Sweet and Salty Curry Popcorn. Like classic popcorn that got kissed with a hint of old timey kettle corn sweetness and a pinch of salt at the end. With a restrained drizzle of buttery coconut oil holding it all together. And to finish things off, each airy, warm, freshly-puffed piece of popcorn is dusted in a curry spice mix. Savory meets sweet in this newest addition to your snack time round-up.
YUM.
Don’t mind me, I will just be over on the couch eating this whole massive bowl all by myself. Netflixing until my eyes bleed, basking in solo-snacking bliss and humming a new little ditty I call “It’s my popcorn and I’ll share if I want to”.
Okay, okay. I am in a relationship with the person I live with so sharing is kind of compulsory. But a girl can dream. Or said girl can use both hands to eat as much popcorn as is humanly possible before said boyfriend can get to the bowl. Decisions, decisions...
This quick little recipe is inspired by all the pre-popped bags of popcorn I have devoured in the past year. All the times I vowed to have just one small bowl that became afternoons spent elbow-deep in the whole bag rooting around for stragglers in the bottom.
My particular favorite has become the Lightly Sweet Popcorn from Angie’s Boomchickapop line. Have you had that stuff? Sweet AND salty together. Holy moly. Talk about addicting. Bag after bag of that scrumptious popcorn met its untimely end in our apartment. No sooner had we placed it on the snack shelf, than it had somehow migrated its way over to the couch and disappeared completely. Leaving a sad, crumpled bag in its place.
So to combat this newfound obsession with eating ALL the popcorn, I decided to give homemade popcorn a try. My thought was if I had to pop it freshly myself and it wasn’t already made, maybe I would eat less of it. It was worth a shot.
The eat-less-popcorn strategy was sort of marginally successful.
Once I stopped using the pre-made spice mixes on the popcorn and made my own to add in, I knew I was onto something. Something magically customizable to whatever I felt like having at the time. No more being stuck with just one flavor at home. If I wanted to savor some at home Basil-Parmesan popcorn or sweeten things up with a simple cinnamon-sugar combo, I could. And would. And did.
Homemade popcorn is embarrassingly easy to make and comes together FAST. Like I shouldn’t call this a recipe so much as a how-to. You could probably learn most of the steps just by reading the back of the package of popping corn kernels and by following your own cravings to combine things on your own spice shelf. This is just one variation of a thousand delicious at-home versions you could make.
My favorite part about it all is that this is an affordable alternative to the store bought stuff. Which combined with the short “cook” time, makes it even MORE compelling and worthwhile to whip up in your own kitchen.
How cheap is it exactly? Well, a little bag of popcorn kernels should run you no more than $3.75 = roughly the same cost a bag of already popped and already flavored popcorn you would buy at the store. So why pop your own?
- Because fresh, warm popped popcorn is the best. But also…
- Because that little bitty bag of popcorn kernels makes something like over THIRTY servings.
And I’m no mathematician, but I’m pretty sure that’s a lot more popcorn for your buck.
Plus there is an unmistakable joy that comes from watching and hearing the kernels BURST into being. These strange, tough little golden tear drop shapes get heated into puffy, oddly shaped, white clouds taking on a wholly new texture.
Watching an ingredient morph into something totally different has to be one of the most satisfying parts about cooking. That transformative quality about food has me totally enchanted. So I hope you give this a whirl at home. If for no other reason at all then to hear the sound of the kernels pinging around in a pot in your own kitchen.
But I have a sneaking suspicion that you might find this little combination of savory spice and buttery sweetness as habit-forming as we do!
Ingredients
- ¼ c popping corn unpopped kernels
- ½ tbs + 2 tbs melted coconut oil divided*
- 1 tbs coconut sugar**
- 1 ¼ tbs curry powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- salt
- pinch of cayenne optional but highly encouraged
Instructions
- MIX SPICES: Mix together coconut sugar, curry powder, garlic powder, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne (if using) together in a small dish and set aside.
- POP: Preheat a medium sized pot over medium heat. Add ½ tablespoon coconut oil and corn kernels to hot pan, swirl to coat kernels in oil and then cover with a heavy, tight fitting lid. Shake the pot around as it continues to heat and the kernels pop. Continue to swirl the pot (with the lid on) as the remaining kernels pop (should take about 3-4 minutes or so). When you notice that there are several seconds between pops, remove from heat and set aside.
- SEASON: Transfer popcorn to a large mixing bowl. Drizzle over the remaining melted coconut oil and sprinkle spices all over the top. Stir with a spatula (or hands work best to avoid spilling over the sides, just make sure you give them a good washing because the turmeric in the curry powder may cause bright yellow clothing stains) until evenly seasoned. Add more salt to taste as needed.
Notes
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