• Place the banana in the freezer for two hours before you plan to make the smoothie.
• Freezing the banana before blending gives the smoothie a thicker, creamier texture.
• The usual technique of freezing bananas is peeling, slicing and then freezing. This is useful when you want to use the bananas much later. But if you plan to make this smoothie in a couple of hours, it is far more convenient to pop a fresh banana skin-on into the freezer. After two hours, take the banana out and peel it. If too hard to peel by hand, use a knife. This method eliminates the need of pans/freezer-safe bags and, since the banana isn't frozen too hard, it is easier on the blender blades.

Grind the peanuts:

• Dry roast the peanuts on low flame in a thick-bottomed pan, till they turn a shade darker and give off a pleasant roasted aroma. This should take 4-5 minutes.
• Let the peanuts cool. You can remove the skin if you want a lighter-colored / milder-tasting smoothie: rub the peanuts gently between your dry palms - this will make the skin fall off.
• Place the peanuts in the blender first, and pulse for a minute. Open the lid and check if there is ground peanut sticking to the sides of the blender jar (this happens with mine!) - if so, scrape it back in. Pulse for another minute.

Blend it all together!

• Peel the banana and transfer it into the blender jar. Add half a glass of chilled milk and honey/sweetener (if using). Pulse everything together till the banana has blended.
• Now add the rest of the milk and pulse for another minute, or till smooth.
• Pour banana peanut smoothie into tall glasses. Drink immediately!