Snack Attack: Delicious Recipes for Movie Nights

Be it a date night, a chilled Friday evening together, or family time, no matter what the reason is, watching movies together at home is easily one of the best ways to spend quality time with each other. 

Going to movie halls is almost passé since movie nights at home ensure comfort, no travel or dressing up and are more cost-effective. 

Movie nights go to the ‘next level’ if there are some delectable snacks to go along with it. But the selection of snacks is crucial, as you don’t want complex foods that divert your attention from the movie, but the munchies need to be appetizing enough so they can easily be eaten and are ‘unstoppable’. 

We have fashioned a movie munchies list for you. Check it out before your next movie night. 

Peanut Butter Cups

This recipe is simple, is an apt combination of sweet and salty, is easy to prepare and is so good to eat! 

Serves: 6 servings
Total time: 1 hour 

Ingredients: 

• ¾ cup creamy peanut butter 
• 1 tsp butter 
• 1 cup of any good-quality dark chocolate 
• 2 tsp icing sugar 
• 1 pinch of sea salt 

Method: 

1. You need some silicon moulds for this recipe, you can use silicon tart moulds, muffin moulds or even silicone ice trays. 
2. Take the peanut butter add some butter and fine sugar in it, and mix it well so no lumps of sugar remain in the peanut butter. Keep it aside. This step can be skipped if you choose to avoid sugar. But include it to enhance the taste. 
3. Melt the chocolate in a double-boiled method. Alternatively, You can melt the chocolate in a microwave, by microwaving the chocolate for 30 seconds in batches until the chocolate has completely melted. 
4. Once the chocolate has melted, take your silicon moulds (If you don’t have silicon mould, then use any regular mould by simply greasing it a little with butter) 
5. Pour the melted chocolate into the mould such that the base is well covered, now add two tsp full of peanut butter over the chocolate. Spread it gently to cover over the chocolate. 
6. Now top it again with another layer of melted chocolate. Tap from all the edges so that the layering is perfect. Sprinkle a little sea salt over the peanut butter cups. 
7. Repeat for all remaining moulds. Then refrigerate for at least 45 minutes or until the chocolate solidifies. 
8. After chilling, slowly pop each peanut butter cup out of the mould, and enjoy. 

Queso with Baked Chips

Chip and Dip is a permanent hit at any and every movie night! Queso is a Mexican dip that is luscious and cheesy while being savoury and spicy simultaneously. 

The dip when paired with some baked potato chips makes it a guilt-free snacking option. 

Serves: 4-5 servings
Total Time: 1 hour for chips, 15 minutes for dip 

Ingredients: 

For Baked Chips 

• 3 large-boiled potatoes 
• Salt
• A few drops of oil for brushing 
• Optional seasonings (Red chilli powder, Herbed mix) 

For Queso

• 2 tsp butter 
• ½ cup very finely chopped onions 
• 1-2 cloves of garlic minced
• ¼ cup finely chopped tomatoes 
• 1-2 green chillies 
• ½ tsp cumin powder 
• ½ tsp red chilli powder (or paprika powder if available)
• 2-3 tsp freshly chopped coriander 
• 1 tsp corn flour 
• ½ fresh cream
• 1 cup mixed cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, processed etc.) 

Method: 

1. To make the baked potato chips, first preheat the oven to 300’C. Peel the potatoes and mash them very well. Run the potatoes through a sieve to ensure no lumps remain in the potatoes and the mash is very smooth. Now add some salt and mix well. 
2. Transfer the mashed potatoes to a piping bag, and remove the nozzle. You can even transfer it in any clean plastic packet and snip off one edge of it. 
3. Take a baking tray and line it with butter paper, on the butter paper, pipe out small quantities of the mashed potatoes from the piping bag. Using a flat surface like the back of a flat glass, gently flatten out each lump of mashed potatoes to appear like flat chips. Brush some oil on them and transfer the baking tray into the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the baked potato chips are crispy and ready. 
4. You can alternatively bake the chips in an air fryer, by simply reducing the quantity of chips. 
5. Once the chips are ready, you can add some seasoning to them, or keep them aside in an airtight bag. 

