One of the popular snack items is the Masala peanuts which is available as packed snack item in almost all the savory shops in India. They are also exported to various countries. It is a popular snack item which can easily be made in the home kitchen. Do try.
Ingredients:
Raw peanuts – 2 cups (1 cup = 250ml)
Red Chilli Powder – 2 tsp (Adjust to suit your taste)
Salt – ¾ tsp
Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
Asafoetida – 1/8 tsp
Curry Leaves – from 4 sprigs and chopped
Garlic Pods – 12 (crushed and optional)
Gram Flour (Besan) and Rice Flour – in 3: 1 ratio (See details in description)
Water – as required
Oil – for deep frying`
Method:
Take the Raw peanuts, Chilli Powder, Salt, Cumin Seeds, Asafoetida, Curry Leaves and crushed Garlic Pods in a mixing bowl. Add 5 to 6 tbsp of water little by little and mix well.
Mix the Gram Flour (Besan) and Rice Flour in 3:1 ratio in another vessel. The quantity may have to be adjusted as we start mixing it with the Peanuts.
Add this mix to the raw peanuts mix in the other vessel little by little till the peanuts are coated well and evenly with the mix of Gram Flour and Rice Flour. Sprinkle little water, if required. The peanuts should coated well with the flour, but remain loose. It should not become sticky. If it becomes sticky, add little more of the Besan Rice Flour mix and mix well.
Deep fry the masala coated peanuts in hot oil in batches. Let the Oil be hot while dropping the peanuts, but reduce the flame to middle while frying. You should be able to stir and separate the coated peanuts while frying. Do stir them occasionally. Once they are fried crisp, transfer them to a kitchen paper napkin so that excess Oil will be absorbed by the napkin. And then you can transfer to a vessel.
For getting more flavors, fry some more Curry Leaves and add to the fried Pea nuts and mix well. You can also sprinkle Chat Masala, if you prefer.
You can store this tasty crispy crunchy Masala peanuts in an air tight container for more than 15 days.
