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 masala sundal or masla kadalai, as it is called locally, makes for a great protein filled snack which is so addictive that you will keep coming back for more.
After writing about street foods from Banaras and Pune, I am back to my hometown, Chennai. Chennai, the first place I want to go 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 the street food are 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 our every visit to India.
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The fun of spending the evening at Beach
The smell of all the food on the beach makes you want to eat right after we get there. I actually enter with 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 the masala peanuts. I am used to eating avicha Kadalai (boiled peanuts) at home. My grandmother loves the 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 US, I end up making it 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 masala sundal recipe. Once the peanuts are boiled, it is just a matter of adding a handful of rest of the ingredients. Mix them all to make this delicious masala peanut sundal.
Make sure you have raw mangoes when making this Beach side 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 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.
More Street food to enjoy
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Masala Peanuts
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.
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. 🙂