Saggu Biyyam Atukula Mixture

Ingredients

• Thick or medium poha / atukulu – 2 cups
• Dry pearl nylon sago – ½ cup; do not soak
• Peanuts – ½ cup
• Roasted gram – ¼ cup
• Cashews – 2 tbsp, optional
• Curry leaves – 2 sprigs, completely dry
• Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
• Turmeric – ¼ tsp
• Salt – as needed
• Sugar – ½ tsp, optional
• Oil – for frying or roasting

Method

1. Make sure the sago and curry leaves are completely dry. Water entering hot oil will splatter dangerously.
2. Fry or puff the dry nylon sago in small batches in hot oil until expanded and crisp. Drain immediately.
3. In the same pan, fry peanuts until crisp, then roasted gram, optional cashews and dry curry leaves separately so each cooks evenly.
4. For the poha, either deep-fry briefly until crisp or dry-roast with a little oil over low heat until light and crunchy.
5. Combine the crisp poha, sago, peanuts, roasted gram, cashews and curry leaves in a wide bowl while still warm.
6. Sprinkle chilli powder, turmeric, salt and optional sugar evenly. Toss gently without crushing the poha.
7. Taste only after a small portion cools; seasoning feels stronger once the mixture is cool and crisp.
8. Cool completely before storing airtight. Atukula mixture is an established Telugu snack; adding crisp sago here is a deliberate variation.