Learn how to make Microwave Masala Peanuts/Masale Kadle ~Simple and quick recipe for crunchy and spicy gram flour coated roasted peanuts cooked in a microwave in less than 15 minutes
Love to me is something that is very different from the stories told in romantic movies and the types of ‘happily ever afters’ in fairy tales and mills and boon novels. Love is not a dozen of red roses, a box of Belgian chocolates or heart shaped balloons. Love is not a gift of expensive bottles of perfumes or an exquisite diamond ring. Love to me is not romantic candle light dinners or a holiday in a romantic city! The very definition of ‘Love’ has changed over the years and now it means a whole new world of things to me…
Microwave Masala Peanuts/Masale Kadle ~ Spicy and crunchy
My ‘much’ better half, my DH, is not someone who is into celebrating days like Valentine’s Day :) Having read too many M&B’s and also having had few admirers in school and college days, this indifference to celebrating the day of love from the person whom I dated for a year before tying the knot was a chapter of amusem*nt in my life. Before we knew, our first Valentine’s Day was spent with me busy preparing for the semester exams for my post graduation in India and DH here in the UK. Inspite of burying myself under the books of marketing, finance and economics, I waited eagerly for the V-day. The day came and the morning was spent in the examination hall after spending 3 hours in filling the answer sheets with the knowledge I acquired in the last 6 months! Exhausted and drained due few hours of sleep and studying for long hours, I crawled to my bed and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
When I woke up from sleep, it was close to midnight and almost all my hostel mates were fast asleep. After dragging myself to the kitchen, I was greeted with a plate of cold dinner and a note that said there was a special pudding for the V-day in fridge. It slowly dawned upon my sleepy brain that V-day was almost over and I still didn’t receive any call from love of my life! No gifts, no roses, no calls and not even a message… Nothing… Na-da!!! How could he?!
Microwave Masala Peanuts/Masale Kadle ~ Anytime snack
By then the dinner looked unappealing and the big slice of chocolate cake with rich ganache from one of my favourite bakery in Bangalore got stuck in my throat and tasted like a saw dust! Few silent tears were shed at the thought of committing life to some un-romantic soul who didn’t even bothered to make one single call on our very first Valentine’s day! His indifference to celebrating V-day didn’t amuse me anymore. The romantic movie playing on the TV as well as the bouquets of red roses, pink orchids and carnations, heart shaped balloons and cuddly teddy bears with hearts in their hands on my table which were sent by some secret admirers just added fuel to my already rising temper that was about to erupt like a volcano at any moment!
I looked at the clock and the minute hand on the clock was ticking towards the 12 to mark the end of day… End of V-day! I thought it was a time I called my so called fiancé and gave him an earful on the importance of such days in my life. I picked up my phone from the bed and was about to press the UK number that I remembered by heart and then noticed something unusual.
Microwave Masala Peanuts/Masale Kadle ~ Simple and quick recipe
Err… My phone was switched off! I had switched off my phone before entering the exam hall and then completely forgot to switch it on after returning to my hostel and falling asleep for hours and hours! After shedding all that tears and cursing my luck for getting committed to someone who is the opposite of me in every possible way, I had completely forgotten that I had switched off my mobile phone!!! As soon as I switched the damned thing on, it started to ring and the number that made my heart miss a beat showed up on the screen :) I expected to get an earful from the person at the other end of call and globe, but that was not the case as DH is a complete opposite of me when it comes to temper :) As the clock struck 12, a wish followed by a kiss from my sweetheart made our V-day a most beautiful and memorable day!
And friends, that was how we celebrated our very first V-day… No flowers, no gifts and no heart shaped chocolates and it continues to be the same till today; which by the way is our 8th V-day!!! But I couldn’t have found a better person to share my life with and to age with, as he shows his love for me every single day through his deeds and actions. From helping me in the kitchen to taking care of Lil Dumpling, from guiding me with office projects to rubbing my feet when I am too tired, from cooking me surprise dinners to bringing me food from my favourite restaurants when can’t be bothered to cook, from pressing my office cloths to doing the laundry that I dislike the most, from showering me with his undivided attention to listening to all my rants and rambles and just being my best friend for a life to letting me be myself! For me every day is special day with DH, even the days that we fight and argue! My life is not overly sweet as it has enough spice in it to keep it interesting and fulfilling :) With Lil Dumpling in our life, we have more reason to celebrate every single day…
Microwave Masala Peanuts/Masale Kadle
These days DH has been working on some very important project and thus, ends up going to bed around 1 AM. So if by any change Lil Dumpling wakes up early in the morning (which by the way happens every day), he goes to the guest bedroom to catch an extra hour of sleep. Most of the days Lil Dumpling and I end up chatting (OK, most of the talking is done by LD and I just mumble few appropriate words) and on some lucky days we both go back to sleep snuggling under the thick duvet. Today I was pleasantly surprised when LD pulled my hand in his sleep and planted a deep kiss on my palm and then tucked it under his cheek smiling oh-so-lovingly! I was just blown away by this gesture… For once I thought he must have thought it was his daddy as it is HD who sleeps next to his cot and does night time duty of changing diapers and feeding him bottle of milk or water on demand by little guy while I snore away! And then just pushed that thought away... I woke up with a silly smile on face which stayed on my face throughout the day :)
Raw Peanuts for Microwave Masala Peanut
Thank you my darling Lil Dumpling because that kiss u gave me just made my day ever more special :) And thank you my darling DH for coming into my life with open arms and heart! So celebrate the love and eternal bond that we share, I have this recipe of Microwave cooked Masala Peanut that takes under 15 minutes from start to end. This Masala Peanuts, or Masale Kadle as known in my home state of Karnataka, is made every fortnight in our home for my two boys who are crazy about peanuts. All 3 men in my life, my father, husband and son are addicted to munching on peanuts whenever they get chance. As it is quite cold winter days, instead of munching on store brought oily munchies, I decided to make some little healthier option and Microwave Masala Peanuts were the perfect things to make.
