Peanut Salad

Peanut Salad is great as a snack, a salad or as an appetizer with cocktails. The recipe can be personalized to make it as tart or salty or pungent (spicy) as you'd want. The basic ingredients are simple and you as the cook has the option of adding or deleting any of the ingredients.

Ingredients:

1. Raw Shelled Peanuts - 1 cup

2. Shredded cabbage - 1/4 cup

3. Finely chopped onion - 1/4 cup

4. Chopped Tomato - 1

5. Finely chopped serrano/jalapeno pepper, deseeded - 2

6. Chopped cilantro - 1/4 cup

7. Finely chopped raw mango - 1/4 cup

8. Finely chopped carrot - 1/4 cup

9. Salt - 1-2 tsp

10. Lime juice- 2 tsp

11. Cayenne powder - 1 tsp

12. Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Soak the raw peanuts for about 2 to 4 hrs. Boil the peanuts till just tender, about 30-40 minutes. Drain.

2. Mix together all the ingredients. Check the seasonings and adjust accordingly.

3. Serve.

This salad keeps well. The ingredient list is just a starting point. One may add other ingredients like boiled potatoes, jicma cubes; omit ingredients like cabbage, tomato etc. The combinations are endless. One may always make it more/less spicy as per personal preference.

This is a popular street snack served on the beaches of Chennai, a city in Southern India.