Beer Nuts

4 1/4 cups peanuts, raw and shelled
2cups sugar
1⁄2teaspoon salt, plus some more
1cup water

Bring peanuts, sugar, salt and water to a boil.
Continue to boil until all liquid is absorbed. (aprox. 25-30 min).
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Spread nuts on lightly greased jelly roll pan and sprinkle with salt to your liking and.
bake 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and gently stir, sprinkle with more salt to your liking and bake 20 minutes more.

Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Alternate Recipe

1 1/2 cups raw peanuts
1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla


Stir ingredients together in a large, heavy bottomed skillet over low heat. Stir until sugar has dissolved, then slowly cook until thick.

When the mixture begins to thicken, stir with a wooden spoon constantly until the sugar begins to caramelize. Pour onto a foil lined baking sheet, separating clusters with the wooden spoon.

CAUTION: Mixture is very hot - do not touch until completely cooled.

Variations: Sprinkle with garlic or onion salt while cooling, or add 1/2-1 tsp. cinnamon to mixture during the last minute of cooling.

Samosa

Recipe From here


Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Serves: 12 pieces

Ingredients For Outer Crisp Cover:
1½ cups Maida Flour
1 teaspoon Carom Seeds (ajwain)
6-8 tablespoons Ghee/Oil (IMPORTANT - Heated to below smoking point)
Salt to taste

Ingredients For Stuffing:
3 medium Potatoes
1/2 cup Green Peas (mutter)
1/2 tea spoon Cumin Seeds (jeera)
1 tablespoon Green Chilli-Ginger Paste
1/2 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder(lal mirch)
1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
1 teaspoon Dry Mango Powder (aamchur)/ Lemon Juice
1 teaspoon Fennel Seeds Powder (saunf powder)
5-6 Chopped Mint Leaves, optional
2 tablespoons Chopped Coriander Leaves
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons + for deep frying Oil

Directions:

Boil green peas and potatoes in salted water in a pressure cooker. Transfer them to a colander after boiling. Peel the potatoes and mash them or finely chop them.

While potatoes are cooking, let’s bind a dough for crispy outer layer. Take maida, carom seeds, 3 tablespoons hot oil (or ghee) and salt in a wide mouthed bowl.

Mix all the ingredients properly with hand. You will notice the mixture will turn crumbly after mixing. Now, add water in multiple small quantities and knead firm dough (harder than paratha dough). Cover it with wet muslin cloth/any cloth and let it set for 15-20 minutes.

When the dough is setting, let’s start to make stuffing for samosa. Heat 2 tablespoons cooking oil in kadai over medium flame. Add cumin seeds and green chilli-ginger paste. Stir and cook for a minute.

Add boiled green peas and stir-fry for a minute. Add red chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, dry mango powder and fennel seeds powder.

Stir fry for a minute.

Add chopped/mashed potato and salt (add salt only if you have not added while boiling potatoes or taste the potato and then add according it).

Mix them properly and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add coriander leaves, mint leaves and mix well.

Turn off the flame and transfer stuffing mixture to a bowl. Let it cool for a while at room temperature.

After 15-20 minutes, remove the wet cloth and knead the dough again until smooth. Divide it into 6 small portions and make round shaped balls from it.

Take one dough ball and press it between your palms to flatten it a little. Put it over rolling board and roll it out into round shaped puri having approx 5-6 inch diameter. Cut it into two semi-circles.

Spread water with the wet finger or a brush on the cut side edge (straight side – as shown in photo) to moisten the surface.

Take one semi-circle and give it a shape of cone by folding it from both sides (overlapping one side over another) and pressing them to seal the sides.

Put one mutter (pea) at the bottom of the cone to keep its shape.

Put 2-3 tablespoons filling in the cone. Do not over fill the stuffing otherwise, you will not be able to seal the edges properly in next step.

Wet the edges with moist finger or a brush and press it tightly with your thumb and index finger to seal them.

