April 11, 2009

Sweet Peanut Brittle Bar


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Aka Chikki !

Every Indian is familiar with these cute brittle candies made with Jaggery/Gur & nuts (peanuts, cashews, almonds..),  sesame seeds, puffed rice or even dessicated coconut, peanut/groundnut being the most common of all. When we were kids, this was one sweet sought after treat we could easily afford with our pocket money. I remember these being available at every street corner vendor, & we would run down to the stores & buy these little rectangle pieces wrapped in clear wraps for 25 paisa a piece.

My grandma & my ma would frequently make these at home, at our requests & I remember looking over in the pans to see Jaggery melt, the peanuts quickly added to it, mixed & the entire goop scooped out quickly & spread out into a layer… I would persistently stand by for as long as it took to make it, & then touching the spread to see if it cooled down. It did pretty soon & it was time for the treat.



Ingredients:

  1. 1 Cup Shelled peanut halves
  2. 1.5 Cups Jaggery/Gur (or Soft Brown Sugar.. if Jaggery is not available)
  3. 1 Teaspoon Ghee/Clarified Butter
  4. Ginger Powder (Optional)
  5. Parchment Paper/Wax Paper or a Foil Very Lightly Greased

Note: Jaggery is available in Indian Groceries.  I you find this is the form of a big hard block, put the jaggery in a bowl, & put it in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds. All microwaves operate differently. Make sure it does not melt. Take it out, & press down to see if it crumbles. If it does not, microwave again for a few seconds.. till it crumbles under pressure of the palm. Alternatively the Jaggery may be grated before melting it.


Preparation:

Lightly Roast the Peanuts in a skillet or microwave. ( I used store bought roasted peanuts)

Very lightly crush the peanuts in to big chunks but not powder. Some will still stay halves.

Put the Jaggery/ Brown Sugar & Ghee in a large pan & heat at low-medium heat. Stir  until the color changes to golden brown. Traditionally it is tested for doneness by dropping a bit of the melted syrup in bowl of cold water. If it solidifies right away, it is done & time to add the peanuts. It can also be tested with a candy thermometer. Let the Thermometer heat up 250-260 Degree F.

Add the peanuts & the ginger powder if you are using,  &  mix well. Place the mixture on the parchment/wax paper/foil, flatten the mixture using a rolling pin to a ¼” thick slab.

Cut or Break it into pieces ( It gets brittle quick. I just find it easier to break them, once cooled)


Sending these bars to the MLLA #10 : Starters & Desserts hosted at CoCo Books, the event originally being started by  Susan of the Well Seasoned Cook.

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Quick, & Easy bars stirring a lot of childhood memories. This is the first time I made these at home. They were thoroughy enjoyed by my family & me. I think I should be making this more often! The bars are on their way to Homemades #3: BARS.

This bar can be customized .. & anything (grains, seeds, different nuts) you want may be added to it. The Jaggery acts as a binding agent, & it much healthier than refined sugar.




Related Posts:
Besan ki Barfi – A Chickpea Fudge?
Gujia: Pastry Filled with Coconut, Dry Fruits & Nuts
Orange Flavored Chocolate Covered Farfel



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Filed Under: Desserts & Sweets, Indian Sweets, Starters & Snacks
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36 thoughts on “Sweet Peanut Brittle Bar”

  • These look delicious, I love peanut brittle! I’ve never made it at home before.

    Sara I love them too & this is the first time i tried them. But will definitely make them again!

  • Wah..we call it kappalandi muttayi..meaning peanut sweet..Chikki too..My mom is the greatest fan..:)
    That looks too nutty dear..yum..:)

    I am a BIG fan too:D

  • Yeah we too make it at home, but i never knew ginger pwdr. too could be added.Infact i find home made chikkis more brittle than readymade ones,maybe since we don’t use any liquid glucose…
    Urs looks fantastic, will wait for the summer to move on quickly, and then gonna make a huge batch of these chikkis,since everyone in family is so fond of it 🙂

    Alka they turn out just fine without the ginger powder:-D.. it’s just optional. some like it some don’t.. I actually prefer the one without myself.

  • I remember my aunty making these for us. Very tasty indeed. Probably the large scale availability here has been responsible for my not attempting it at home:). Yours look tempting!

    Harini, if it was so easily available here, i would not have made them myself. The ones we get in the store here, taste pretty stale:-(

  • They look so good Soma. Did the kids enjoy them? I be they did.

    Yes my DD1 Loved it! The little one is a very very picky eater.. she only ate the nuts from the block…

  • looks yum soma! some friends came from India last month, they got some chikki, though i bet the homemade one must be a lot better!

    Aqua, I really don’t care if they are from the store or home:-D Love them all. Here we do not have the luxury to satisfy our cravings with a walk to the street corner, so I had to make it:)

  • This is a favourite here. We actually squabble for who gets more! 😀

    Same here Aparna.. we did too:-D .. & since this was the first time i made it, i had made only a little bit. they all disappeared right after I clicked the pictures:-D

  • My mom used to make ladoos, we used to ask her to make chikkis. So she used to make half ladoos and other half chikkis.. Only eating that was our fav past..Yumm..Thank you for reminding it..

    I have never seen the ladoos.. nice idea.

  • This is my fav too…and i think most of will be nostalgic about this chikki..

    Nostalgia forces us to create a lot of things:-D which i think is really good!

  • I love this! BTW, the jellied tomato salad looks quite good. We found our agar-agar in the Indian store, Soma. It should be there, I think.

    Thanks!

  • who doesn’t like to much on these tasty healthy bars? i would happily keep on eating this one. but i have always failed to make these 🙁

    They did not last too long here Mahimaa:-D

  • It’s great that you can make these at home. We have a simialar snack in Turkey still with peanuts, but I think they stick them together with honey. They probably taste different, but now it brought my childhood memories too. They look similar.

    These are sometimes made with sugar too, in India. Honey is a healthier idea, but I just love the jaggery.

  • Hi Soma,
    Thanks so much for the warm welcome to the Bong club 😉 I am really honoured 🙂
    peanut brittle bars look really brittle and toothsome…I just love them and can have any number. We call it chikki here ….this is the most sought after meal sweet by us when a sweet craving shoots up! it’s better than an ice-cream in calorie counts right?!;) Thanks soma for the recipe. snaps to die for as always. Enjoy!
    Poila boishakher shubhecha 🙂 greetings to ur family too!

    TC

  • We love love chikki at home and anything with jaggery is always welcome. I like the idea of microwaving the jaggery avialable as a big lump. I use a hammer to break it into small pieces. Microwaving is much much better.

    Hehee I have done the hammering before:-D

  • We often combine our long drive to Lonavla with getting boxfulls of these. Even though I get a painful jaw and sore teeth from these sticky things, I cannot resist them.
    Making them at home is for experts like you. 🙂

    Making these at home are not for “experts”, its for “unfortunate” people like us, who have been craving to eat these for years .. then goes & buys some from the desi store only to throw it away as they were so miserably stale… then comes the jaggery & the trial at home:D

  • Simply perfect. I love chikki. Deeba got me some and it was eaten in days!! But now I can make my own! Wonderful and thank you Soma!

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