Who doesn’t love Peanut Candy!

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. 

Ingredients 

Peanuts – 300 gm or 2cup 

Jaggery -250gm or 11/4 cup 

Salt-one pinch 

Water -4tbsp

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. 

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. 

Happy Cooking! 

Love

Veena Jan