Heat oil in a heavy based kadai (pan) over medium flame. When oil is medium hot, add 2-3 samosa (depending on the size of a pan) in it and reduce flame to low. Do not over crowd the oil to cook them evenly.

If you want to prepare them in advance for guest then remove the samosa when they start to turn light brown and deep fry them again at the time of serving. Skip this step if you do not want to double-fry (two times frying) the samosa.

Deep fry them on low to medium flame until they turn brown. Transfer fried samosas to a plate and serve with green chutney and tomato ketchup.

IMPORTANT

• While making Samosa Dough - use HOT oil or Ghee just below smoking point to mix the dough to a crumbly consistency. Then add small quantities of water to make a very stiff dough (About 10-12 spoons of water)  Rest the dough for 30 mins and knead again to soften the dough
• Do not deep fry the samosa over very high flame. use a medium flame and fry for long

Tips and Variations:

• Use samosa maker to give a proper triangle shape.
• If you want to make the samosa in advance(3-4 hours ahead) for guests, then double fry them (two times deep frying) -1.deep fry them until light brown as shown in the step-18 and then remove from oil 2.deep fry them again at the time of serving.
• To make the punjabi samosa, add chopped onion and paneer while making the stuffing.
• To make the samosa chaat, serve samosa with ragda(or chhole), curd, green chutney, date-tamarind chutney, chopped onion and sev.

Serving Ideas: Samosa can be served with tempting mint chutney or green chutney or tamarind chutney (khajoor (dates) chutney) or tomato ketchup. Garnish it with chopped onion, green chutney, khajoor chutney, sev and curd and serve as a samosa chaat.

Mangalore Jackfruit Fritters (Halasina Mulka/Appa)

Recipe from here

Ingredients:
Rice - 1 cup
Ripe Jackfruit - 1 cup
Coconut - 1/4 cup ; grated
Jaggery - 1/2 cup ( depends on the sweetness of fruit )
Black sesame seeds / Black Til - 2 tsp ( optional)
Salt - a pinch
Oil to deep fry

Method:

1. Soak rice for 2-3 hours.Drain water .
2. Peel,deseed and chop jackfruit roughly.
3. In a mixer grind jackfruit pieces and jaggery .Don't add any water. Jaggery will leave water as you grind.
4. Once it smoothens a bit , add soaked rice and grated coconut.Add no water or very very little water and grind to a smooth paste.
5. The consistency of the batter should be thicker than the idli batter.So if possible try to grind without adding water . In case if it becomes watery .. fix it.. to know how **refer NOTES
6. To the ground batter add black sesame seeds and salt.Mix well.
7. Heat oil in kadai, drop a spoonful of batter into the hot oil in round shape.These fritters start browning soon. So keep the temperature of oil low.
8. After 20-30 secs turn them around. Cook evenly all the sides .Once they turn dark brown , drain and transfer on paper towel. Since we have used jaggery , color of these fritters are deep brown. If you are using sugar , it will be light brown. But i love them with jaggery.

Serve them hot or warm or cold. It tastes good in all the forms .Store in atir tight container. Stays well without refrigeration for a week.


NOTE :

1. ** Instant Mulka / to avoid rice : Grind fruit ,coconut and jaggery to smooth paste. To that add 1 cup wheat flour , 2-3 tbsp upma rava. Mix and fry .
2. ** What to do if the batter turned a bit thin ?? Add a few tsps of rice flour / wheat flour / rava / maida to get desired consistency.
3. As i said ,instead of jackfruit you can use banana / mango too. Whole process is same. just replace the fruit.
4. Don't soak rice for too long time. It will absorb more oil. Also don't make the batter thin. It will absorb oil .
5. In the authentic version, these fritters are deep fried in coconut oil. But i add few tbsps of coconut oil to the sunflower oil n later deep fry in them.Aroma of coconut oil , makes it more tastier.
6. If you want you can shallow fry them in paniyaram pan too. For that thinner the batter a bit.