Peanut candy or rather known as chikki is a traditional brittle Indian sweet which is made of peanuts and jaggery. Lonavla, India is the most famous place where chikki is mostly found. In the colder regions, they are mostly consumed during winter to keep your body warm.
Making the perfect chikki is an art that requires little patience and is totally worth the effort taken. When they are made at home, you can make them with mixed nuts too. It’s a great sweet treat that can be eaten at anytime of the day. It’s made from just 3 ingredients and is free from refined sugar.
All you have to be careful is about the jaggery syrup cooked to the right stage. You can adjust the sweetness as per your taste from 1.25-1.5 cups. Be alert while making this dish. It’s a tricky recipe.
There are different types of peanuts in stores. Use the small peanuts that we usually get and not the big ones. Both taste different. Small ones taste the best. If using the big ones, crush it slightly to small pieces.
Make sure to cut them only after it has cooled down completely. You can mark lines over them when they are half cooled and cut over it once they have cooled down too.
The ones you get to buy at stores are hard ones but these are crispy. I’ve had the sugar candy one from Tamilnadu but I prefer the taste of jaggery.
Store them in air tight containers and it will stay fresh for 1-2 months. But usually they don’t last so long.
Do try out the easy peanut candy at home and don’t forget to send me your feedback.
Kappalandi Mittayi
Ingredients
Peanuts – 300 gm or 2cup
Jaggery -250gm or 11/4 cup
Salt-one pinch
Water -4tbsp
Peanut Chikki
Method
Grease a tray or spread a butter paper on a plate or tray and keep aside.
Roast the peanuts well till they are done.
Let it cool completely but still crunchy. Only then start to prepare the candy.
Powder the jaggery and keep aside.
Melt the jaggery on low flame by adding 4tbsp water.
Sieve it to a flat kadayi and add a pinch of salt to it.
Boil this on a low flame of a medium burner till it begins to bubble up.
Keep a bowl of cold water aside. Drop little melted jaggery to it and see it you are able to form a soft ball. That’s the correct consistency where we have to stop cooking the jaggery.
Switch off the gas and add the roasted peanuts to it.
Mix this well for nearly 30 seconds and then transfer it to the greased tray.
I greased the back side of a steel bowl to press and spread the candy in the tray.
You can spread it thick or thin as you like. It’s easier to spread by placing a butter paper over it and then pressing.
It took me 5 minutes to get the correct consistency. Might slightly vary for one another.
Some add cardamom to this for a flavour. Some add little ghee or oil too. But I haven’t added any of these.
If you feel the jaggery wasn’t enough for all the peanuts to mix in, you can melt little more jaggery and brush it over this.
kappalandi Mittayi
Once it has cooled down completely, you can cut it to squares or any size of pieces you like.
Our crispy peanut candies are ready. Some like them chewy and some crispy.
You can store them in airtight containers and they stay for long. But the fact is that they don’t last that long.
Popsicle or ice pop is a liquid based frozen treat. It’s made from fruit juice or milk shakes. You can make them using any combination you like.
Its one of the best things to have during summer. Most of the fruits blend well to form a popsicle. Its an ultimate frozen treat on a normal day or any gatherings. It’s basically a heaven on a stick!
You can use any pulpy or watery fruits, berries or pineapple if you like. Some fruits may be sour. You can add sugar or honey to sweeten it as per your taste. Make purees of each fruit separately. Never grind them watery when you want to layer different juices separately. One juice will get into the other juice if its watery.
My kids love having it this way instead of having it in the form of a fruit. If you have aged or diabetic people at home, you can make the juice without adding sugar and freeze it. Add sugar to the ones that you feel is very sour.
Chill out with our frozen treat and have fun under the sun!
Ingredients that I have used
Watermelon
Mangoes
Strawberries
Blueberries
Oranges
Kiwi
Homemade Nutella
Milk
Curd
Lemon juice
Method
Grind the mangoes and sieve it. They have fibres in it. I added 2tbsp water and honey and grinded some of the mangoes. I grinded some using milk.
Next I grinded watermelon with 4 mint leaves. It’s an awesome combination. Adding mint leaves is optional. Since the watermelons were sweet, I haven’t added sugar to it. I added 2 tbspn lemon juice to it to enhance the flavour with little sourness. I didn’t add water to grind the watermelon. Its already watery and so cannot be layered. This is to make plain watermelon popsicles.
