Indian Peanut Salad
This peanut salad is really more an addictive snack, but I love that it’s called a salad! 🙂 It’s so simple to make, packing in so much flavor and actually, rather healthy too. It is a quintessential tea time (or beer time!) snack.
It’s a recipe I grew up eating that I especially love because it’s different from what you’d expect Indian food to be. Call it chaat, snack or salad, this dish is a Desi (Indian) favorite that elicits the simplicity of process and complexity of flavors all at the same time. “Chatpata” is one of those untranslatable words that this snack embodies. I could loosely say it means “refreshingly savory and lip smackingly tangy”. It’s simply boiled peanuts with lots of fresh citrus, herbs and tangy spices.
The peanut salad is great to eat just as is, or with any meal for added texture and freshness.
You can also get creative with building your chaat. For example, today I topped mine with two chutneys: mint & cilantro chutney, tamarind & date chutney, along with a store bought crunchy sev mixture.
I’ll be sharing my recipes for both the chutneys soon. I usually make a large batch that lasts me a couple of weeks:)
Peanut Salad – What you’ll need:
parboiled raw peanuts
finely chopped onions
green bell peppers/ capsicum, finely chopped
fresh cilantro, finely chopped
lemon juice
amchur (raw mango) powder
chaat masala
kaala namak/Indian pink salt
Chaat Masala and Amchur powders are the key ingredients for this salad.
Chaat masala is a blend of specific types of toasted spices. There are several variations, but the most common kind uses cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, carom seeds, kala namak (Indian pink salt), Asafoetida powder, chili powder, dried ginger, dried mint, amchur (green mango powder) and tamarind powder. Chaat Masala is all you need to transform any veggie or fruit into a mouth puckeringly good snack!
Toasting the spices individually adds immense aroma; and in this recipe, the addition of amchur (raw mango powder) adds layers of tangy complexity, and the kala namak adds that quintessential funk in Indian chaat snacks/ street foods. The combination of this all is the definition of umami. IChaat masala and Amchur are both available at most Indian markets. Go get some!
How to make Peanut Salad
It is important to begin with raw peanuts, because the base of this salad are boiled peanuts.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the raw peanuts in, and let it cook & boil for 20-25 minutes, until boiled perfectly. The peanuts should be soft but not mushy. You should be able to break them easily using your fingers, but they should still retain some texture. I recommend testing at the 15 min mark and continue cooking and testing every few minutes until you get the correct texture.It should take no more than 25 minutes.
Drain and let it cool down until it’s until lukewarm or at room temperature.
In a large mixing bowl, add onions, bell peppers, cilantro, and all the other spices. Toss in the boiled peanuts and toss together, and it’s done! This is best served after an hour of making it. It gives the ingredients time to marinate and blend the flavors together.
It also makes a great meal prep / make ahead dish. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. THey made a great side dish, snack, salad, or the a great protein element to your lunch or dinner bowls.
If you liked this recipe, also check out
The Best Vegan Chilli Tofu Indo Chinese Style
Easy Garlic Sautéed Green Beans
Best Crispy Cabbage Pakora Pancakes
You can also find more of my creations on Instagram and Pinterest @supriyaramankitchen
1 comment
That looks good