Peanut Chikki /Peanut Brittle

A famous munching sweet snack… call it chikki…brittle… or gachak, different names of same thing.  It’s usually made and enjoy during the winter season, but you can always make it in summer too.  I always wanted to make chikki at home so it was my first time making it at home but the final results you are seeing are after a few trial and errors. In this particular recipe I have used peanuts, you can also use almonds, cashew nuts, or even make it with a mixture nuts.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar

 1 cup peanuts

¼ tsp green cardamom powder

¼ tsp salt

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp water

Method:

1) Grease a baking tray or a plate with ghee and keep it aside.

2) If you are using roasted and peeled off store bought peanuts then there is no need of roasting and peeling it off again. You can use it directly. If not then roast peanuts in a heavy based pan on medium flame for 5 minutes, stirring continuously to avoid burning (if using peanuts with skin remember to remove the skin). You can even break the peanuts in to smaller pieces if you don’t want them whole.

3) Take a heavy bottomed pan or a frying pan, melt in the ghee/butter, then add in the sugar and salt along with 2 tbsp of water on medium-high flame. Keep stirring till the sugar changes color and turns light golden brown , takes about 6-7 minutes turn off the heat as soon as it turn light golden brown, add in the peanuts along with cardamom powder and mix it well.

4) Then spread it in the tray or cookie sheet. Use greased ladle or greased rolling pin and gently press them on the surface to spread them evenly.  Make horizontal and vertical cuts with knife while the mixture is still hot, when cooled break in to pieces and enjoy. Store it in a air tight container.

5) I have made the peanut brittle with sugar and the plain one with jaggery as a friend asked for the plain gachak recipe.  If you want to make chikki/brittle with jaggray then follow the method given below:

Add grated or chopped jaggry in a pan and stir continuously on medium-high flame until it dissolves, takes about 8 minutes, to check the consistency of jaggrey by dropping a small drop in a bowl/glass filled with water, wait for a few seconds if it becomes hard then it’s done, if it’s still soft and sticky then cook for some more time and check for doneness.

Note: I would advise you to make the plain chikki first without adding nuts, just to get an idea of the color and crunch you want.