Boiled Groundnuts or Boiled Peanuts

A family favorite at our home. I love the way the family gets together around the table and laugh and chat while shelling and eating the peanuts.

Remember to use raw peanuts. These peanuts taste good only when it is boiled properly and it has the right amount of salt. Initially I would eyeball both the amount of salt and the boiling times. And the results would sometimes be great, while other times the salt was not enough or the peanuts were still not fully cooked. So nowadays I follow this recipe for perfectly seasoned boiled peanuts.

Groundnut Soup aka Peanut Soup ( Ghanaian style )

This amazingly delicious and nutritious Ghanaian soup recipe was given to me by my dear friend Millicent. In Ghana peanuts are called groundnuts. We use to have this often when we were there. In India we have a similar version of this soup minus some ingredients.

I have changed the recipe just a little to make it more convenient for me. In the original recipe when you boil the water and peanut powder, you add the onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger and green chilies and let it boil along with the rest of the soup. When they are cooked, you pull out the onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger and green chilies and grind them to a smooth paste and add it back to the simmering soup. I used a shortcut method and ground everything first and cooked them later. You can grind the peanuts fine or leave them a little coarse for added texture. I prefer the latter.