every nook and corner of the city you could hear vendors calling out this name and selling this delicacy. It's layman's biryani which even the poorest of the poor can afford to get a mouthful. Now didn't I say it a mouthful?
Ingredients:

Puffed rice 250 gms
One big sized onion - finely chopped, lengthwise
4-6 green chillies - made into paste
1 tspn salt
1 lemon
1 tbsp oil
Turmeric - a pinch
Mustard seeds 1/2 tspn
Urad dal 1/2 tspn
Curry leaves 6-8
Red chillies - 2-5
1/2 tspn each of cumin
Roasted chickpea powder(putnala pappu) - 1 tbsp
Roasted peanuts - 1/4 cup

Cooking time: 15 mins Preparation time: 10 mins

Take a big vessel with a colander inside and fill it half with water. Now add puffed rice and dissolve it for a few seconds in water, allowing them to soak in some water. Exactly after 5 minutes, remove the colander from water with rice. Take handfuls of puffed rice and firmly squeeze the water out. What must stay behind in water is dust and chaff of the puffed rice.

Now, in a large frying pan over medium heat, heat one tbsp of oil and fry the mustard and cumin seeds, red chillies and curry leaves in oil. Add onions, saute them until they turn pink and then add green chilli paste. Saute the contents until they turn from bright green to light green color. Take care not to let that go brown or you get a weird taste. Finally, add a pinch of turmeric and salt and stir them all once while slowly turning off the heat.

Next, add this hot onion mixture immediately to puffed rice along with roasted peanuts and roasted chickpea powder. Mix them all together and add more salt if needed. Remember you can garnish with cilantro leaves and serve it hot as a snack or breakfast item.

Just before eating don't forget to squeeze a few drops of lemon for a more tingling, tangy and yummy taste. Aha! good ole' days.