Bollywood Popcorn

The popcorn you are about to make is one flavored with vibrant South Asian spices, and has a savory and addicting flavor. Trader Joe's came out with a popcorn called Bollywood popcorn.

I did some research on where to find indian spices near me. I also found various recipes for curry and the seasoning but adapted them to fit what I thought the Trader Joe's version tasted more like. (I've linked all my sources at the end of this instructable if you're interested)

This fusion of American buttered popcorn and Indian spices is the ideal movie-watching snack, or just for snacking whenever you feel like.

UPDATE: Trader Joe's has discontinued their Bollywood popcorn

I measured all my ingredients with a baking scale, but every single measurement can be done to taste and quantities are absolutely changeable.

For the less common ingredients (like the tandoori masala or the garam masala, try your local Asian or Middle Eastern grocer)

Bollywood Spice Blend:

Ingredients (Makes enough to flavor several, several batches of popcorn)

• 40g ranch dressing mix
• 15g tandoori masala
• 10g mild curry powder
• 5g buttermilk powder
• 5g salt (or to taste)
• 5g sugar
• 2g granulated onion powder
• 2g ground coriander
• 1g (a pinch) of garam masala
• 1-2g of turmeric (Optional, just for color)
• 1g (a pinch) of cayenne pepper

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
2. Done!

I had an old spice shaker around so I reused it to store my spice blend. This is great because I can shake it over my popcorn in the future when I make batches for movie night or just want a quick snack.

If you have an empty spice shaker, just roll up a paper funnel and fill up the container.

But if you don't feel this is necessary you can absolutely just store the spice blend in a mason jar or airtight container.

You can make popcorn anyway you like, whether you're using an air popper, the stove, or even microwaveable popcorn. I chose to use the stove top method to pop my kernels, and followed the directions on the back of the packaging.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil or oil of your choice (olive oil will not work as well)
• enough popcorn kernels to cover the bottom of your pan 1 kernel deep

Method

1. Pour your oil into a pan or skillet
2. Add a single kernel of corn to the pan and heat at medium high heat
3. When the single kernel pops, add the rest of the popcorn, enough to cover the bottom of the pan
4. Cover and shake gently until popping slows, then remove from heat

While the popcorn is still hot, you'll want to toss it with melted butter and enough seasoning to coat the entire batch.

I recommend using about 1 1/2 tbsp of butter per cup of popcorn, but the amount of seasoning is completely up to you.

Caution: My sister ate some of the popcorn during one of my test batches and I hadn't used enough butter to coat the popcorn so the spices, in her words, "crawled" up her nose. She then sneezed 3 times in a row (o_o) I will guess that that is not a comfortable experience for anyone. So to make sure your spice isn't dry or powdery use enough butter.

That's it! Now enjoy your popcorn :)

To read their description, Trader Joe's: Bollywood Popcorn

Here is the list of resources I used to develop my take on Bollywood Popcorn.

1. Palatable Pastime: Masala Spiced Popcorn

2. Indiamarks: Introduction to Indian Spices

3. Food Network: 50 Flavored Popcorns