For as long as I can remember, roasted peanuts have been my ultimate comfort food. When I was little my mum used to roast peanuts with their skins on and we’d eat them warm and salted, fresh from the oven.
It’s no coincidence the word ‘peanut’ is an anagram of ‘delectable’ when you add some letters then take some away. Knowing this gives me the authority to declare which peanuts are the best in Auckland.
When I get off the bus after work, I live in hope that Indian Sweets & Snacks on Dominion Road is still open. If it is, my feet walk in even if my mind hasn’t come to terms with peanuts on my waistline. The shop is an institution that’s been serving vegetarian Indian snacks for decades, nestled between an airgun shop and the city’s best neighbourhood bistro, Cazador.
When you walk in, you’ll be greeted by pyramids of roasted nuts, chickpeas and all kinds of Bhuja mix ingredients glistening in warming trays. There’s also a selection of vegetarian curries and Indian snacks like samosas and pakora.
It’s the roasted peanuts I return for because they’re the best I’ve found in Auckland. Roasted in their skins and salted, these peanuts are the best nuts, ever. Did I say they’re the best? This snack joint knows peanuts were made to stay covered up, unlike Europeans at the beach.
Ask for a scoop of their roasted, salted peanuts with a pinch of chilli (they add the chilli on request) and they’ll last more than one sitting. The paper bag they’re served in feels comfortingly warm and the spice stops me eating them all on the way home.
Of course, this joint is much more than the city’s best peanut stop. Indian Sweets & Snacks started as a family business in 1991 and has since expanded to another shop in Mt Roskill, and shop and factory in Otahuhu where all the snacks are made. The owners regularly travel to India and Fiji to handpick their own quality ingredients such as spices. They cater for all sorts of events and also wholesale their snacks to customers including hotels.
As a regular customer, I do sometimes worry about the slow creep on the scales. I vaguely remember a high school science experiment when we burnt one peanut in the lab for an eternity to see how much energy they contain, so scientifically speaking peanuts must be a calorie bomb – but it’s a fleeting concern. I sometimes add in a sneaky samosa to eat on the way home.
Indian Sweets & Snacks.
852 Dominion Road, Mt Eden, Auckland.