Nelkadle Chikki (Peanut Brittle) ~ Using Sugar

Nelkadle Chikki is a very popular snack. It is quick and easy. The best part is you can use any nut or mixed nuts. Everything tastes wonderful. I got this recipe from a cook book written by Jaya V Shenoy. I have already posted a recipe for peanut brittle using jaggery.

I love peanut brittle. It is my favorite right from my school days. I remember buying them in small local shops in a big glass jar. Once in a while my mother used to make this for us and that would vanish within couple of days. I like both the jaggery and sugar version but if I had to make a choice then I would choose jaggery version. The love the jaggery :-) You can try any version but don't forget to top it over ice cream. It really tastes wonderful :-)

Ingredients:

• Peanut*- 1 cup
• Sugar- 1 cup
• Ghee (or butter) - 2 tsp 

*You can use any nut or mixed nuts of your choice.

Procedure:

Take a kadai and start frying the peanuts on a medium flame.

Once it turns slight brown, turn off the heat and allow it to cool.

Now remove the peel and break open the peanuts using your hands. The peanuts are ready to use. Then keep a parchment paper ready, to pour the hot mixture (or you can also use a greased plate to set it).

Now start heating the sugar along with ghee on a medium flame. 

Slowly the sugar starts to melt. Once it melts completely, it starts to caramelize. At this stage, lessen the heat and take care not to burn it with constant stirring.

When the sugar turns deep brown, turn off the heat. 

Here onwards you have to act quickly. Add the roasted peanuts and mix it until all of them gets coated in sugar syrup. 

Then quickly transfer the mixture on a parchment paper (or greased plate) and spread it.

Then you can roughly mark on it (when warm) using a knife so that you can get the desired shape. Once set it becomes hard and difficult to get desired shape. If desired you can also cut randomly to get different shapes.

Nelkadle Chikki is ready!!

Store them in an air tight container.

Note:  Peanut (or any nut) Chikki (or brittle) can be coarsely powdered and stored in a container. It can then be used as a topping on ice cream. This gives a wonderful crunch.