I grinded the strawberries without water but added very little sugar. You can substitute sugar with honey if you want.
I grinded the kiwis with very little water because I couldn’t grind it plain.
I grinded blueberries adding little sugar. I have sieved it. You can add honey if you want. You can use grapes instead of blueberries too.
Popsicles taste good not only when they are sweet but also little sour. These mangoes are slightly sour or else you can add little lemon juice to it.
Next I mixed the milk with homemade Nutella. You can even use hot chocolate. Don’t use a whole glass of milk together. Mix the Nutella in little milk first. Sieve the milk so that it doesn’t have any lumps in it
Get rid of the extra water in the curd and whip it by adding honey or little sugar.
I have grinded the orange juice last else it will taste bitter.
To make the popsicles I added 2tbsp of mango first, then 2tbsp of thick strawberry, 2tbsp thick kiwi juice. This is done with 3 flavours.
I made the next one using just watermelon juice. Stir it well before pouring into the mould. It would be thick at the bottom of the glass.
Pouring the Nutella milk to one of the mould which is my lil son’s favourite.
Let’s alternate the fruit mixes in the other moulds.
Adding 1tbsp of mango milk, 1tbsp strawberry, little kiwi, little watery orange juice over it.
You can layer it in any flavours you want.
fruit popsicles
Pouring the curd mix to one mould. You can add any fruit to it. I am adding blueberry to it now. You can swirl it using a stick to get a marble design.
Layering curd and mango in the next mould. You can do it any way you want.
Fill the rest of the moulds layering the juices alternately. If you don’t have a popsicle mould with you, you can use a steel glass or even an ice tray and use toothpicks or any stick.
In the last moulds I am layering fresh fruits. Adding some blueberries, finely chopped strawberries, mangoes, kiwis or any you like.
I made a lemonade with cold water, lemon, mint and sugar. Pour this over the cut fruits popsicle mould.
Cover the moulds and keep them overnight for best results or at least overnight.
ice pop
Insert sticks inside the holes and freeze them till they are done.
Once they are done, hold the moulds under running water for few seconds and then slowly demould it by pulling them out.
It doesn’t stay out for long since they are made of fresh juice. Have it as soon as you take them out of the freezer.
popsicles
Do try out our fresh fruit popsicles and don’t forget to share your feedback with us.
Soan Papdi is a famous Indian dessert with a crisp and flaky texture. It’s a simple yet delicious recipe which can be made at home without putting in much efforts. Just few tips and tricks to be noted and then BINGO! You’ll have the most luscious and scrumptious sweet made in your kitchen from scratch.
Its prepared at home with some easily available ingredients. You can enhance its flavour by adding green cardamom powder and make it more delicious by topping it with some roasted pistachios, almonds or rose petals.
Making it at home and impressing my loved ones was a dream come true for me. I got into the mood one weekend and tried it thrice the same day. Though it took me 6 times to reach perfection, each and every time I was just a step away from it. The final result gives you such a feel that I don’t have words to express them.
I thought of sharing my happiness with you too. For a visual detail, you can refer to our video in our YouTube channel.
So what are you waiting for? Lets get started!
Do try out our style of Soan Papdi and enjoy them with all your near and dear ones.
Looking forward to your feedback and experiences.
Stay home and stay safe!
Ingredients
Besan | Chick Peas Flour -1cup
All Purpose Flour -1/2 cup
Ghee – 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp
Sugar -1cup
Salt- one pinch
Water -1/2 cup
Lemon Juice -1 tsp
Soan Papdi
Preparations
Measure and keep all the ingredients in different bowls ready to use.
Make sure to use the same cup to measure all the ingredients which is a very important factor here.
Keep aside the tray and other things required for the recipe and only then start preparing.
Keep a big steel plate ready to mix the besan and flour.
Grease the tray with a parchment paper.(we need Good Quality Paper )
Method
Heat a wide pan and add ½ cup ghee which is 125ml.
We will be needing more ghee later. Don’t add all of them together.
Mix the besan and the plain flour together in a bowl and add this to the melted luke warm ghee.
Switch off the flame and mix the flours and ghee.
You will see some lumps now, don’t worry. They will melt off when getting cooked and little more ghee can be added if required.
