Every Bengali has a jhalmuri they swear by, and no two are the same. That is rather the point. It is less a recipe than a set of instincts — a little of this, a squeeze of that, taste, adjust, eat standing up.

Here is the version we make in our own kitchen when the evening needs something and dinner is still an hour away.

What you need

• Two large handfuls of muri (puffed rice) — the fresher the better
• One fistful of Jhal Chanachur, or Bhujiya if you want it gentler
• Half a small onion, chopped fine
• One small potato, boiled and cubed
• One green chilli, chopped — two if you mean it
• A handful of chopped coriander
• One teaspoon of kachi ghani mustard oil
• Half a lemon
• A pinch of bhaja masala, if you keep it

How it comes together

Put the muri in a large dry bowl — larger than you think you need, because you will be tossing. Add the onion, potato, chilli and coriander on top.

Pour the mustard oil over in a thin stream. This is the step people rush. Raw mustard oil is the whole flavour of jhalmuri; use the pungent, cold-pressed kind and use it sparingly, because it is doing more work than it looks.

Squeeze the lemon. Add the chanachur last, so it keeps its crunch instead of softening into the mix.

Now toss with both hands, or shake it in a covered container. Ten seconds, no more. Taste. It will almost always want more lemon.

The things worth knowing

Eat it immediately. Jhalmuri has a lifespan of about four minutes. The muri starts drinking the lemon and oil the moment they meet, and what was crisp becomes chewy. This is not a dish you make ahead.

Keep the muri dry. If your puffed rice has gone slightly soft in the packet, spread it on a tray and warm it in a low oven for five minutes, then cool it completely. It will crackle again.

Chanachur is the seasoning, not the filler. A fistful is plenty for two handfuls of muri. Too much and you lose the lightness that makes jhalmuri what it is.

Some people add chopped cucumber, some add roasted peanuts, some add a spoon of tamarind water. Our only real rule is that the mustard oil goes in raw and the chanachur goes in last.