SPICED WALNUTS with Balsamic and Curry Powder

          

            Happy Monday Friends.  How was your weekend? 

Our weekend just flew by with the realization that there's only two more weeks of summer vacation.  We are trying to fit in dinners with friends, cooking workshops and a lot of movies in between. 

The boys seem like they are in no rush to start their routine.  I can say they've having fun.

My teen has learnt how to make lunch to survive at least.He made some balsamic noodles and they were good, maybe a bit too strong for my taste, but he loved it.
My little one is adorable, learnt how to break an egg without messing his hands and no shells in the bowl. Now he just wants to show everyone how well he breaks an egg and we have a lot of eggs for lunch and dinner these days..




Cheering up with these nuts.  We make every kind of spiced nut, we snack on it a lot.  This might be a continuation to my Couscous topped with balsamic nuts.  This combination is something I tried this summer and we love it so much that I've made it at four times. Bottled it for some friends and they loved the unique flavor of balsamic vinegar. Now I share it with you..

It's perfect topped on salads, perfect as is with some hot coffee. 

BALSAMIC and Curry SPICED WALNUTS

Ingredients:

1 cup walnuts
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup white sugar plus brown sugar(equal quantities)
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp curry powder(recipe below or your could buy it at any store)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter

Method:

1. In a pan add balsamic vinegar, sugar, chili powder, curry powder, salt and the butter. Bring it to a slow simmer until the sugar has dissolved completely.
2. Add the nuts and toss well.
3. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment, sprayed with oil.  
4. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 10 minutes, let cool and break it apart.  You can store it in air tight containers.

Curry Powder:

2 tbsp whole coriander
2 tbsp whole cumin
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tbsp dried meethi leaves
1 tsp turmeric powder
10 whole dried red chillies

Fry everything on low heat in a thick bottomed pan for 2-3 minutes.  Then cool it and grind it to a fine powder. Alternatively you could use powdered spices instead of whole spices and instead of roasting it, just mix everything and bottle it up.
ENJOY!