serves
4
prep
10 minutes
cook
5 minutes
difficulty
Easy
serves
4
people
preparation
10
minutes
cooking
5
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
- 70 g (⅓ cup) popcorn kernels
Bombay street mix
- 3 tbsp (60 g) ghee (see Note)
- ⅓ cup chana dhal (split baby chickpeas) or yellow split peas
- 2 tsp black or yellow mustard seeds
- ½ cup curry leaves
- ⅓ cup currants
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- 1½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp table salt
- ½ tsp raw sugar
- ¾ tsp chilli powder
- 150 g (1 cup) roasted peanuts
Makes 8 cups
Instructions
To make the Bombay street mix, melt 2½ tbsp ghee in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds, lentils and curry leaves and cook until fragrant, the mustard seeds begin to pop and the cumin seeds and lentils begin to slightly darken (about 1½ minutes). Tip into a medium bowl, cover and keep warm.
Melt ½ tbsp ghee in the same pan over medium heat, add the currants and cook for 1 minute or until they plump up like blueberries. Tip into the bowl with the spices and keep warm.
Combine the cumin, turmeric, salt, sugar and chilli powder and set aside.
Heat the oil in a 3-litre saucepan with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat until just before it smokes. Add a popcorn kernel to the oil to test if it is hot enough; if it spins, then the oil is ready (see Note).
Add all the popcorn kernels, swirl to cover the kernels with the oil, cover with the lid and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, for 1 minute 45 seconds or until the popping sounds have stopped.
Tip the popcorn in a large wide bowl, and toss with half of the cumin mix until all the popcorn is well coated, then add the remaining cumin mix and toss again until well coated.
Add all of the remaining Bombay street mix ingredients and toss to combine well.
Note
• Ghee is clarified butter that has had the milk solids removed, which means it cooks without burning. It's available in the dairy section of supermarkets and from Indian grocers.
• The oil shouldn’t be smoking; if it is, remove from the heat until it stops smoking, then return to the heat.
Photography by Amanda McLauchlan, styling by Aimee Jones.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
