Curried Nuts

[Robson Valley]

Here's my trade for the many good recipes that I've found here in BCUK.

The original recipe called for hazel nuts, almonds and pecans. My kids suggested that I use nothing but pecans as the grooves hold more curry powder and seeds (true enough). That makes this the most expensive thing that I ever do in my kitchen. It occurs to me that fresh, ripe, sweet walnut halves might be economically practical in the UK, instead of pecans.

Preheat the oven to 350F/165-170C. While that warms up, find a sheet pan and measure everything. The entire process is so fast that you will burn it if you stop to fool around with finding and measuring.

2 tbs veg oil in a deep pot & a heat-proof spatula
2tsp cumin seed + 2 tsp mustard seed
3-4C nuts of your choice
2-4 tsp curry powder to your taste
1 tsp salt
2-4 tbs Soya sauce of choice = get out the big bottle

Heat the oil, medium-high, in the pot with a few mustard seeds.
When they begin to pop, add all the cumin and mustard seed and stir constantly.
Add all the nuts (chokes off the oil spits), add all the curry powder and stir constantly 3-4 mins to heat and coat.
Sprinkle on the salt and stir constantly.
Sprinkle over with 2-4tbs soya sauce while stirring constantly 1-2 mins = the glue that sticks the condiments to the nuts.
Should almost be smoking by now = keep your beak out of the fumes! ! !
Tip out onto the sheet pan and spread in a single layer.
Bake on a middle rack no more than 10 minutes.

I find that 2 batches and the bottom of the pot is such a scuzzy mess that a boil with 1" water is the only way to clean up/go further.

 

[DurhamBushcrafter]

im gonna try that, but with peanuts as Pecans are REALLY expensive here in UK

 

[Robson Valley]

Oh, Man! Can you get raw/unsalted/unroasted peanuts????? I can't.
I would really like to know how it works with walnut halves. . . .never thought of it until this morning.
My guts don't seem to take kindly to raw nuts any more. Baking/roasting is a must.

Might be funny as Hello to try with dried fruit slices.

As I typed that, I thought that you guys probably take a huge hit to buy pecans.
At approx $27CD/kg, I spent $100 on pecans in a bulk food store, keep in freezer.

 

[British Red]

I'm surrounded by walnuts, so I'll definitely try this in the Autumn, thanks!

Oh, yes raw peanuts are cheap and common here

 

[Robson Valley]

Just a culinary(?) update. Here, pecans running approx $28/kg, walnuts $25/kg.
Following my posted recipe, a 4-cup batch of each. Both excellent, the walnuts hold lots of coating.
If you have the opportunity to score heaps of cheap walnuts, I think your result will be worth the preparation time.

 

[xylaria]

I have done similar with soya beans. I didnt curry them, but they were good trail food. I will give the curry beans a go. It should work with chickpeas as well. Chickpeas are call garbanzo peas or something across the pond. Asain shops sell them toasted in big packs as snacks, really nice and a good protein source.

 

[rik_uk3]

Sounds good, getting on for a 'Bombay Mix'

 

[Robson Valley]

I know both names: chick peas and garbanzo beans. Don't know if there's a regional preference across North America.

For smooth-surfaced beans/peas/nuts I suggest a change:
Skip the mustard seed and cumin seed. Those only stick in the folds of the pecans and walnuts.
Even so, any rough handling and mostly falls off.

Hot oil, food and curry powder + ground cumin + salt + a touch of dry mustard.
Soya sauce for glue.

Possibly a good canned chickpea experiment.

 

[Silkhi]

All these variants sound delicious, wouldn't have considered soy sauce for the glue! I love chickpeas but hate the skins from the tinned ones, peeling them off is beyond tedious but almost worth it.

 

[Robson Valley]

Silkhi: can you buy/grow chick peas, fresh? Dried soya sauce, drooling down the outside of the bottle, is as sticky as it needs to be!
Possibly the skin flakes on the canned ones will get cremated in the oven. I can always hope.

 

[Silkhi]

Can buy dried in bulk, haven't considered growing them assume you need a warmer climate. I think the skins thing is a personal bugbear so if you haven't noticed...carry on!

 

[xylaria]

http://www.food.com/recipe/roasted-soy-nuts-280911

Here is the soya version I have done. Good trail food, but anything curried is better.

The asian chickpea snacks are good if anyone knows the name of the recipe it would be good to post it up.

Chickpeas will grow in a polytunnel in the south of the uk, a lot of legumes have day lenght triggered flowering. It is why soya beans dont work in most of the uk. Lentils will grow in the uk.

 

[Robson Valley]

xylaria: thank you for the useful information. Soya beans will grow in southern Canada but they get frosted off before they can ripen.
A major fraction of the world's lentils are grown in southern Sask/Canada. They must have a long enough frost-free season to bring it off.

The curried nut recipe needed many trials and iterations to get consistency.
I expect the same from canned chickpeas. But I'll try to do it as in my Post #8 and report the result.
Just a little tired of being on the road again. Another 3 hrs Tuesday and I'm home.
If the WX is as bad as predicted, I'll get stuck into it straightaway.

 

[Robson Valley]

Did the chick pea experiment.
Materials:
Dried chickpeas soaked 18 hrs in water. Nice smell, taste and crunchy chew. Very few skins.
Canned chickpeas, rinsed. Nice smell, grainy, soft texture (cooked). Lots of loose skins.
Method:
Preheat oven to 325F.
As the peas are smooth, I thought that powdered condiments would stick better = they do.
2 tsp ground cumin seed + 1/2 tsp Keene's mustard powder
Curry powder, salt and soya sauce as before.
Baking 15 minutes this time = nothing burned.
1 batch of canned, 1 of fresh soaked and a third sub garam masala for the curry powder on fresh soaked peas.
Results:
They look OK. Texture is wet & mealy. Do not believe that the would keep well at all >> moldy.
The loose skins do not go crispy in the oven, just as tough as at the start.
Observations:
Good experiment, not again. Prefer curry, hummus or best of all pakora.

Pecans and walnuts in the front. Back left: fresh/curried, middle: garam masala, back right: cooked/curried