Switch on the flame between low – medium.
Keep stirring continuously with patience. You can see the texture changing and it becomes smooth as it gets cooked.
If you don’t see a watery ghee oozing out after 5 minutes, then add little ghee to it.
I added 2 tbsps more of ghee and now it has become a smooth texture. Cook this till it bubbles up.
So totally ½ cup earlier and now 2tbsp again of ghee.
If you want you can substitute the whole of ghee to half ghee and half oil or dalda. I always prefer only ghee.
When you start to see it bubbling, stir continuously Switch off the gas and pour it into a steel plate that we had kept ready earlier.
Keep this aside to cool down.
Next add 1 cup sugar and ½ cup water to a thick bottomed pan to caramelize the sugar.
Switch on the flame on high till it thickens. Add a pinch of salt to balance the sweetness.
Stay alert and concentrate on the syrup. It’s a very risky and dangerous stage. Be careful.
Some sugar may have dirt in it. You can add 1tbsp milk to it when the sugar boils and remove the dirt that bubbles up.
Keep swirling the pan on medium flame until the sugar thickens and caramelizes.
Add 1tsp lemon juice to avoid crystallization.
I have greased a butter paper over a tray. I will be pouring the caramelized sugar over this
If you don’t have a tray or butter paper, you can use a big steel plate or a non stick plate.
Grease whichever tray you are using so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom and can easily be handled.
It took me 11 minutes to caramelize the sugar. It will vary in each one’s stove. Just make sure it reaches golden in colour. That’s the stage we want it to be.
Don’t wait for it to turn brown or else it will taste bitter.
Once its golden in colour, switch off the flame and keep swirling till the syrup stops bubbling.
Pour the syrup over the greased butter paper tray.
If you leave the caramel idle like this, it will begin to crystalize from top.
So fold and open the butter paper from all the sides alternately so that it doesn’t crystalize but thickens as it cools.
If you are using a plate, then keep swirling it till it thickens. It will roll around if the plate is well greased.
I prefer doing it this way and it has come out perfect and was easy to handle too.
After some time, you can see that as it cools it begins to form a shape.
Keep folding it from all the sides alternately till you are able to use your hands to work on it.
I prefer using a butter paper than a foil paper due to safety and health reasons.
Once you are able to use your hands to handle it, take it and start stretching it from both the sides and then again folding it.
Repeat this process for some time and it should be done when the sugar is slightly hot itself.
Keep stretching and folding it for a while until the golden colour changes to a yellow colour.
Join the ends to form a circle and pour half of the besan mixture over it.
Mix the caramel and the besan mixture by stretching and folding again and again until the besan has been absorbed into the caramel.
Pour the rest of the besan mixture and mix and pull from both the sides till its completely absorbed.
Its still luke warm at this time. You don’t have to use much of force. It will break off. Just keep letting the caramel absorb all the besan mixture.
Stretch all the sides slightly to loosen and absorb as it thickens and hardens. But make sure it doesn’t break off.
You can refer to our youtube video to see the way I have done it.
Now the texture has begun to change. All the besan mixture has absorbed into the caramel mix.
Stop working on it once you see the sugar strands like a net.
Cut, layer and set this in on a greased tray with parchment paper.
Place them as per your tray size or you can even press small amounts of them in moulds. You can turn them over once they are ready and don’t have to cut them later if they are set in moulds.
Sprinkle some pistachios and almonds over the layered soan papdi.
Use a roller to flatten and smoothen the top of the layers. Its to get a perfect finish. Its optional.
Once its slightly set, cut it to the size you like. Its so satisfying to see the way it looks. Absolutely drooling
Slice them only once its cool enough. Or else it will begin to break off. Make sure to line it when its slightly hot and then cut it once it has cooled down.
You may have to use little force if it cools down too much. So cut accordingly.
I have layered them thin. You can layer them thick if you want.
The texture is just like the ones that you get to buy at stores.
Our super yummy Soan Papdis are ready!
Try it out at least for once and experience the happiness as I did!
Indian sweets are a main part of our celebrations and festivals. A long awaited recipe is all set to enter my blog. Yes! It’s our own JANGRI
Its originally a Bengali sweet called Imarti or Amriti. One of the tastiest traditional sweets now available all over India at most of the sweet shops.
