In the past month my 4 p.m snack has been all about a childhood favourite - boiled groundnuts. This salty, juicy, tender treat eaten when warm, just out of the pressure cooker is for me one of the most distinct memories of snacking after school. Eating boiled groundnuts for me is a time spent in quiet solitude. There’s something so calming about peeling the wet and slightly sticky shells before scooping out the soft pinkish brown nuts cocooned inside.
I have perfected the technique of shelling the pod under a fraction of a second! It’s rather simple really and comes from years of practice. Hold the cooked groundnut firmly between the thumb and forefinger along its seam. Press gently around the middle and you will hear a satisfactory pop. Pry open the two halves, scoop our the nuts and pop into your mouth. As you chew, your fingers should be already busy with the next groundnut. Very soon, there is a pile of empty shells in front of you. That for the uninitiated, is the art of snacking on boiled groundnuts.
Did you know that these nuts when freshly harvested and eaten while still in their green state contain far less calories than in the dried or roasted form? Apparently the process of boiling allows the antioxidant properties to be drawn in from the shell to the nut. Another advantage that boiling allows is to render the allergen found in peanuts milder. Small quantities of boiled nuts are introduced as a form of treatment to build tolerance against peanut allergies .
I’ve noticed in the past weeks that not just my own grocer but also many department stores and mobile vendors are selling bags full of fresh groundnuts usually in netted bags. The best way to store these at home is to boil them and refrigerate. If left too long outsside, they tend to wither and dehydrate.
Besides just selling the whole peanuts, the roadside sellers also have them boiled and steaming hot ready for you to tuck into. What I like best is that some of the shells have a little residue of the cooking liquid in them inbetween the peanuts and to slurp up that up after you are done with the nuts is a messy but lip smacking experience.
Another dish I ate as a child is a delicious tamarind and coconut milk gravy made with fresh groundnuts. The sweet and sour taste of this delicious South Indian kozhambhu seasoned to perfection and tempered with dried red chillies to add that hit of heat remains one of my all time favourite gravies to eat with any carb that’s available - idli, dosa, rice, upuma...didn’t matter which.
If you haven’t guessed already, I’m going to make the most of this seasonal bounty of fresh produce. It’s so versatile that you can play around with it in myriad ways. Keep a basket ready to fill up with the groundnuts when the vendor comes around. You don't want to forgo this treat.