For the Queso

1. Slit the green chillies and place them on direct flame until they are lightly charred and blistered. Remove from the flame and keep it aside. 
2. Take a flat pan and place it on medium heat, melt some butter in it, and add the garlic to it. After a few seconds add the chopped onions and sauté them both till the onions are translucent.
3. Now add the chopped tomatoes and quickly toss them in it. Cook until it is softened. Now chop the roasted green chillies that were prepared earlier and add them to the mixture. 
4. Season with salt, cumin powder, and red chilli powder. Now add the corn flour to it and mix well. 
5. Lower the flame add the fresh cream and slowly allow that to mix with the ingredients. Once the cream has melted, add the mixed cheese to it and mix slowly.
6. Allow the cheese to melt well. If the mixture feels very thick, you can add some spoons of milk to make the dip easier to handle. 
7. Finally, add the freshly chopped coriander and remove it from the flame. 
8. The dip will thicken as it cools down. Enjoy this dip with your baked chips. 

Baked Crispy Chicken Wings 

What is a movie night, if not for chicken wings? The spicy, succulent meat that comes right off the bone? Enjoy this treat with the movie to choice, minus the guilt, as these wings taste perfect but are baked. 

Serves: 8 servings
Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients: 

• 1.5 kg chicken, divided at joints with wing tips discarded
• 2 tbsp baking powder 
• Salt to taste 
• ½ tsp fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 tsp paprika (or Kashmiri red chilli powder)
• 1 tsp garlic powder 
• 2 tsp cooking oil

Buffalo Sauce

• ¼ cup of any hot sauce of choice
• 3 tbsp brown sugar 
• 1-2 tbsp water 

Method: 

1. First, arrange the baking rack on the higher end, and preheat the oven to 400’. 
2. Pat the chicken wings nice and dry. Do not miss this step for best results. 
3. Make a simple marinade by mixing paprika powder, black pepper powder, garlic powder, salt and baking powder. Add some oil to make the marinade easy to rub. 
4. Now very generously coat all the chicken wings with the marinade, and make sure to coat each piece perfectly. 
5. Take a baking tray, line it with aluminium foil, and place and wire rack on it. Brush the wire rack with some oil. 
6. Now place each chicken wing on the wire rack singly. 
7. Transfer the baking tray into the oven, and bake in cycles of 20 minutes each, while flipping the pieces. The total time duration may vary depending on the size of the wings. 
8. To make the buffalo sauce, take a saucepan, place it on low flame, add the brown sugar and allow it to melt. Once melted, add the hot sauce of choice and mix well. Then add some water to ensure the contents don’t burn. Remove from the flame and transfer to a bowl. 
9. Once the chicken wings are perfectly baked, dip each piece into the buffalo sauce and transfer to a serving tray. Enjoy while hot.

Peri Peri Pop Corn

No movie night can ever be completed without some crunchy munchy popcorn. Rise from the basics and make popcorn with a twist of peri-peri 

Serves: 5-6 servings
Total Time: 7 minutes 

Ingredients: 

• ½ bowl corn kernels (dried) 
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 pinch turmeric 
• Salt to taste 
• 4 tsp melted butter 
• 1 tsp peri-peri seasoning 

Method: 

1. You need a pressure cooker or a heavy-bottomed pot for the recipe. Heat it on medium flame, add a spoon of oil, add some turmeric and salt and finally add the popcorn kernels.
2. Mix everything quickly, and cover the pot, if you are using a pressure cooker, remove the whistle. Wait for the popcorn to pop, once the sound reduces and becomes nil, open the pot. Be careful to wait until the popping sound has completely stopped. 
3. In a bowl mix the melted butter and peri-peri seasoning well. 
4. Drizzle the seasoning mix over the freshly made popcorn. Close the pot and shake it vigorously so that all the popcorn is well coated with the seasoning. 
5. Transfer to a large bowl. Enjoy while hot.