Breakfast is done; Lunch too. And then you are staring at the clock. And all it seems to say is - what can I eat now? At home, it’s the children returning hungry from school or college. At work, it is everyone. At hostels, hunger seems to live there.

No matter where, no matter why - hunger strikes.

Across India, the variety in food is enough to tackle that anytime-hunger be it 11am; 5pm even post midnight.

Aruna Priya, foodie and intrepid traveller shares a list that’ from across India but also finds its way in overseas baggage.

1. Khakra

Probably originated in Gujarat but is the number one go snack right from Ahmedabad to Los Angelis, Berlin and Maldives. What’s not to like about this crunchy, flaky, simple delight… Just wheat flour, mat legume/bean, and oil. And now there’s every imaginable flavour available.

2. Sev

Every state in India claims stake over sev. That aside, it’s versatile as a snack. As a topping, as a stand-alone snack. Easy to make at home and experiment with. Just one core ingredient - gram flour and the taste you like - be it jeera, ajwain, chilly powder (right from mild to fiery).

3. Papads

Now this is my favourite. Best had with Dal and Rice and a spoonful of home-made pickles, This light indescribable wonder has one ingredient - flour of any kind with a spice. The preparation is simple and simpler. Mix the rice or gram or bajra or nachni flour with any spice - crushed pepper is at #1, roll out into circles and dry in the summer sun. The simpler one is to buy from ladies who make them at home with their unique recipes. Either way, fry on medium hot oil on this side and that and your snack is ready.

4. Chips and Pakoras

This one is entirely up to you. Almost everything can be made into a chip or a pakora. Think right from raw banana, to potatoes, to jackfruit to cauliflower, paneer. For a chip - it’s without the gram flour batter, And the pakora is dipped in a batter. Gram flour(besan) is key and the rest of the spices are yours to play around with, Even the usual haldi, jeera, chilly powder, Garam Masala, ajwain…makes this irresistible.

Mitesh Lohiya, Director, Sales and Marketing, Gold Drop, says, “The best things about all of the snacks is that they start fresh longer when cooked in odour-less and pure refined oil. Gold Drop has provided this assurance for decades now and that’s our promise to our loyal consumers.”

So what are you craving today?