Bombay mix or Chiwda is an Indiansnack mix which consists of a variable mixture of spicy dried ingredients, such as fried lentils, peanuts, chickpea flour ghatia , corn, vegetable oil, chickpeas, flaked rice, fried onion and curry leaves. This is all flavored with salt and a blend of spices that may include coriander and mustard seed. In India, the large variety of snacks similar to this are called Chiwda, farsan, or just "mixture" in other parts of the country. Due to similarities as well as multiple subtle differences, the older traditional terms chiwda, namkeen, and the newer term Bombay mix are often used interchangeably, even though there are clearly marked differences between them. In India, it is sometimes eaten as part of a meal; as a standalone snack, though, it is usually consumed with the hands.
In Pakistan, it is very popular, prepared throughout the country, usually known as chevda or nimko.
A different version, called Danyal mix, and sometimes "Gujarati mix", is a lot spicier and contains only crunchy mix, peanuts and occasionally spices like ajwain, though this version does not use chillies.
In the United States, it is alternatively and more often referred to as "Punjabi mix" or simply "hot mix".
In Myanmar, they are known as sarkalay chee, which literally means sparrows' droppings, referring to the lentil strips. They are very popular with both the Burmese and the Burmese Indians.
In Sri Lanka, it is known just as "mixture", and includes a larger variety of exotic ingredients, such as cassava and fried curry leaves.
In Malaysia and Singapore, it is known as kacang putih. Members of the local Indian community usually refer to it as "mixture" as is done in Southern India. It is available from roadside vendors as well as shops and restaurants. Singaporean supermarket Fairprice refer to their Bombay mix product as 'murukku', which is an entirely different product altogether.
In Bangladesh, it is known as Chanachur, which is very spicy compared to the other versions, and is much more popular amongst Bengali people. It is an important ingredient of popular Bengali snacksJhalmuri
In southern states such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala, it is known as just "mixture", and is available in almost all the sweet shops and bakeries. Usually it consists of fried ground nuts, thenkuzhal, kara boondhi, roasted chana dal, karasev, murukku broken into small pieces, pakoda and oma podi.
In Eastern African countries with large populations of families of Indian descent, especially Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, it is known as chevdo or chevra and is often prepared with some sugar sprinkled in.
In South Africa it is popular amongst the Indian community of Kwazulu Natal and the Cape Malay community of the Western Cape. Amongst the Indian community it is known as "sev and nuts" and amongst the Cape Malay community as "slangetjies," which is Afrikaans for little snake and refers to the appearance of the chickpea flour noodles.
