Spice Crispies

When I first heard about this recipe from my mom who saw it in the magazine Food and Wine, I thought it might turn out to be something similar to rice crispies. That is chewy, sticky, and in the form of some quadrilateral. They are however more like a snack mix, but feel free to adjust the recipe to make them more like rice crispies and leave a comment if you do.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Rice Crispies (I had to improvise and use Rice Chex)
• 1/4 cup salted roasted cashews
• 1/4 cup salted roasted peanuts
• 1/4 cup coconut flakes
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 3 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 4 large bay leaves
• 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Toss the Cereal, cashews, peanuts, coconut, and raisins in a large bowl. Turning to the stove, heat up the oil in a small saucepan and toast the mustard seeds. At the time, I did not have mustard seeds, just ground mustard, and when I put it in the oil, it totally burned in about two seconds. I had to redo this step with the oil. Just be careful and be aware of how hot the oil gets. Once the mustard seeds start popping, add the fennel, cumin, pepper, and bay leaves and let that toast for a minute or until it becomes fragrant. Then add the syrup, juice, and salt and let it come to a simmer. Once you see the bubbles, drizzle it over the cereal mix and toss until it is evenly dispersed. After this, spread the mix on a cookie sheet and toast it in the oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit until the nuts are brown, about 20 minutes. Then remove them from the oven, extract the bay leaves, and serve in a bowl.

FYI, if you are throwing a party or something, I would recommend doubling the recipe at least. The recipe is doubled in the picture. Enjoy your Indian flavour snack mix, NOM NOM NOM!