Mungfali Ki Chutney

1. Dry roast the peanuts on a griddle or a flat pan on medium heat, stirring frequently until light brown spots appear on its skin. If you rub the peanut in your palms the skin will fall of easily.
2. Transfer the peanuts to a plate and let them cool to room temperature.
3. Rub them between your palms or with your fingers so that the thin skin separates from the peanuts, and then blow on the plate gently so that all the loose skins fly off leaving the peeled peanuts behind. (Blow the skins in a proper place like on a newspaper or near a sink so that collecting the mess afterwards is easy.)
4. At this point the peanuts would be halved.
5. Place the peanuts in a grinder. Add the chopped garlic, red chile powder, cumin, amchoor powder (dry mango powder) and salt to taste.
6. Give few short pulses then open the jar and stir all the ingredients with a spoon. Close the lid again and then whizz the chutney in short bursts, until it becomes a coarse powder (remember we don’t want a paste consistency; the mixture should be just a coarse powder. The garlic and peanuts should be fully crushed; stirring the mixture in between the pulses is necessary otherwise they start to clump up and it won’t grind properly).
7. Check the seasonings when done and your easy-peasy peanut & chile garlic chutney is ready bursting with flavors to accompany any of your meals.

Trivia

1. Peanuts originated in South America, where Indians cultivated them for at least 2000 years. As early as 1500 B.C., the Incans of Peru used peanuts as sacrificial offerings and entombed them with their mummies to aid in the spirit life.
2. Spaniards and Portuguese slave traders introduced them to Africa and Europe, and slaves introduced them to the American South.