Spicy Cashews
I have tried spicy nuts countless times but the spices were found at the bottom of the serving dish rather than on the surface of the nuts. Making the cashews wet using whipped egg whites before adding the spices solved that issue. Adding a small amount of cornstarch provided these cashews extra crunch. Slow roasting at a very low temperature (250 degrees F) resulted in well coated, golden brown, crunchy morsels which you cannot stop eating. The inspiration for the spicy cashews came from a recipe I found in Milk Street magazine a while ago under the name ‘Deviled Cashews’- a very popular snack in Sri Lanka. The original recipe is made with fried cilantro, mustard seeds, red pepper and a teaspoon of sugar. This gave me the idea to come up with a spice mix using common ingredients found in most Indian kitchens.
Yields 2 cups
TIME: 1 hour
Hi everyone, my name is Aswathy. I love trying out new recipes but not so much of the cleaning. These posts are mostly about cooking and will include recipes from all over the world.
Ingredients and Instructions
4 sprigs of curry leaves, chopped into small pieces
2 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tbs. coconut oil
Preheat oven to 250 degree F.
Place the parchment paper in a large pan and set aside.
Heat oil in a small pan at high heat. Add couple of mustard seeds to the pan to see whether the oil is hot enough. Once the seeds start to sizzle or pop, you can add the rest of the mustard seeds and cover the pan. Once the popping sound stops, add chopped curry leaves and fry until crispy, another minute or so. Transfer to a bowl and let it cool.
- 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 2 tsp. black pepper, ground
- 0.5 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- I tsp. corn starch
- 3 tsp, onion powder
Add all these ingredients to the fried curry leaf and mustard and mix everything well. Set this aside.
- 2 cups store bought roasted cashews
- 1 egg white
- 1 tablespoon water
In a medium bowl, whisk egg white with one tablespoon water until foamy. Add the cashews to the egg white and mix using your hands for about 2 minutes, making sure that the cashews are well coated and feels soggy. Transfer the nuts to a sieve to remove excess liquid and then back to the bowl.
Mix cashews with the spice mix and toss to coat. On the prepared baking sheet, spread the nuts out in single layer and bake for about 60 minutes until dry.
Be sure to let the nuts cool completely and become crisp before transferring to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator if you are not planning to use right away.
