Party Fare on a Budget: Spicy Peanut Balls

My roommate Ruchi and I hosted a Diwali party last week for a few friends. In the spirit of Diwali, we lit a ton of candles and played fun games like carrom board, UNO, and Fluxx. We also had lots of snacks out, including burfee, spicy popcorn, vegan chocolate chip cookies, and spicy peanut balls.


I found the origins of the spicy peanut balls recipe in one of those cookbooks you can find 365 days a year in the bargain racks of the large bookstores (Barnes and Noble and Borders). You probably know the ones: there's at least one full-page photo every 2 pages and the price is so ridiculous ($5 to $8) that it's worth it to buy it for the pictures even if the recipes stink (which, sometimes they do...).

Anyway, I adapted a recipe from an Appetizers cookbook for the spicy peanut balls. If you have a food processor, you should file this recipe away for your next party. Essentially, to make it budget-friendly, I left out the expensive ingredients and substituted things I already had for ones I didn't.

These balls were a big hit! They're great finger food, and really: who doesn't like something fried once in a while? We dipped them in a spicy chile sauce that I purchased from Trader Joe's ($1.99) and they were quite lovely. There are a million ways you could make these without having to buy expensive ingredients. For example, I happened to be out of turmeric, so I used hot curry powder instead. You could also use something else to replace the fresh ginger, which most people don't keep around all the time.

The only problem I had with the spicy peanut balls was that they disappeared way too quickly. Next time I'll make a double recipe.

Enjoy, and Happy (belated) Diwali!

Spicy Peanut Balls
Yields about 14 balls

1 to 2 inches fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced fine
1 tsp hot curry powder
1/2 TBSP soy sauce
1 tsp hot chile sauce
1 cup cooked jasmine rice
1/2 cup peanuts, roughly chopped (or lightly processed)
vegetable or canola oil (for frying)
Hot Chile Sauce (for dipping)

Process the ginger and garlic in the food processor until they form a paste. Add the curry powder, soy sauce, and chile sauce, and process very well. Scrape down the sides of the processor several times if necessary. Add 3/4 cup of cooked rice and process until a sticky paste. Add the remaining rice and pulse a few times to incorporate it.

Form the rice mixture into bite-size balls, then roll them in the peanut pieces.

Heat 3 or 4 inches of oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. A good way to test whether the oil is hot enough for frying is to press a wooden chopstick or the non-spoon end of a wooden spoon on the bottom of the pot. If bubbles rise up around the utensil, the oil is hot enough.

Using a heat-resistant spoon, carefully add the peanut balls to the oil in batches of 5 or 6 and fry 3 or 4 minutes, until the balls are a lovely golden brown color. Enjoy hot.

Serve hot, with chile sauce for dipping.