Masala Kaju

Masala Kaju are simply cashews(roasted or deep-fried) coated in a hot & tangy spice blend. These are a must have diwali snack in our house. These are flavorful, crunchy, spicy, salty and perfect make ahead snack!

I bet you won't be able to stop munching them, these can get dangerously additcive! You can adjust the spice profile to your liking. We likes ours pretty tangy & hot. My spice blend recipe reflects the same.

I usually go for the deep fried version becasue I make them just once a year duing diwali and allow ourselves the indulgence! However, I have also tested the oven roasted cashew method and I am including the instructions for the same in this post.

I love having a stash of make ahead indian snacks like atta mathri or aloo laccha around the house during festival time. These masala kaju are perfect for nibbling with chai, mocktails or drinks and a huge hit with everyone. This is a vegan and gluten free recipe.

My masala kaju recipe has slowly evolved over the years. I did not grow up seeing them made in my house. I often saw my husband picking a pack on visits to indian grocery stores and many times we ended up being disappointed with the taste.

Slowly, I developed this recipe to suit our taste and stopped purchasing them. It is a lot economical to make them at home too. The masala kaju recipe is easy and as quick as mixing some spices with fried cashews.

Ingredients

• Whole Raw Cashews - we are going to deep fry or roast them in the oven. Choose whichever method works for you.
• Oil - for cooking
• Spices - roasted cumin powder, kashmiri chilli powder (or paprika), amchur powder (dry mango powder), red chilli powder (hot), kala namak indian black salt,chaat masala,sugar,black pepper powder, salt

Step By Step Instructions

1. Take a medium bowl and mix together all ground spices along with salt and sugar. Taste the masala, it should be sharp and on the salty side, adjust any spices to your liking. Set the masala aside.(image 1 & 2)
2. In a heavy bottom cooking pot or kadai, add about 3 cups of oil for frying. Heat up the oil on low medium heat, it will take about 4-5 minutes. We don't want the oil to be very hot. 
3. Start adding the raw cashews when the oil is warm. Add the cashews all at once or you can do so in 2 batches. It is okay to overcrowd the oil, since the nuts are dried, they won't become soggy.
4. Once the cashews have been added to oil, let the cashews slowly fry in oil, keep on stirring in between so that they dont burn. (image 3)Slowly the cashews will heat up and start getting crispy. Do not turn up the heat, it takes a while to fry up the cashews but this way they are properly crisped.
5. Once the cashews are visibly light brown or pinkish brown in color (image 4), using a slotted spoon, take them out in a bowl. Tap the slotting spoon on the side of the pot to remove as much oil as possible when you are taking out from the oil. Do not drain on a paper towel else masala won't stick to them.
6. Immediately, while the cashews are still warm, start adding the masala(image 5), I start by adding about 3 tablespoons at first and mix nicely with a spoon to coat all the cashews in spices(image 6). 
7. Taste and add more masala if you wish. You might have leftover masala, you can store it and sprinkle it on anything - from chaat, kababs to salads to pakoras.
8. Let the cashews cool down and store them in an air tight container for up to 3 weeks.

Roasting the Cashews

Alternatively, add cashews to a baking tray. Drizzle 2-3 tablespoon of oil and rub it nicely over the cashews. Make sure that the cashews are in a single layer. (image 7)

Place the tray in the oven and bake at 400F for 6-8 minutes or until pinkish brown. (image 8). Keep an eye since they burn easily.  Immediately toss in the masala while still warm as specified above.

Recipe Tips

• Make sure that you are using dried raw cashews. You could use whole cashew nut or cashew halves.
• Add garlic powder or dried herbs (mint or kasuri methi) while making the spice blend if you wish. The spice blend is totally customizable.
• Double the recipe if you wish.