Hello Readers !! How do you entertain your friends or guests at home? Sometimes, just inviting them for dinner is not enough. Just like shopping , movie or groceries together, cooking together adds fun to your life. On one such fine day, I with my friend, started with this recipe and the outcome was relishing for both of us. These are very popular in Indian sweet and snack shops in India. Also called “Karare Kaju” or “Masaledar Kaju” or “Spiced Namak-Pare” in some places.
We started off on an informal note like ,”have you tasted these before?” and then with her support I was able to roll up my sleeves and got into action. This recipe is as simple as ‘frying puris’. They are almost similar to “Namak-Pare” with some more twists. You can make them in advance and store them for weeks, good for travel purposes. They stay crispy for a longer period than Namak-Pare even during rains in an air-tight container.
Thank you Shipra again for sharing your secret recipe with us. Lets go to the recipe now..

INGREDIENTS:
For Dough:
1. All purpose Flour / Plain flour (maida) – 1 and ¹⁄₂ cups
2. Cooking oil – ¹⁄₂ cup
3. Salt – ³⁄₄ tsp
4. Water – as needed (¹⁄₂ cup or less)
5. Dry mint powder (pudhina powder) – 1 tsp

For Masala coating:
1. Salt – ¹⁄₂ tsp or to taste
2. Black salt (Kala Namak) – ¹⁄₂ tsp
3. Red pepper( lal mirch) – ¹⁄₄ tsp or to taste
4. Curry powder (Garam masala) – ¹⁄₄ tsp
5. Dry Ginger powder (soonth) – ¹⁄₅ tsp
6. Dry mango powder (amchur) – ¹⁄₂ tsp
7. Coriander powder (dhaniya ) – ³⁄₄ tsp
8. Fennel powder (saunf ) – ¹⁄₂ tsp
9. Cloves powder (laung ) – 2 pods crushed
10. Black pepper (kali mirch) – ¹⁄₄ tsp
11. Indian Chaat Masala – ¹⁄₂ tsp or to taste
12. Cardamom powder (elaichi) – 1 tsp
13. Clarified butter(ghee) – 1 tsp

METHOD:
| Preparation time : 10 + 30 mins | Frying time : 20 mins | Makes 1 – 1.5 lbs|

1. Lets start with making the dough for it. So I took the ingredients listed under dough and added them in a tureen(paraat) or big plate and knead a soft dough out of it. You may add dry fenugreek leaves instead of dry mint powder or just skip it too. We add too much “moin” (oil) in the dough to give it a flaky and crispy coating while frying. Make a dry,smooth and soft dough. It should not be too hard or too soft to work on.
   

2. Now preheat some oil in a wok (kadhai ) for deep frying. Take as much as 2 cups oil. Cover the dough and allow it to rest for 10-15 mins.
   

3. Divide this whole dough in two parts and then start rolling one portion on the clean shelf or the cookie sheet or your chopping board. Since I added little more water ,my dough was workable in 5 mins and I have to be pretty fast while dealing with it. Roll it in ¹⁄₂ inch thickness in an approximate round shape to get thick flaky cashews.
   

4. For cutting out cashews , take a small, clean cap from a bottle with almost 1 -1.5″ inch diameter. The smaller the diameter, the better shapes you will get. I took out the cap of a medicine bottle and sterilized it and then used for my cutting.
   

5. Starting with the edge,start cutting crescent shapes from the rolled dough with the cap. Add as many as 15-20 cashews in the preheated oil or depending on the available space in your wok. Fry them on medium heat till they turn golden brown or crispy. Turn them in between to fry on all sides equally. This takes time and patience ,so hang on. 🙂
   

6. Pick up the left out remnants of the dough and make a dough ball again and repeat the above steps.Similarly roll, cut and fry the next batch too. If you are left with a small dough portion ,just roll it in a round shape (mathri) ,poke some holes in it with a fork and add it to the hot oil.

7. Fry all these cashews and strain them with a slotted spoon and pile them in a plate. When all the cashews are fried,take another wok(kadhai) and add little oil or pure ghee(clarified butter) and heat in it. Now add all the spices (under masala coating) and turn off the heat.
   

8. Toss all the fried cashews and mix them well with all the spices. Adjust salt, tartness and spice level according to your taste. The yummy cashews are ready to devour.
   Now just turn on your TV and have them while watching your favorite show !;)
   If you want to store them for future , let them cool down to room temperature and then store in an air-tight container on the shelf or in cupboard.
   

Please feel free to share your concerns and experiences below! I would love to hear from you!
Till then, keep cooking….
😀