Irresistible crunchy & tangy peanut salad on the menu today. In typical south Indian style, these utilize boiled peanuts, rather than the roasted ones. I added more green veggies to the salad making it heartier, more nutritious and a whole meal in itself.
Boiled peanuts evoke such childhood memories for me; many Sundays filled with sounds of pressure cooker whistles and the smell of peanuts boiling in briny salted water. The pleasure of sucking out a peanut from its shell filled with salty briny water is rather indescribable!
Typically, the peanuts are boiled till rather soft, but for this salad recipe, I kept them par-boiled and softened but retaining some crunch. Doing this adds much more texture and nuttiness to the salad.
If you have difficulty finding whole raw (unroasted) peanuts, you can use shelled ones that are more easily available. That’s what I did. I found peeled, de-shelled and halved raw peanuts for this recipe. Not only is this salad simple to put together, it is so satisfyingly yummy!
Ingredients:
serves 2-3
3/4 cup raw peanuts
1 medium english cucumber, chopped (I prefer a less seeded firmer cucumber)
4 cups mixed salad greens (Mine had baby spinach, baby kale and swiss chard)
1/4 small red onion, finely chopped
1 handful of fresh cilantro, finely chopped
For the dressing:
juice from 2-3 limes
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp agave syrup
1/2 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder, or paprika (a mild chilli, more color than spice)
1/2 tsp red chilli powder (to keep it mild, skip this and add more paprika)
1/2 ” piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 tsp coarse kosher salt
Method:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Drop in the raw peanuts and continue cooking at a rolling boil for about 15 minutes, until the peanuts are softened, and lose their rawness, yet are firm and slightly crunchy. Drain and set aside to cool.
In a small bowl, add all the dressing ingredients: ginger, chilli powders, lime juice, apple cider vinegar and salt. Mix together and set aside.
In another mixing bowl, drop in chopped cucumbers, red onions, and mixed greens. Add the cooled down boiled peanuts and toss to mix.
Just before serving, pour in the chilli-lime dressing and fold everything together gently until all the veggies and peanuts are evenly covered in dressing.
Sprinkle fresh cilantro on top and serve immediately.