When I was a child I didn’t know the difference between jalebis and jangris. Just thought that one was thin with sour taste and yellow colour and the other was thick with sweet taste and orange colour . But later got to understand that they are totally different from each other by size, texture and taste.
It is made by deep frying an urud dal batter into flower shape circles and then soaked in sugar syrup. I never thought that one day I would be making them myself. I was always hesitant on drawing patterns in hot oil. And now I feel like it’s a dream come true!
Folks, if I can do it, you too can for sure. I have already uploaded the Recipe of Jalebi .. U can check out my video ..
So come on, let’s make this festive season colourful and vibrant at home!
Ingredients
Urad Dal -3/4cup
Rice -2tbsp or rice flour 2 tbsp
Cornflour -1 tbsp
Salt – a pinch
Colour – little
Water -8-9 tbsp
For Sugar Syrup
Sugar 11/2 cup
Water -1 cup
Salt – a pinch
Cardamom – 3
Rose essence or rose water – 1/4tsp or 2tbsp
Lemon juice -1/4 to 1/2 tsp
Ghee -1 tsp opt
Jangiri
Method
To make the sugar syrup
Add 1.5 cups sugar and 1 cup water to a pan.
Mix this well and let it boil on high flame.
Add a pinch of salt to balance the sweetness.
Add 3 cardamoms after washing and opening them. It can be removed later from the syrup once the flavour has merged into it. This is optional.
At the end we will be adding rose essence or you can add rose water.
Don’t wait for the syrup to reach 1 string consistency. Switch it off before that.
It should just be felt slightly sticky between your fingers and not a thread stage.
When the syrup becomes thick to a 1 string consistency, it doesn’t get absorbed into the jangri at the end.
Just boil till it reaches thick like honey.
Add either 1/2tsp rose essence or 1-2tbsp rose water now. This helps to get rid of the urud dal smell from the Jangri.
These should be kept aside for a while once it’s ready and not eaten very hot. That’s when you feel the good flavour of rose essence and cardamoms in the jangris.
The aroma of rose essence and cardamoms are filled in my kitchen now. You can avoid any of these if you want and adjust as per your taste. But never add vanilla essence to this.
Add little orange colour to the syrup now which is optiponal. You can use gel or liquid or whichever form you have.
Now the syrup has turned a bit sticky. Switch off the gas.
Add 1/4tsp lemon juice to avoid the sugar from crystalizing.
Lastly add 1tsp ghee to the syrup to get the good aroma of it. (optional)
Keep this syrup aside now.
Jangiri /Jilebi
Method for making Jangris.
I had soaked 3/4th cup urud dal in water overnight after washing it well. Now I have kept all the water to drain out from it. It should be soaked for at least 4 hours.
I have used whole urud dal. You can take the same amount of split urud dal if you want. Make sure to use good quality urud dal to get good best results of jangris.
Add the drained urud dal to a mixer jar.
I had soaked 2tbsp of idly rice in water. Add that also to the urud dal. You can add 2tbsp of fine rice flour instead of the whole rice too.
Rice is added to get a crispiness for the jangris. I had tried with and without adding rice and by adding cornflour too. But this gave me the best results.
Add 1tbsp cornflour which is optional. It’s just to get the crunchiness for the jangris.
Now grind this to a thick paste like we grind to make urud dal vadas.
I used 9tbsp cold water to grind this to a paste like this. If it turns little loose in consistency, the jangris won’t turn out well. The water used will vary for all according to the urud dal used.
Whip the urud dal in intervals and grind it slowly as to use as much as less water as possible. Make sure the mixer jar doesn’t turn hot.
Transfer this thick batter to a big bowl. Add little salt to it.
Now mix this using your five fingers rubbing it round to one direction for nearly 5 minutes.
Add a pinch of colour to the batter which is optional.
Mix this well to the same direction.
To know if the batter is in the correct consistency, put a drop of the batter to a bowl of little water. It should float on top as light as a feather. It shouldn’t sink even if you push it down.
Don’t get worried when you feel it tasting bitter now. It’s the urud dals taste.
Now let’s begin to fry the jangris. Usually in shops they use a cloth to pipe the batter into the hot oil.
