Masala Popcorn with Toasted Peanuts
The weather promises to be rainy tomorrow, maybe just the perfect weather for popping corn… Make that spiced crunch Masala Popcorn with Toasted Peanuts.
Often, I create a recipe for someone or something and it goes away, I am getting better about making sure that I remember and save it here, my posts here often do not look backwards, but there are exceptions… Today is one of them. For some reason, I have been a little pensive today, reflecting on the changes at work, changes in my environment. With the kids robotics competition emerging around the corner, the atmosphere in the house has been a little tense, and then I remembered this popcorn that I had made sometime in fall, actually just when there was a nip in the air. Gentle spices, fragrant and toasty peanuts and warm freshly popped corn, how can you go wrong?
Much like the popcorn, getting out to doing something creative calms me down, often as I sit to write on this site, I feel productive, it offers me a positive distraction and calms me down. Of course, that leads to the question as to why I do not do it all the time, well, we cannot have this site filled with pensive posts… that and I do not always have the time to sit down and do it, at that very instant to write and pair food with my pensive moods.
A few notes on seasoning and working with popcorn, it is important to keep your seasonings light and make sure they do not burn if you are popping them with the corn. In this recipe, I add them separately and toss to mix, this allows your corn to pop evenly and your spices to mix in evenly. As for popping the corn, it is important to add them to hot oil, not unlike mustard seeds.
So, test your oil or butter by adding a few kernels of corn. This post offers you a really good tutorial on how to pop your corn and as it points out, do not microwave your corn. Want to make a snack able meal, fry up a batch of these pakoras and you will be in snack heaven. Now, my mood is better and I am off to pop some corn, here is wishing you a wonderful week ahead, may all your cockles stay warm.
PrintMasala Popcorn with Toasted Peanuts
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: Serves 6 to 8
This simple dish is inspired by the Indian snack called Chidva, a traditional trail mix of sorts which is a staple on Diwali tables. This dish mimics the flavors, but is much healthier, as the essential flattened rice grains are deep fried in the original snack. If you want you can substitute or add in a handful of pecans in addition to the peanuts in this dish.
Ingredients
4 tablespoons of coconut or grapeseed oil1 medium sized red onion, very finely diced
10 to 12 curry leaves (optional)
1/2 cup shelled UN-roasted peanuts
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
3/4 teaspoon black salt
3/4 teaspoon dried mango powder or amchoor
1/2 teaspoon red cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
Instructions
Place one tablespoon of oil in a deep heavy bottomed pot with a tight-fitting lid and heat the oil.Add in the red onion and the curry leaves (if using), and sauté the mixture for about 6 minutes until the onion begins to turn pale golden.
Add in the peanuts and sauté for about 3 to 4 minute, remove the entire mixture and set aside.
In the same pot, add the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil and drop 1 or 2 kernels of the corn and wait for these to pop. Remove these kernels.
Add in the turmeric and cumin seeds and within 30 seconds, add the remaining corn kernels; cover and shake the pot. You should hear the corn popping and it should be done in about 2 minutes.
Remove the popped corn, which should be yellow in color, and place in a large serving bowl. Add the black salt, dried mango powder and red cayenne pepper; mix well.
Add in the peanut mixture and stir in the cilantro just before serving, and enjoy warm.
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