Peanut Masala or Masala Groundnut is a spicy and crunchy, chickpea flour coated and fried peanuts which serves as fabulous tea-time snacks. These are super easy to make at home and can be stored for a long time. Here is how to make it.
Chai is an integral part of most Indians life and many big decisions take place over the endless cups of hot tea flowing along with some dry snacks to munch on.
I remember my childhood days when after a few hours of a peaceful afternoon nap, the evening tea was served.
Of course, it was not the tea for us kids but milk and some homemade snacks while the adults sipped on their steaming cup of masala chai munching on the homemade goodies.
It was like a ritual with no breaks whatever comes.
Every single day, evenings were the same.
The small wooden almirah used to be packed with namak pare, methi mathri and chivda namkeen and lots of other homemade snacks including this Peanuts Masala or Masala Moongphali.
Now with things easily available in stores and many options to choose from, this trend of making homemade dry snacks is dying down slowly.
Although I don’t drink tea and no one in the house likes to munch on snacks, I was tempted to give this recipe a try and check if I am capable enough to reciprocate the same crunchy and masaledar goodness as my mom used to.
This recipe turned out so easy that I could make these treats in no time and they turned out just perfect.
So here is my mum’s recipe to make this super delicious Crispy Crunchy and spicy at the same time Peanut Masala Recipe.
Pro Tips by Neha
Do not make the batter too thin. It should be on the thicker side so that it just coats the peanuts and stay.
Fry the peanuts on medium-low heat so that they get cooked till inside and become crunchy.
Fry the peanuts in 3-4 batches. Do not overfill the pan.
Sprinkle the chaat masala and red chilli powder over the fried peanuts immediately after they are out of the oil. This way the masala will stick to the outer coating and not fall off.
Store the peanuts for up to a month in an airtight box.
How to make Peanut Masala Chaat?
Once your peanut masala is ready, you can add a few more ingredients to it and make peanut masala chaat.
To make it, add chopped onion, green chilli, coriander, tomatoes, salt, chaat masala and lemon juice to the masala peanuts and mix well.
Serve this chaat immediately.
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Step by Step Recipe
Mix ginger paste, garlic paste, green chilli paste, hing, Kashmiri red chilli powder, turmeric powder, besan, rice flour and cornflour in a bowl.
Add little water and make a thick paste.
Add salt, chaat masala, black pepper powder, amchoor and baking soda and mix well.
Now add the peanuts and coat the peanuts nicely with the paste.
Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan. When the oil is hot, simmer the heat to medium low. Drop the peanuts in the hot oil and deep fry on medium heat till they are slightly browned.
Drain the peanuts on a kitchen tissue lined plate. Immediately sprinkle with some chaat masala and red chilli powder and mix well.

Peanut Masala Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 and ½ cup Peanuts
- 2 tsp Ginger (Paste)
- 2 tsp Garlic (paste)
- 2 tsp Green chilli (paste)
- ½ tsp Hing
- 3 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 1 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 cup Besan / Chickpea flour
- ¼ cup Rice flour
- 2 tbsp Cornflour
- Salt to taste
- 3 tsp Chaat masala
- 1 tsp Black pepper powder
- 2 tsp Amchoor / Dry mango powder
- 1 pinch Baking soda
- Oil for frying
For sprinkling on top
- 2 tsp Chaat Masala
- 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
Instructions
- Mix ginger paste, garlic paste, green chilli paste, hing, Kashmiri red chilli powder, turmeric powder, besan, rice flour and cornflour in a bowl.
- Add little water and make a thick paste.
- Add salt, chaat masala, black pepper powder, amchoor and baking soda and mix well.
- Now add the peanuts and coat the peanuts nicely with the paste.
- Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan.
- When the oil is hot, simmer the heat to medium low.
- Drop the peanuts in the hot oil and deep fry on medium heat till they are slightly browned.
- Drain the peanuts on a kitchen tissue lined plate.
- Immediately sprinkle with some chaat masala and red chilli powder and mix well.
- Let the peanuts cool down and become crunchy.
- Store in an airtight container for up to a month.