How to Boil Fresh Peanuts / Boiled Peanuts

The husband got me a bag of fresh peanuts when he returned home yesterday. I am a big fan of fresh peanuts and eat it in raw form any time. As I got them in large quantity this time, I was thinking what to prepare using it. Nothing came into my mind but in the mean time, I finished eating quarter quantity of the raw peanuts. So before I complete all the raw peanuts, I decided to boil it in the same way my mom does every time when she buys it. 



I have chosen the pressure cook method which makes the job easier. You can also boil in a large pot with extra water, but this method will take longer time than the pressure cook method. When you choose to boil it in a pot, check for salt and softness of the peanuts at even intervals to get perfect boiled peanuts.

Basic Information:
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4 people

Ingredients:


Fresh peanuts in shell / Raw peanuts in shell - 5 cups
Salt - 2 teaspoons or as per taste
Water - 2 cups

Method:

1) Wash the peanuts in running water until the water runs clean. Make sure to remove mud and other dusts while cleaning.

2) Soak the washed peanuts in big bowl of water for 15 minutes.
3) After 15 minutes, drain the water completely and add the peanuts to the pressure cooker.

4) Add 2 teaspoons of salt. Increase / decrease the salt as per your taste.
5) Add 2 cups of water or add water just below the peanut level. Refer the below picture. Stir well.

6) Cover the pressure cooker with lid. Turn on the flame and wait for pressure cooker to release 4-5 whistles.
7) Wait for the steam to release from the cooker.  Once it is done, open the lid and drain the water.

8) Transfer the peanuts to another bowl.
9) Allow it to cool for a while and eat them.

Note:
1) You might need to decrease or increase the number of whistles according to the maturity of the peanuts.
2) As soon as you cook, remove the peanuts from the salty water. Otherwise, the peanuts become messy and salty.

Ponnaganni Keerai Poriyal / Stir Fry

When I was a child, I hated the taste of greens. So, my mom used to mix it with few other ingredients like potato, dal and paneer and serve us. Days passed and I slowly adapted myself to eat different types of greens. Now, we are preparing greens once in a week owing to its nutritional benefits.

You can prepare this stir fry using any type of greens. For additional taste, use 2-3 tablespoons of cooked toor dal/moong dal with the greens. When I was plucking the leaves from the stem, I found the stems were soft and tender. So I used them to make another stir fry. I 'll be posting that recipe soon. Now off to ponnaganni keerai stir fry.

Basic Information:
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4 people

Ingredients:

Ponnaganni Keerai / Dwarf copperleaf - 1 bunch
Sambar onion / Shallots / Small onions - 4 nos, finely chopped
Green chillies / Dry red chilles - 4 to 5 nos or as per taste
Curry leaves - 1 string
Oil - 3 teaspoons
Mustard seeds and Urid dal - 1/2 teaspoon
Fresh coconut - 3 tablespoons, grated
Salt - to taste

Method:

1) Remove the leaves from the stem and keep the leaves aside. Wash the leaves and drain the water completely. Now roughly chop it. Keep it aside.
2) Heat oil in the pan and add mustard seeds and urid dal when the oil is hot.
3) When the crackling sound of mustard seeds reduces, add the curry leaves, sliced green chillies and chopped onion. Fry till the onion becomes soft.

4) Add the keerai to the pan now. Stir well and cover using the lid. Cook it in low flame for 4-5 minutes. You can see the keerai is reduced in its quantity. Add salt now as per the reduced quantity. Stir well.

5) Cover again and cook for few more minutes. When the water content from the keerai is drained and it is well cooked, add grated coconut. Switch off the flame.
6) Mix the coconut with keerai using the ladle. The heat in the pan is sufficient for mixing the coconut.

7) Serve with hot steamed rice with your favourite gravy. We enjoyed it with Ennai Kathirikkai kulambu.

Note:
1) Make sure to add the salt only when the keerai reduced half of its quantity. Start from lower quantity of salt. If it is not sufficient, we can add it later. Keep this as a best practise.
2) If you are going to serve keerai for only one time meal, then switch off the flame and add grated coconut. Otherwise, keep the flame ON for few seconds after adding coconut.
3) If you are using green chillies, slice them and use for seasoning. Or, if it is dry red chillies, break it and add to the seasoning.

Peanut Butter ~ 3 ways - Guest Post by Priya of Bon Appetit

The Guest Post series in my blog was on a break last month since I was on a blog break. I am still trying to get back to blogging by posting atleast once in a week but still working on the possibilities. Meanwhile for this month on the guest post series I have Priya Sreeram of Bon Appetit. She has a lovely space with a colorful array of dishes. Her 'A La Carte' menu card is sure to draw your