I believe much of my love for fresh food and new ingredients comes from my mother. She is always on the lookout for different kinds of fruits and vegetables when she shops and travels.  She instilled in me a curiosity for new ingredients and cooking them in the simplest of ways. Today is her birthday, so I wanted to cook something that she likes. I thought hard and the one thing that stands out the most about what she likes to eat is peanuts. I remember her munching on them all the time; be it raw peanuts, salted peanuts, boiled peanuts, masala peanuts. I never quite understood her liking for them. We still joke and tell her that she was probably a horse in her previous life! I still have to shout at her for eating so many of them since she has blood pressure issues. The problem is not peanuts per se. Peanuts are healthy for the heart. It is the salt that covers them that is bad for her. Ukkodilli bhikna or boiled peanuts was a popular tea time snack at home during my childhood. It was fun peeling the cover to find tasty soft salty peanuts inside. It is funny how the simplest things brought so much joy! Happy birthday, Maa!

What you will need:

How to make it:

• Add water to a pot along with the salt.
• Add the peanuts.
• Boil until the peanut shells soften.
• Discard the water.
• Peel and enjoy these boiled peanuts as a snack with your evening tea.