We are on Day 3 in the Journey Through The Cuisines and here come the alphabet C. What looks like a simple and easy alphabet, made me go crazy! This and the other few, about which I will be talking later, when the time comes.
For now, a dish for C was a bit elusive.I didn’t like a few that I heard / saw and a couple of others were already done.So moving from the circle of family recipes, I broadened my net to fit all of Karnataka cuisine recipes.
Even then nothing came to my liking.Out of the blue, I just remembered this name -Congress Kadalekayi and there it was – a good dish for C!!!
Congress Kadalekayi is a simple peanut snack that has a very interesting story behind its name. I read about this in a couple of places and I am really not sure if it is true, but it is interesting enough to share.
Well, years ago, the Congress party used to organize their political meetings in Bengaluru’s Cubbon Park. So to attract members and the public, the committee went on to serve these spiced peanuts during or after the meets and it is said that folks were eager to attend this meet just to savor these peanuts!! And hence the name -Congress kadalekayi-the peanuts that were served in the Congress meetings!
Like I said earlier, I am not sure if this piece of information is authentic but its fun to read such info. But what is true is the fact that these peanuts are really very famous and extremely addictive .It is sold in almost all the bakeries across the city.
Usually, raw peanuts are roasted and the skin is removed and then this dish is made.It take a while to roast the peanuts so I took the short way out and used store bought roasted nuts with skin[I couldn’t find the other variety] and used it in this recipe.So it got done under 5 minutes!
It is very simple to make and just takes a couple of ingredients and a few minutes of your time to get this snack ready. It is generally eaten as a tea time snack along with tea / coffee.
With the heat wave lashing out here, we had this with buttermilk. The kids loved it and kept repeating its name each time they grabbed a handful from the bowl.
I used:
Roasted peanuts – 150 grams
Red chili powder- 1/2 teaspoon
Asafoetida powder- 1/8 teaspoon
Turmeric powder- a pinch
Pepper powder- 1/2 teaspoon
Sugar- 1/8 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Curry leaves a few
Oil- 1 teaspoon
Remove and discard the peanut skin and split the peanuts.
Heat oil and add asafoetida powder, curry leaves.
Switch off the heat as soon as the curry leaves turn crisp and add the turmeric powder, chili powder and the peanuts[read note below]. Mix well. Add salt, sugar, pepper powder. Mix well to coat the spices. The snack is ready to be served,
Note:
- It is better to add the chili powder after switching off the flame,else the chili powder will get burnt quickly and give an unpleasant color to the dish.
- Adjust the quantity of red chili powder and pepper powder to suit your taste.
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Even I am not sure about the story but I remember vendors selling this kadalekayi in kabban park and bus station in small packets.. so tempting PJ
Love to munch some, they are dangerously addictive.
You made me all nostalgic. Thsee spicy peanuts are really a treat.
It is always interesting to know story behind the dish, even if it may not be true. Congress kadalekayi do make a nice tea time snack.
Love reading about the history being the name.Those peanuts would make a nice and healthy snack.
Delicious spicy peanuts and an interesting story behind the name PJ. A really nice snack:)
Very interesting story to a very yummy and addictive snack. It's so easy to make too. Good one PJ.
I would love to eat those peanuts anytime of the day! That is a funny story and somehow the party found a way to bring in audience 🙂
That is a quite funny name for roasted peanuts. They look so irresistible..
now thats a smart one, especially when the ruling party has changed 😉 , i loved this peanut snack and glad u remembered this dish…
Such an interesting late behind this simple snack..I love peanut in all forms..good one!
Yummy peanuts pj! Funny story behind the name!!
Very interesting story and the peanuts look very tempting . Excellent choice for the alphabet C.
Baayalli Neeru ooruthe ! This and a cup of hot coffee will make anyone's day ! For me this had as it is or added for churmuri is heaven indeed :)))
interesting story whether true or not. I don't know how I've missed having these famous peanuts in Bangalore. Look so delicious.
Interesting story behind the recipe name.. These addictive snack and love it.
I've never been an overly huge fan of snacking on peanuts – peanut butter, peanut sauce, peanut butter cookies… YES, but peanuts themselves have always been somewhat bland to me. This version, however, does not seem bland at all! I'm going to have to give them a try – thanks for sharing!
Monique Nelson from
Choose to Cook
Nice to know the story behind the snack.Love to munch these yummy peanuts.
Awesome peanuts and great story behind its name 🙂 Amazing!
Oh my God! You took me down the memory lane with this, PJ! Love it to bits.
what a great anecdote about the history of the dish
Oh my! Aren’t these just the prettiest little things? They are super addictive!
Nice read about the 'congress' kadalekayi. Must be an interesting snack to munch around and walk through brigade street….
That is a nice read about kadlekayi :). I am tempted to make these now.
What an interesting name PJ! Such an addictive snack.