Since we make them very rarely, I am using a piping bag here. You can even use a zip lock cover or any this plastic covers that you buy oil or dosa batter from stores or even a ketchup bottle.
I have placed the piping bag in a glass. Fill little batter into it.
Use a wide pan to fry the jangris by adding little oil. When I fried them in a deep pan for the 1st time with lots of oil, I couldn’t make the jangris properly.
Pour sunflower oil upto half of the pan.
Heat the oil on medium flame. When piping the jangris, reduce the flame to low and then again cook it on medium flame.
Cut the tip of the piping bag to a medium sized hole. Not too big or too small. Be careful when cutting it.
Reduce the oil to low and then start piping the batter. You can test one on a plate first if you want.
If the oil is very hot, it will begin to rise above as you pipe. So always reduce the flame while piping.
Place the sugar syrup on the next stove on low flame. The syrup should be slightly hot when transferring the jangris to it.
Its better to remove your bangles or bracelets while piping into hot oil. It becomes hot and tends to burn our hand. I have experienced such situations.
Once you pipe it, then slowly increase the flame to medium and pour hot oil over the jangri.
Turn it over only once its slightly done. Not necessary to make it double layer. You can pipe as per your convenience.
Transfer the jangri to the sugar syrup only after it is well cooked and become crispy. Leave it in the syrup for 2 minutes and then take it out.
I have always felt it tastes better the next day after it has absorbed sugar syrup well.
Once it’s done, remove it from the hot oil and drain out the excess oil from it.
Drop this into the slight hot sugar syrup. Dip it well and turn it over and let it stay in there for 1-2 minutes.
Remove it after that and place it on a plate or tray.
To make the next jangri, reduce the flame to low from medium and pipe the batter.
Pour hot oil over it and turn it over only after one side is done.
I am not an expert in the shape. The taste is what matters more.
Turn it over and repeat the same process.
When you leave the jangri in the syrup for a minute or two and then take it out, you can feel it slightly heavy. That means it has absorbed some syrup into it.
Jangiri
Repeat the same steps until all the jangris are done. Be careful while frying and not to burn your hand.
Don’t do it when kids are around or anyone is with you. Be calm and do it with patience.
I am done with my jangris. Some of them are small and some big. So not able to tell you a correct count of how many I made.
If you feel it’s less sweet, you can sprinkle or drizzle some syrup over all the jangris after placing them on the plate.
For me this is on the higher sweet side. I would add only 1.25 cups of sugar to make the syrup. Those who like it very sweet can add 1.5 cups.
All of you do try out our Kerala jalebi or Jangri. It tastes just like the store bought ones for me.
Would look forward to your feedback and support. Please Subscribe to my Youtube Channel friends ..
Good day friends! Today let’s explore a famous Mumbai street food, Tawa Pulao!
I’ve been thinking of bringing this recipe into my blog since long. But as always said, there’s always a time for everything!
We have tried and often made varieties of biriyanis. But trust me, this is one of a kind! When I gave this a try for the first time, it was absolutely love in first bite! Everybody in the family gave a thumbs up and here I am with it my blog.
It is said that this dish originated in the streets of Mumbai. A pav baaji stall vendor mixed some rice to the remaining baaji masala that he had so that he could have it as his meal at the end of the day. But he then found a new twist and added some capsicums which enhanced the flavour. This clicked in an overnight and today it’s a famous dish amongst street food, homes and celebrations!
Tawa Pulao is a rice dish that is cooked in broth or separately by adding spices and vegetables or meat. There are loads of varieties in Pulaos.. Its usually made on an iron pan or tawa like you see on streets for Pav Baaji. Basically this recipe is made with the remaining pav baaji masala and rice. Adding a dollop of butter to the rice at the end is what brings a change to the aroma till then.
Since I didn’t have a tawa with me, I used a kadayi. But this didn’t seem to change the taste of the dish.
To make work easier, I had cooked the rice ahead and the vegetables separately. If these are in stock, then it’s just the mixing part and then Voila! You can make the mouth-watering Tawa Pulao at home anytime you feel. It’s an easy and tasty recipe that can be made in minutes.
The speciality here is the pav baaji masala apart from normal spices that’s added to our normal biriyanis n pulaos. The lemon juice at the end enhances the flavour of the dish. You can adjust the spice level as per your taste too.
