Now don’t be surprised because I said both coffee and cocktail party 🙂 Born and brought up in India, I had known that these boiled peanuts are served especially with evening coffee/tea. But after I moved to the USA and on our road trip to Myrtle Beach, SC, I learned it is a traditional southern recipe, and people love to eat boiled peanuts with their beer or cocktail. On that road trip, we had several varieties/flavors of boiled peanuts 🙂 It was one memorable trip!!

Boiled peanuts are nothing but raw peanuts boiled in salted water. We love plain salted ones, but you can flavor also flavor the boiled peanuts with cajun, smoked paprika, other southern spices, and seasonings. You can also serve the boiled peanuts as an Indian street-style chaat/snack by mixing the boiled peanuts with onion, tomato, green chilies, coriander leaves, and lemon juice. Going by the ingredients, you can call it Indian salsa. It is a pakka Indian accompaniment for beer. haha.

Raw peanuts which are still in their shell, are first boiled in the pressure cooker, crockpot, stovetop, or instant pot, and then you drain the salted water, peel off the skin/shell, and eat it the way you like. You can check the video here on how to boil peanuts at home - pakka Indian style. Depending on the method you choose to boil peanuts, it will take between 15 minutes to 3 hours. 3 cups Raw peanuts with shell 2 to 3 teaspoon Salt (actually adjust to taste depending on the amount of water you add) Water

How to boil raw peanuts?

First, nicely wash the peanuts to remove any dirt and drain the water. Add enough water to cover the peanuts, salt to taste, and cook the peanuts using your preferred method - pressure cooker, instant pot, stovetop (stockpot), or slow cooker crockpot.

Cooking peanuts in a pressure cooker is the easiest and fastest method. Pressure cook on a medium flame for 3 to 4 whistles. Let the pressure release naturally. The total cook time is between 15 to 20 minutes. Place a large pot (stockpot) on the stovetop. Add washed peanuts and salt, and cover them with water. Bring the water to a boil and cook on medium-low flame for 3 hours or until the peanuts are cooked through. Once you have added peanuts, water, and salt, cook on high for 10 to 12 hours or until peanuts are cooked through.

Add peanuts, salt, and enough water to cover the peanuts and mix. See that you do not go beyond the maximum level of water allowed on your IP. Place the steamer rack to help the peanuts weigh down. Cover the lid and see that the valve is in a sealing position. Set the pressure cooker for 75 minutes. After that, let the pressure release naturally for 30 minutes and release any remaining pressure.

When ready to eat

Drain the water using a strainer. Open the shell with the help of your fingers and enjoy the soft and creamy goodness inside.

Tips:

Always add enough water to cover the peanuts. While using a pressure cooker or Instant Pot, check the maximum water level denoted on them and adjust the amount of peanuts accordingly. Adjust salt to taste. The amount of time to cook will vary depending on how old the peanuts are. Fresh or dry.  The fresh ones cook faster. You can flavor it with garlic powder, pepper flakes, cajun seasoning, pepper powder, chat masala, or any other seasoning of your choice. Once you drain and open the shell, I would recommend you eat boiled peanuts early as they will slowly start drying out. Remember, after the peanuts are boiled, the peanuts should be soft and creamy like canned beans and not be hard/firm. If they are hard/firm, you will have to boil the peanuts for more time.

You can keep this in salted water for 24 hours. Or drain and refrigerate in Zip Lock or airtight container for up to 7 days.

Recipe card

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