PEANUT CHIKKI
The festival of Makar Sankranti which we celebrated a few days ago brings to the fore, one of my favourites: Chikki. Mention of chikki brings back many memories of our days in Pune when trips to Lonavla near by were not complete without buying all kinds of chikkis.
It is nice that I can make these at home myself these days. I made Peanut Chikki for the Makar Sankranti festival and we enjoyed it very much.
I must mention that there is some skill involved in making this. The judgement regarding the hardness or otherwise of the jaggery syrup is crucial for the making of the perfect chikki. Don't be disappointed if you can't get it right the first time. Try again and when you get it right, you will think the time and effort was well worth it!
It is preferable that we use the special chikki jaggery to make this. This will give you the best texture and the desired glossy finish to the chikki. However, if you cannot get this, you can certainly make do with soft jaggery. Please note that the colour of the jaggery used will determine the colour of the chikki.
I used the greased marble "chakla" ( the circular base on which chapatis are rolled) to lay out and cut the chikki pieces.
Ingredients:-
- Peanuts, 150 grams
- Jaggery, 150 grams
- Water, 2 tsp
- Ghee, 1 tsp + some for greasing
Preparatory steps:-
These steps are essential as this work cannot be done once the chikki mixture is ready. They must be done before doing anything else!
- Grease the reverse a large sized thali or a small portion of the kitchen counter or a marble or wooden chakla with a little ghee
- Grease a thick rolling pin
- Grease one side of a sheet of parchment paper or butter paper
- Break the jaggery into small pieces so that it can melt easily.
- Keep a small bowl of water to test the jaggery syrup
Method:-
In a thick bottomed, wide non-stick pan dry roast the peanuts on medium heat till spots appear on them and they get roasted
Ensure that they don't get burnt
Transfer to a large plate and allow the roasted peanuts to cool
Once they are cool, de-skin them and separate the roasted peanuts from the skin
Using a steel bowl lightly crush the peanuts to break some of them into smaller pieces. Keep aside
Heat the same pan, and add the jaggery pieces and 2 tsp of water and keep stirring on low heat till the jaggery melts
Continue to cook on low flame for about 5 minutes
Test whether the jaggery syrup is ready by dropping a few drops of the syrup in the water
If it is not yet done, it will remain soft and gooey
In this case, stir the melted jaggery on low heat a little longer and repeat this test
When done, the drops of syrup should form a hard ball and should be brittle when dropped in water
Once the jaggery syrup is ready, add the roasted peanuts and mix well immediately and switch off the gas
Pour the chikki mixture on to the greased surface
Cover it with the parchment paper with the greased side on the chikki and spread it fast using the rolling pin ( belan)
The extent you spread it will determine the thickness and uniformity of the chikki
Peel off the parchment paper
While it is still hot make the horizontal and vertical cuts on the chikki as this cannot be done once it cools
Allow it cool completely, remove the pre-cut chikki pieces
Transfer the Peanut Chikki to an air tight container
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