Peanut Salad Verrine
Peanut salad is a very popular starter in my family and among our family friends. It's the most demanded item whenever we have a party at our place. I am serving this as a verrine.
As per Wikipedia a Verrine is a small, thick-walled glass container with no base, whose purpose is to hold a solid or liquid dish (starter, main course or dessert).
In restaurants, verrine is generally served as an amuse-bouche. As this peanut salad is a cold starter it can also be served as a Hors d'oeuvre.
This salad has ingredients with various colours, textures and flavours hence it looks very appetising and is perfect for presenting as a verrine. Generally, a verrine has some thick creamy sauce to top the layers, but this recipe does not need any sauce. There can be many variations of the toppings. You can add some seasonal ingredients such as raw mango or tender green grains. I am serving this with roasted pappadum to add crunch to the dish.
Chaat masala is a tangy and mildly hot spice mix which is used as a seasoning for salads, drinks and all chaat dishes, such as bhel, paani puri etc. Chaat masala is readily available in any Indian grocery shop and Indian aisles in some supermarkets.
Preparation time :
15 minutes
Cooking time :
None
Total time :
Serves :
3 - 4
Ingredients
Peanuts (Roasted and Salted) - 1 cup
Cucumber - 1 cup
Onion - 1 medium
Tomato - 1 medium
Sweetcorn - 1/2 cup
Lemon Juice - 2-3 teaspoons
Chaat masala - 1 teaspoon
Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon (optional)
Coriander - 2 tablespoons
Salt - 1 teaspoon
Pomegranate seeds - 2 tablespoons
Pappadum - 1 large or 2 small
Peanut salad verrine
Peanut salad verrine
Directions
Finely chop onion, cucumber, tomato, coriander and keep aside in separate bowls.
Add half of the chilli powder to chopped onions and mix well.
Add half of the chaat masala to sweetcorn and mix well.
Squeeze half of the lemon juice on chopped cucumber and mix well.
Add a layer of tomatoes at the bottom of the glass.
Then, add a layer of sweetcorn followed by onion.
After that add a layer of peanuts followed by a layer of cucumber.
Squeeze remaining lemon juice, sprinkle remaining chaat masala, chilli powder (optional) and a pinch of salt on top.
Garnish with coriander and pomegranate seeds.
Serve with roasted pappadom.
Assembly
Serving Suggestions
Note
The glasses in verrine are usually with no base but I have used both types of glasses for presentation of different serving sizes. This recipe will make 3 big servings or 4 medium size servings. Divide all the ingredients equally as per requirement.
I have suggested the layering sequence but as you can see in the photos, you can change the layer sequence as per your preference of aesthetics and taste.
Roasted Poppadum
You can roast pappadum on an open flame.
Hold pappadum with tongs and roast it on a medium flame by turning continuously to avoid over charring.
Alternatively, keep it on a plate and microwave for 20 seconds. Then, flip it and continue further for 15 seconds or till done.
I personally prefer roasting on a flame as it gets lightly charred and enhances the flavour.