Peanuts or Groundnut are easily found in Indian households. They are a good source of protein and healthy fats. Comparatively lower in carbs and yet higher in overall calories. They are also a good source of vitamin E, Folate, thiamine, and a few other micronutrients. They are usually consumed raw, roasted, boiled or as a part of salads, snacks, gravies.

So this time I decided to try out something new peanut butter.

Most nut butter brands available in the market are loaded with sugar, preservatives, and fat. The best part of making homemade peanut butter is that you can control the amount of extra sugar and fat that is added to it.

Homemade Peanut Butter

Ingredients

• Peanut- 300 gms
• Honey-3-4 tsp ( more if you need it extra sweet and less if you want it less sweet)
• Vegetable oil-4-5 tsp ( Depending on the variety of groundnuts you use, the amount of added oil would vary.
• Salt-1/4 tsp

Procedure

• The quality of the nut butter depends mainly on the quality of the peanuts. So buy the best variety.

  

• The next important step is roasting. Make sure you roast them well. If you roast them in a Microwave 10-15 mins is just fine. In an oven, preheat the oven to 350c and roast the nuts for 3-5 mins. If both methods are not possible, the good old roasting on the oven works great. Though roasting them in an oven/microwave gives a better taste and flavour as compared to roasting them on gas. *Roast them till light brown and till you get a nutty flavour. If you taste them, they need to be crunchy.

  

• Peel the nuts. Put them into a blender or food processor and grind them to a smooth paste by adding honey (as per individual preference) and oil ( as per the consistency required). Note: It can also be made with unpeeled ones, but it leaves a slight aftertaste.
• Also, if you want a slightly crunchy nut butter, coarsely grind 1/3 of the peanuts and use the rest to make the smooth paste. Once the paste is made, add in the partially ground peanuts.

  

This homemade peanut butter can be consumed just as it is or with whole wheat roti/bread. It can also be added to smoothies and milkshakes.

Just because it’s healthy doesn’t mean you can consume it in excess. Consumption in moderation is recommended.

Do give this delicious homemade peanut butter a try and let me know how it turns out, but before that check the other blogs on poha, quinoa or wheatgrass.