The most amazing street food from the shores/beaches in Chennai is the Spicy Masala Peanuts loaded with vegetables and perfectly boiled peanuts. This Beach style of masala sundal or masala kadalai, as it is called locally, makes for a great protein-filled snack that is so addictive that you will keep coming back for more.
After writing about street foods from Banaras and Pune, I am back in my hometown, Chennai. Chennai, the first place I want to go to when I go back home is to the beach.
Getting my feet wet in the mild waters, running back along with the waves, taking a ride on the mini merry-go-rounds, and most importantly eating street food is some of the reasons I love the Chennai seashores.
I still pick lots of seashells on the shores and thanks to my boys now that we come back home with a good load of seashells. You could see our picks in our aquarium which gets a new batch of sea shells after every visit to India.
The fun of spending the evening at the Beach
The smell of all the food on the beach makes you want to eat right after we get there. I actually enter with a handful of food before laying down my blankets to settle in.
Some of the food that I would definitely buy is the milagai bajji and masala peanuts. I am used to eating avicha Kadalai (boiled peanuts) at home. My grandmother loves boiled peanuts over any other kind.
She boils peanuts on the shell and we really enjoy peeling them. The fun of eating the salty peanuts along with the salt water that gets trapped in the peanut shell is a different story.
The peanuts that we buy from the stalls taste very different from the ones we make at home. It is maybe the air, water, and the paper they wrap it in.
Whenever I boil the whole peanuts here in the US, I end up making them very mushy and they just don’t taste the same. My friend, who makes amazing boiled peanuts, told me to use the raw peanuts that we get in the Indian stores.
Thanks to Suji, I was finally able to make a batch of perfectly boiled peanuts for this Beach style of masala sundal recipe. Once the peanuts are boiled, it is just a matter of adding a handful of the rest of the ingredients. Mix them all to make this delicious masala peanut sundal.
Make sure you have raw mangoes when making this Beachside masala sundal as it takes the peanuts to a different level. This is my recipe for day 3 of street food!
Preparation time – 15 minutes
Cooking time – 20 minutes (to boil the peanuts)
Difficulty level – easy
Ingredients to make Masala Peanuts – Serves 4
- Raw peanuts (with skin) – 1 ½ cup
- Red onion – ¼ cup (chopped finely)
- Raw mango – ¼ cup (chopped finely)
- Tomato (deseeded) – 1 (finely chopped)
- Green chilies – 2 (optional, finely chopped)
- Cilantro – a good handful (finely chopped)
- Salt – to taste
- Red chili powder – ½ tsp
- Chaat masala – ½ teaspoon (optional)
Procedure to make Masala Peanuts
- I used a pressure cooker to boil my peanuts. Wash the peanuts and then add enough water and salt to cook the peanuts. Place the container in the cooker and cook for about 4-5 whistles. Let the steam release and then drain the peanuts onto a colander.
- Once the peanuts cool down a bit, add them to a large bowl (big enough to toss around) and add the rest of the ingredients. When adding salt, remember that we added salt when cooking the peanuts.
- Toss around a few times to mix the ingredients and serve.
More Street food to enjoy
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Recipe
Masala Peanuts
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
- Large Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Raw peanuts with skin
- ¼ cup Red onion chopped finely
- ¼ cup Raw mango chopped finely
- 1 Tomato deseeded (finely chopped)
- 2 Green chilies optional, finely chopped
- ½ bunch Cilantro – a good handful finely chopped
- to taste Salt
- ½ teaspoon Red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon Chaat masala optional
Instructions
- I used pressure cooker to boil my peanuts. Wash the peanuts and then add enough water and salt to cook the peanuts. Place the container in the cooker and cook for about 4-5 whistles. Let the steam release and then drain the peanuts on to a colander.
- Once the peanuts cool down a bit, add it to a large bowl (big enough to toss around) and add the rest of the ingredients. When adding salt, remember that we added salt when cooking the peanuts.
- Toss around a few times to mix the ingredients and serve.
Debbie says
Hello, in this recipe for Masala peanuts you use a pressure cooker , I have an instant pot , how long would I pressure cook them for ?
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Debbie, you can pressure cook in the instant pot for about 15 minutes.
Shanthi says
I remember those eats from marina beach - miss home. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Do you get these raw peanuts - packaged or lose one? Can you share a pic please.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
I also go back to my beach days in India when making this. I buy the raw peanuts with skin from the Indian stores when making this. I will post the picture soon.
Roopa Madhvapathy says
Delicious, protein packed and filling. I love this snack!
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Thanks a lot!
alpa says
Could you please tell me how much salt to add?? I have tried before and It became too salty or not enough salt. Thanks.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Alpa, I usually add the salt when cooking the peanuts. They absorb only as much as they need. So you can add without fearing.
Erin Vasicek says
I'm not sure if I've veer had boiled peanuts of any kind but I would love to try these!
Cheese Curd In Paradise says
What a delicious snack! These sounds wonderful- I know that my kiddos would love them- finger foods are always a big hit.
Lizet Bowen says
I've never had anything like it. But I love the flavors and spices included in your recipe.
I'm going to give it a try. 🙂