Air fryer spicy peanuts

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Looking for a quick snack, air fryer roasted peanuts come to the rescue. These roasted peanuts typically accompanied a drinking session, a nice accompaniment to a cold glass of beer or a glass of scotch or lemonade! Often made for parties, you will find yourself mindlessly grabbing a handful while you are busy catching up with someone.

Time:20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup raw peanuts
  • 2 teaspoon olive oil
  • Smoked paprika or Red chilli powder to taste
  • Salt to taste

Method

  • Preheat air fryer to 350 degree Fahrenheit on air crisp setting
  • In an air fryer safe dish, add oil and chili/paprika and salt
  • Toss the peanuts in and shake to coat it well
  • Put the container in the air fryer and air crisp for 15 mins, shaking the container intermittently
  • After 15 minutes, reduce temperature to 340 degrees and roast for another 5 minutes
  • Remove from air fryer and let cool for a bit before serving
  • Enjoy!

Cinnamon Cake Bites

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A quick and easy dessert for a weekday or a nice breakfast option with coffee!

While nothing beats baking a cake from scratch, unfortunately, lack of time on a week day calls for improvisation. It’s always nice to have the aroma of cinnamon wafting from the kitchen when the kids get home. This quick dessert, or after-school snack, is easy to put together while on a lunch break from work!

Ingredients:

  • 1 yellow cake mix box – 15.25oz (I typically use Duncan Hines)
  • 4 eggs
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 1 cup Greek Yogurt (or sour cream)
  • 2 cups powdered sugar (also known as icing sugar)
  • 1.5 tbsp cinnamon powder
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 3 tbsp milk
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees farenheit
  2. Coat a 9×13 pan with butter and then set aside.
  3. In a bowl combine cake mix, eggs, oil, vanilla and sour cream. Using an electric mixer, beat on low for 30 seconds then raise speed to medium and and mix for 2 minutes
  4. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan
  5. In a separate bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon
  6. Sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon mix and the walnuts evenly onto the cake batter
  7. Taking a butter knife, gently swirl the sugar cinnamon mix and walnuts into the cake batter. DO NOT over swirl
  8. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Put a tooth-pick into the center of the cake and if it comes out clean, the cake is ready
  9. Cool for 20 minutes
  10. While cake is backing, gently whisk together the powdered sugar and milk. Pour this over the slightly cooled cake
  11. Allow icing to set – 5-10 mins
  12. Cut cake into mini squares and it’s ready to eat
  13. Cake can stay refrigerated for a couple of days – mine doesn’t last more than 2 days!

Beetroot cutlets (Tikkis)

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When my dad mentioned he tried to eat beets daily, I googled the health benefits and found there is an impressive amount of goodness packed into that little vegetable. They are low in calories and a great source of fiber, vitamin C, iron, and magnesium and potassium. According to health.com, your risk of heart disease can drop and you can also lower your blood pressure.

While I typically served beets just boiled with a dash of lime juice, my friend Chaavi made some delicious beet cutlets that I had to make at home. Try it out – it’s as simple as aloo tikkis but with a chockful of nutrients!

Servings: 10 cutlets

Ingredients

  • 2 medium beetroots (grated – about 2 cups)
  • 2 large potatoes – boiled in pressure cooker for 7 whistles, and mashed
  • 1/4 onion – finely diced
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp red chili powder
  • 1 tsp fennel powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin power
  • 1 tbsp coriander powder
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
  • 1 tsp chaat masala (found in an Indian grocery store)
  • 1 tsp aamchur/dry mango powder
  • 1/2 tsp ginger/garlic paste
  • 1/4 cup bread crumbs or 2 slices of bread (white/brown) – soaked in water, squeeze the water out
  • 1/4 cup semolina also know as rava or cream of wheat
  • Oil to fry or optional – bake in air-fryer

Note that most of these spices can be found in an Indian grocery store

Method:

  • Squeeze out the water from the beetroot and then add to a large mixing bowl
  • Mix in the potatoes
  • Add in the remaining ingredients
  • Mix everything well
  • Now shape them into round cutlets or tikkis
  • Now, add the semolina to a plate
  • Place each cutlet on the semolina to coat evenly on all sides by the semolina. Dust off any extra semolina

Shallow-fry option

  • In a pan, add in 2 tbsp of oil, and when heated, fry the cutlets in it, flipping over, till it is crisp and golden on all sides
  • Turn off the heat and remove from the pan
  • Serve hot, with a side of mint chutney

Air-fryer option

  • Arrange cutlets on a sheet in a single layer. Spray some oil on the patties. Bake at preheated 350°F for 12 minutes. Flip them upside down halfway for even baking.
  • Serve hot, with a side of mint chutney

Notes

  • Do check the salt in the mixture before coating and frying the tikkis or cutlets.
  • If the beetroot culet does not hold it’s shape or is too soft, add another slice of bread (mashed up) to the mashed beetroot mix