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Masala Popcorn

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Photo by Shimon and Tammar

爆米花,我们提供饮料Rasika's cocktail lounge, is a take on the Indian snackchiwda, a sweet and savory mix often made with friedpoha(puffed rice), dried fruit, nuts, spices, and herbs. There are many ways to make it and people add whatever they like—maybe corn flakes, coconut chips, chana dal. It's a mainstay during Diwali, much like you'd have Chex Mix during the American holiday season. If you don’t want to use the microwave popcorn, make it the old-fashioned way, following directions on the package of kernels to make 6 cups of popcorn.

Ingredients

Makes about 6 cups

1 (3.2-ounce) bag microwave popcorn (movie-theater butter flavor or plain and salted, popped according to package directions)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1茶poon fennel seeds
1茶poon coriander seeds
1茶poon cumin seeds
1茶poon coarsely chopped fresh Thai green chile
10 (1 1/2 inch) fresh curry leaves (more if smaller), whole or cut crosswise into thin strips.
1/4 teaspoon Kashmiri chile powder
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/8 teaspoon asafetida
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
  1. Step 1

    Place the popcorn in a large bowl.

    Step 2

    In a small saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the fennel seeds, coriander seeds, and cumin seeds and let them crackle. Stir in the green chile, curry leaves, Kashmiri chile powder, turmeric, and asafetida. Pour the mixture over the popcorn. Add the sugar and salt and stir or toss to coat evenly. (Keep tossing as you eat it to distribute the spice.)

FromRasika: Flavors of India© 2017 by Ashok Bajaj and Vikram Sunderam. Reprinted with permission by Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Buy the full book fromHarperCollinsor fromAmazon.
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  • I wanted to love this a bit more than I did. It's good and a fun twist, but not magic. Maybe my spices are old tho.

    • ML Character

    • Los Angeles

    • 3/23/2023

  • I really enjoyed it was a spicy spin on a great snack. I loved this it had great texture.

    • Anonymous

    • 8/9/2020

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