Masala Cashews

Ingredients

Cashew nuts - 1.5 cups (roasted) - Use peanuts to make masala peanuts

Besan (Gram Flour) - 1/2 cup

Rice Flour - 4 tblsp

Garlic - 5 cloves

Dry Red Chillies - 5 

Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Curry Leaves - 1 spring (optional)

Salt - 1 tsp

Water - 1 cup (or as needed)

Oil - for deep frying

Method

1. You can use store bought roasted cashews for this recipe or dry roast the cashews at home.

2. Soak the garlic cloves and the dry red chillies in the water for about 15 minutes.

3. Grind the garlic and chillies along with the soaked water.

4. To this add the besan, rice flour, turmeric powder, pepper powder and salt and mix nicely. The water already present should be sufficient.

5. Finally add the cashews and mix well. The masala mixture should coat the cashews on all sides.

6. In the mean time heat oil in a kadai for deep frying.

7. Grease your fingers and seperate each cashew while dropping in them in oil. 

8. Fry till it turns golden brown. Remove from oil and drain excess oil using a paper towel.

9. You can make this in bulk and store in an airtight container for upto a month. Enjoy as an evening snack with tea on a cold rainy day or while watching a movie.

Variations

    - You can also use peanuts instead of cashews and make masala peanuts (kadala pakoda) using the same recipe.

    - Instead of soaking fresh garlic and red chillies and grinding, you could use 1 tsp each of garlic powder and chilly powder too