History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c26.s3.t3.4

v1.c26.s3.t3.4

Puffing : The terms missita and dhanidhaka have been suggested as the Sanskrit equivalents of puffing of grains, but are believed to be uncertain in the context in which they occur. The Tamil term pori occurs in the Sangam literature of the 6th century AD (Srinivasa Iyengar, 1930, pp. 57-20), and its production was probably effected by the simple technique (even now current) of throwing handfuls of rice on very hot sand. The cikpea or cana, especially the large Kabuli variety (after it arrived in India) was also subject to puffing to give a porous, crunchy product; this could be ground into besan flour, which is the batter of choice all over India for making a variety of deep-fried snacks. Again production in volume could be achieved by merely multiplying the domestic puffing operation.