Pulaos are usually complemented with raita or yogurt. You can serve it with any other combinations too that tickles your taste buds. Usually they are a common dish served on special occasions, weddings and parties. It’s even a common dish served at lunch or dinner at homes.
Do try out our version of Tawa Pulao and don’t forget to send me your feedback. I am sure you are going to be taken out of the world once you have this street food done at home.
I am back here after a long gap 😁 .. Was thinking of restarting my blog from long .. Better late than never right..Now in YouTube subtitle issues are also started . So its the right time to restart .. In this special occasion I am here with a famous but easy sweet ,that too Diwali special sweet .. Badusha | Balushahi .. I will give u the video link also ,so u can refer the procedure ..
It is a Mughlai dish and usually made for Diwali and other festivals.
One of the traditional Indian sweets – Its a deep-fried Indian Mithai.
In North India its widely known as Balushahi but in South as Badusha
It is made using all-purpose flour and later dipped in Sugar syrup.
Crispy from outside and moist, tender and flaky from inside, it is one of my favorite Indian sweets.
Badusha are actually quite simple to make once you get the hang of it. Soft dough balls are deep-fried and dunked in a sticky syrup, very much like doughnuts. The syrup is usually flavored with cardamom and saffron
It is not wrong to call badusha “Indian style doughnuts”. There is no yeast involved in the dough though, just a bit of leavening agent like baking soda and some yogurt to activate it.
Badusha | Balushahi
Ingredients
All Purpose Flour |Maida – 1 1/4 cup or 200gm
Ghee -1/4cup or 5tbsp
Curd -1/4cup or 4tbsp
Salt -1/4tsp
Sugar -1tsp
Baking Soda – 1/4tsp or Baking Powder -1/2tsp
Oil – for frying
For Sugar Syrup
Water – 3/4 cup
Sugar-3/4 to 1 cup
Cardamom – 1 or powder 1/4 tsp
Saffron -opt
Lemon Juice -1/2tsp
Salt – one pinch
Badusha
Method
Sieve maida ,baking soda ,salt and sugar together and keep aside .
In another bowl add ghee and curd ,beat well .. (The ghee should be melted but not hot )
To that add maida and slowly mix with out much pressure ..No need to knead like chapati dough . Simply bind it together ..
Add extra water if we need ..Here I added 1 tbsp of cold water to get the perfect consistency ..
Cover the dough with a wet cloth for 15 to 20 minutes .
Badusha
Now Prepare Making Sugar Syrup..
To a saucepan add sugar and water along with salt ,cardamom and saffron .. U can skip Saffron if u don’t have ..
I cooked the syrup for 4 minutes in medium flame and switched off the gas ..
Then add lemon juice and keep aside .
Now after the resting time ,we need to gently knead the dough for 1 minute.
Pinch a small portion and make small a ball and flatten it ..
In the centre make a dent .
Make 5-6 badusha ready for frying and close the remaining dough with the wet cloth ..
Heat the oil ..
The oil should be medium hot .
Drop few badushas in the medium hot oil and then reduce the flame to low .. Cook in low flame .. It will take time to cook .Otherwise inside of the badusha will remain raw ..
Fry them patiently till we get a fully cooked nice golden badusha ..
When it is fully cooked we can feel the outer covering to be crispy and golden colour .. Take one out and cut open and see ..
For me it took 15 minutes in low flame to cook perfectly ..
But depends upon each stove .. But don’t burn them ok .. 😃😃
Take the fried badusha from the oil and keep aside in a kitchen tissue or a strainer ..
Fry the remaining badushas in batches .. First u have to increase the oil temperature to medium and then to low ..
After frying all the badusha, we have to reheat the sugar syrup ..
When the syrup is medium hot switch off the gas and immerse few of the badusha into it .. for 5 minutes .. If u want a gulab jamun type badusha u can immerse them for 15 minutes too ..
But I prefer to immerse them for 5 ,minutes only ..
Then take out the first batch and repeat the process with rest of the badusha.
Garnish with Pistachio and badam ..
So Easy Tasty Badusha is ready ..
U can make a small portion for trial before making bulk .. So u can make them with more confident ..
So enjoy dears ..
Hope u like this simple sweet .. If yes ,please share with ur loved ones .. And if possible subscribe to my YouTube channel and support ..