Tikka Twist Movie Night Popcorn
Movie popcorn with a savory, tangy edge instead of plain salt. The trick is a butter slurry: fat is the only reliable way to get a dry seasoning to stay on popcorn instead of falling to the bottom of the bowl.
Photography is illustrative. Every recipe is tested.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup popcorn kernels
- 3 tablespoons neutral high-heat oil for popping, such as canola, grapeseed or refined coconut
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Tikka Twist Signature Blend, Mild or Hot
- Flaky salt, optional and only after tasting
Contains: Soy, Wheat.
Using the blend
1 1/2 teaspoons
Whisk the blend into melted butter off the heat, never shake it dry over the bowl. Dry powder has nothing to grab and slides straight to the bottom, and the tomato powder, amchur and crystallized lime in the blend turn bitter if they hit a hot pan. Fat is what carries the flavor onto every piece.
Method
- 01
Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a heavy pot over medium-high with three kernels in it and the lid ajar. When those three pop, add the rest of the kernels, cover, and shake the pot every 20 seconds. Take it off the burner when the pops slow to about one every 3 seconds.
- 02
Turn the popcorn into your largest bowl and leave the unpopped kernels behind in the pot.
- 03
Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a small pan over low heat and let it bubble gently for a minute to drive off its water, which is what makes buttered popcorn go soggy. Pull it off the heat, wait 30 seconds, then whisk in 1 1/2 teaspoons Tikka Twist Signature Blend until smooth.
- 04
Drizzle a third of the seasoned butter over the popcorn and toss. Repeat twice more. Adding it in stages coats everything; adding it all at once soaks a few pieces and leaves the rest bare.
- 05
Taste before adding any salt. The blend is already salted, so go light, a small pinch of flaky salt at the end is plenty if you want it at all. Eat within the hour while it is still crisp.