This can be served, with rice, alongside any dal (page 433) or as a condiment with spicy stewed dishes. It can also be mixed into yogurt to make a kind of Raita (page 175).

　　

Ingredients

makes about 1 cup

　　1 teaspoon cumin seeds

　　1 teaspoon coriander seeds

　　1 cup roasted unsalted peanuts

　　1 small dried red chile, or to taste

　　Salt and black pepper to taste

　　1 garlic clove, peeled

　　

Step 1

Toast the seeds in a small dry skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan frequently, until they color slightly, just a couple of minutes. (If the peanuts are raw, you can toast them the same way.)

　　

Step 2

Grind all the ingredients together in a blender or food processor, stopping the machine to scrape down the sides if necessary; you are looking for a coarse grind, short of peanut butter. (If the mixture turns to peanut butter, it’s not a disaster. Add a few more peanuts and make it extra-chunky; I’ve had this that way, too.) Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to a week (bring back to room temperature before serving).

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.