Tottenham were back to their best at White Hart Lane and dented any hopes Aston Villa had of finishing above them.
Kanoute's double along with strikes from Ledley King, Andy Reid and Stephen Kelly ensured Spurs moved level on points with Middlesbrough and back into seventh place in the Premiership table.
And it now sets up a nail-biting six-pointer at The Riverside next weekend when the two teams meet to decide who could be playing in the UEFA Cup next season.
Villa could have broken the deadlock after just two minutes when Steven Davis found himself clean through on goal, but saw his shot produce a fantastic save from Paul Robinson diving low to his right.
Tottenham also had an early chance to open the scoring just 60 seconds later when Reid's corner picked out King and his fierce header was pushed away by Stefan Postma in the Villa goal.
The visitors should have been awarded a cast iron penalty after six minutes when Erik Edman appeared to bring down Mark Delaney inside the box. Referee Mark Clattenburg refused to award the spot kick, much to the disgust of the Villa players and supporters.
And to make matters worse Paul Robinson's long kick directly after the incident fell kindly into the path of Kanoute. The Mali international held off the challenge of Liam Ridgeway and slotted the ball past Postma into the corner of the net.
Sean Davis could have made it two for the home side on ten minutes after Postma kicked the ball straight into his path. But the former Fulham star fired the ball wide of the post.
But Spurs did not have to wait to long before extending their lead.
Simon Davies' 19th-minute corner fell to Reid on the edge of the box. Reid's 25-yard drive cannoned back off the post and skipper King was on hand to fire the rebound home.
Villa were simply being torn apart and almost found themselves further behind after 26 minutes when Kanoute's cross picked out Davis, whose diving header produced a superb reflex save from Postma.
From the resulting corner, Reid's ball into the box found Robbie Keane who held off the challenge of three Villa defenders before laying the ball off to Kanoute. The former West Ham star made no mistake, striking a curling shot past Postma into the top right hand corner.
Villa were handed a lifeline on the stroke of half-time when Juan Pablo Angel's shot hit the arm of Michael Dawson and Clattenburg awarded a penalty. Gareth Barry fired the resulting spot-kick past Robinson to bring his side back into the game.
But it was the home side who could have added a fourth just two minutes into the second half when Reid's thundering shot was deflected inches past the post.
Darius Vassell was handed a golden opportunity after 51 minutes to reduce the deficit. Barry's clever lob fell nicely into the path of the England striker, but his volley was superbly tipped over the bar by Robinson in the home goal.
Tottenham suffered a major blow after 64 minutes when Robinson was forced to leave the pitch with a knee injury following a collision with Vassell and was replaced by Radek Cerny.
But the home side quickly had something to cheer about after 67 minutes when Reid sealed all three points with an unstoppable left-foot shot which flew past Postma into the top left-hand corner.
Substitute Jermain Defoe could have made it five for Spurs on 84 minutes when his close-range shot came back off the crossbar.
But defender Kelly ensured it was a five-star showing for the home side in the final minute when he was picked out by Davis and flicked the ball past Postma into the back of the net.