Microwave Masala Peanuts/Masale Kadle ~ No deep frying
Traditionally these Masala Peanuts are coated in spicy gram flour paste and deep fried to golden perfection. By cooking them in microwave, it not only saves time but also reduces the amount of oil used in making them. Taste wise I find these Microwave Masala Peanuts much better than the ones cooked by deep frying as you will not be left behind with the taste of oil in your taste buds. The spicy and crunchy Masala Peanuts or Masale Kadle is the best thing to munch on at any time of the day or with a hot cup of coffee or tea. You can store them in an air tight container for upto a month, but let me tell you that they will not last for a very long time if you have someone in your house who loves Peanuts dearly :) So why not give this Masala Peanut or Masale Kadle for your loved ones in this month of love and spread some love around?
And oh… Happy Valentines Day to all you lovely people and your loved ones! :)
Ingredients for the Microwave Masala Peanut/Masale Kadlekai
Raw peanuts for Microwave Masala Peanut
Ingredients for the spicy gram flour paste
Gram flour and spice mix ~ Before adding water and oil
Gram flour and spice mix ~ After adding water and oil
After cooking for 4 minutes
After cooking for 8 minutes
Microwave Masala Peanuts/Masale Kadle
Microwave Masala Peanuts/Masale Kadle (Easy and quick recipe for crunchy and spicy gram flour coated roasted peanuts cooked in a microwave)
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner
Spice Level: Low to Medium
Makes: Around 3½ cups
Recipe Source: MIL
Shelf Life: Up to a month when stored in an air tight container
Serving Suggestion: Anytime snack
Ingredients:
3 cups Raw Peanuts (I have used pink peanuts)
1¾ - 2 cups Besan/Gram Flour/Chickpea Flour, sifted to remove lumps
2 tbsp Rice Powder
2-3 tbsp Oil
¼ cup Water
½ tbsp Salt or to tasteSpices Used:
1-1½ tsp Red Chilli Powder (Adjust as per taste)
½ tsp Haldi/Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder (Optional but recommended)
½ - ¾ tsp Garam Masala (Optional)
½ tsp Dhania/Coriander Powder (Optional)
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida
Microwave Masala Peanuts/Masale Kadle ~ Munch on…
Method:
- Sift the gram flour to remove any lumps and to this add rice flour, all the spice powders listed above and salt to taste. Mix them all well and keep it aside until needed.
- Take peanuts in a large microwave safe bowl and microwave them on high or 100% power for 3 minutes.
- Take the bowl out and add gram flour and spice mixture. Mix them all well with hand. The heat from peanuts aids in the coating the flour mixture.
- Next add oil and water (1 tbsp at a time) to the peanuts and mix them well using hands so that each peanut is coated well with the spice mixture. Try to break the lumps as much as possible while mixing.
- Put the bowl back in microwave and microwave them for 3 minutes on high. Take the bowl out and mix the peanuts gently for uniform cooking. Use a fork/spoon to mix the peanuts and also to carefully remove the lumps as the heat will scald your hands.
- Place the bowl back in microwave and cook them for 7-10 minutes, taking out at every 2 minutes interval to mix the peanuts and remove any lumps using fork. Please be careful and use oven mittens to handle the bowl.
- Please remember that as the peanuts continue to cook even after you take them out of microwave as they cools down to room temperature. So the best way to know that peanuts are almost roasted is to keep a close eye on them after 7 minutes of cooking. As soon as you hear the popping noise (similar to cracking/spluttering noise you hear while tempering (tadka) the mustard seeds), consider that the peanuts are cooked. It took me all in all 10 minutes to get crispy Masala Peanuts using my 900 watts power output microwave.
- Let the Masala Peanuts or Masale Kadlekai come to room temperature before storing them in an air tight container.
Microwave Masala Peanuts/Masale Kadle ~ Roasted to golden perfection!
Sia’s Notes:
- You can cook them in 3 batches, 1 cup at a time, by spreading them in a microwave safe plate. It will take around 3-4 minutes of cooking time per batch.
- Please be careful and use oven mittens to handle the bowl and use a fork to mix the peanuts and also to carefully remove the lumps as the heat will scald your hands.
- Remember that as the peanuts continue to cook even after you take them out of microwave as they cools down to room temperature. So the best way to know that peanuts are almost roasted is to keep a close eye on them after 7 minutes of cooking. As soon as you hear the popping noise (similar to cracking/spluttering noise you hear while tempering (tadka) the mustard seeds), consider that the peanuts are cooked.
- You can use any spice powder of your choice instead of the ones listed above to suit your taste.
