Chana Masala Spiced Roasted Nuts. vegan gluten-free snack!

The past 4 days I have been mostly writing emails and getting things together for the Fund Raiser for VSPCA. Read more about VSPCA below the recipe on this post.

I am currently collecting items to Raffle. The Raffles will open on April 22 Earth Day. and continue for an entire month. Find more details and a daily updated list of items on the Fund Raiser Page. Scroll to somewhere in the middle of the page for the list.

A couple of questions for you all, to help make the fund drive successful!

1. What items would you like to see on the raffle list ?

2. What do you think should be the minimum donation amount. Currently it is as 10$ or 500 Rs for 1 Raffle ticket.(All donations are tax deductible)

3. Any other suggestions, your favorite bloggers, authors, products, companies I should contact! Also, any pointers and help will be greatly appreciated!

These spicy nuts are super simple to whip up and highly, very highly addictive! I dont know about you, but salty crunchy things are to me or most Indians as gooey sugary toothachingly sweet cinnamon rolls or doughnuts!

You can add any spice mix really, some garam masala, cajun spice, thai curry or chipotle pepper flakes! or some dry herbs like thyme, rosemary, dill. The possibilities are.. endless....

How do you like your nuts!

More Savory Snacks collection here.

Ingredients:

1-1.5 cups nuts of choice (Cashews, pecans, walnuts, almonds, macadamia, pistachios etc)

1 teaspoon oil

1/2 teaspoon spices of choice(I used Chana masala/Chole spice blend , available in all Indian stores as chole masala)

1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

black pepper or chili powder to taste

Method:

In a wide pan, add a teaspoon of oil and heat on low-medium.

When hot, add a cup of nuts(I used cashews, walnuts, pecans, almonds, pistachios), salt, black pepper and chana masala spice to taste, and mix to coat well.

Roast on stove stirring every few seconds for 8-10 minutes until cashews start to look golden.(Reduce heat to low after 6 or so minutes to reduce chances of burning)

Take off heat. The nuts will continue to roast for the nest 2-3 minutes once off heat too. The Omega fats in the nuts can burn and damage easily, so roast them to just a light golden.

Cool completely, adjust salt and spice. Snack!

You can also bake these for about 12-15 minutes at preheated 330 degrees F. Stir once after 10 minutes and check on them. Oven temperatures vary, so keep it on the lower side.

You can roast the nuts on stove or bake with no oil too, the spices and herbs might not stick as well.

These nuts are heading to Ricki's Wellness weekend ,Slightly indulgent Tuesdays, Hearth and soul blog hop, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Glutenfree Wednesdays. Amee's Fit and Fab, Ella's Friday Potluck.

A bit about VSPCA.- Visakha Society for Prevention and Care of Animals.

Since 1996, the Visakha Society for the Protection and Care of Animals (VSPCA) has been hard at work, determined to improve the conditions for animals in India. The VSPCA works to stop the illegal trade in internationally-protected sea turtles, rescues cows and water buffalo too old or injured to be kept by their previous owners, as well as provides permanent happy sanctuary to hundreds of dogs, cats, birds, monkeys, horses, rabbits, tortoises, ducks and other animals who had been suffering severe abuse or neglect.

They also have a project for supplying Vegan meals for the poor. If you have a favorite cause, name it and they already do it or do a part of it. They recently opened a bigger kindness farm to house the ever growing number of animals in their care. You can read about their work, rating and testimonials from all over the world on their Testimonial page. I frequently meet up with Eileen who runs Help Animals India(501c3) in Seattle, which supports vspca. You will see her in some of the pictures at Vspca. They are truly an amazing organization and believe me, if I was flying right now, I would be there volunteering! Lets get this fundraiser working shall we!