Week 11: Kaairas/Kayaras

Trust us Aamchis to come up with a dish made with peanuts as the main ingredient. Kaairas/ Kayaras happens to be one of Anushree's favourite dishes, but only and only the way her ammama (maternal grandmother) makes it - with more (and more) peanuts, and less peppers or anything else. In fact, her amamma always warns her about eating too much of it in one go, for obvious reasons of what eating too many peanuts can do!

I'll be honest - I am not such a big fan of kaairas/kayaras, but I am trying to acquire a taste for it, especially as it's Anushree's demand every time we visit her grandmother (just as my standard request is tambli when we visit mine).

It is tangy, sweet and sour due to the jaggery and tamarind, with a nice crunch from the peanuts. As Anushree describes it, in addition to using lots of peanuts, she loves her amamma's kaairas/kayaras as she does not use a lot of coconut in the massol, unlike many other people. As a result, her kaairas turns out less dry and more smooth on the palate.

Anushree wouldn't allow me to make this any other way. So, here you are - Ammama's recipe (rather than the one in the Rasachandrika).

Ingredients

1 bell pepper/capsicum

1 cup of peanuts

1/4 cup of jaggery

1/2 cup of dessicated coconut (we forgot about when we took the photo of the ingredients!)

Tamarind (size of half a lemon)

1 tbsp chana dal

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tbsp sesame seeds

2 tsp mustard seeds

2 dried red chillies

1/2 tsp asafoetida/hing

4-5 fenugreek seeds

3 tsp coconut oil

5-6 curry leaves

Salt to taste

Method

1. Pressure cook the peanuts (with just enough water to cover the same) and 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of jaggery for 3-4 whistles, so they are almost cooked but not fully done.

2. Wash the bell pepper and then dice it into small cubes.

3. Soak the tamarind in hot water. Note: You can avoid this step if you are using ready tamarind paste and use 2-3 tbsp

4. Heat 1 tsp of coconut oil. Add a pinch of asafoetida/hing. Then add the chana dal, coriander seeds, dried red chilli, fenugreek seeds, sesame seeds and desiccated coconut until light brown/well roasted. Note: Don't add more than 4-5 fenugreek seeds, otherwise, you will get a bitter taste. Also, roast the ingredients on a low flame so that they don't burn.

5. Add the above ingredients into a mixer grinder and grind into a smooth paste.

6. In a saucepan, heat the remaining coconut oil, and add the remaining asafoetida. Add mustard seeds and once they splutter, add the red chilli and curry leaves. Now add the chopped peppers, salt, and around half the jaggery. Saute for about 3-4 minutes.

7. Add the boiled peanuts into the saucepan and mix well. Now squeeze the tamarind in the water it was soaked in and using a strainer, add the strained pulp to the pan.

8. Add the remaining jaggery. Note: you can alter the amount of jaggery, i.e. if you prefer it sweeter and more tangy, add more, otherwise stick with the half measure added in step 6.

9. Finally, add the ground massol and mix well. Note: at this point you can add more salt as per your taste. Now,let the kaairas simmer for about 10 minutes till the peanuts are nice and soft, and both, the peanuts and the peppers have absorbed the flavours of the massol.

Kaairas usually goes well with chapatis. If having with rice, it would be best to have it as a side, and make a non-massol based daal like thoy or aambat.

Did I say Anushree likes Kaairas but only and only the way her ammama makes it? Well, guess whose kaairas preparation (albeit amamma style) she polished off in one go? Wink wink.