Mungfali Pakoda/Spicy Crispy Peanut Fritters

here are some ready-to-eat foods that we are used to seeing around us growing up. Foods that you feel like grabbing when you crave a snack, foods that mom always kept a stock of in the pantry, foods that the pharmacy store around the corner carried that it had no business selling. Then you grow up and move out. If you are like me, you move out to a place where there is neither mom's pantry nor the corner pharmacy that sold the snack. Well yeah Walgreens pretty much sells everything... but its not the same. Then mom comes for a visit and shares her cooking secrets with he beloved daughter :) This is one such recipe. A very common spicy snack in India, is sold in little snack packets in practically every store that sells snacks, but if you ever tried making these yourself, you would know these are really tricky. But if you follow the recipe closely, you will be glad you tried. You pop a couple in your mouth and you get the crunch of the crispy outer covering and by the time you get to the soft yet chewy peanut inside, the spices in the coating kick begin to make their music. Let me know if you could resist reaching out for seconds.

Ingredients:

Peanuts		3 cups, washed, drained
Corn flour		1/2 cup
Besan/Gram flour		1 cup
Chaat masala		2 tbsp
Black salt		1/2 tsp
Turmeric		1/2 tsp
Salt		to taste
Asafoetida		1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder		1-2 tsp
Baking soda		1/2 tsp
Oil		for deep frying

Method: 

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Add water very little at a time, making sure the spices and flour stick to the peanuts evenly and yet not be runny.

2. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium heat. The frying pan should have at least 1 inch of oil. To check if the oil is ready, put one drop of batter in the oil. The batter should rise to the top but not change color right away. Fry them in batches. While putting the peanuts into oil, loosen them with your fingers to make sure the peanuts are separated and do not form lumps. Fry the peanuts until they turn light brown, turning them occasionally. 

3. When golden and crisp, drain them on a paper towel to absorb the extra oil. Cool to room temperature, they get crispier as they cool down. The pakodas can be stored for upto two to three weeks in an airtight container (that is, if you can resist them for that long). ENJOY!

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