Coconut And Roasted Gram Chikki.

Coconut And Roasted Gram (Hurikadle) Chikki / Brittle / Bars .... Chikki or sweet bars are everybody's fav. and are a must when travelling as they are energy boosters in case of emergency .... There are so many combinations of preparing these brittle bars that one is spoilt for choice ... this is just one of them .....

Chikki / Brittle / Bars is an sweet that is famous with both children and elders all over the world. This is known by different names at different places. The basic ingredient for making of the chikki remains however the same ie. either jaggery (Gud / Gur) or Sugar is used. In India mostly jaggery is used for preparation of Chikki. Lonavala is a hill station place which is famous for different varieties of chikkies. Every Indian has heard about Lonavala Chikki. They are simply awesome in taste.

Making of chikki is not that difficult a task. You just need some practice and patience for the same. The ingredients if available then it hardly takes 15-20 minutes in making the same. Do try preparing different varieties of chikkies at home. They are great to munch on with a good Novel in hand or for the mater while travelling. I always carry a box of chikki when i travel as i find it quite filling in case of absence of food in emergency. Also it is a energy booster. That is why they are also called energy bars. Many healthy combinations can be made to achieve health benefits too. This one is the first in series. I will add many more as and when i prepare them. 

Grate finely and keep ready 1 cup of fresh coconut. If the texture of the coconut is not fine, just put it in mixer and pulse for 2 seconds, twice, remove and keep it aside ready.

Fry about 1 cup of roasted gram (putani) till a bit crispy. I microwaved for 2-3 minutes. Let it cool a bit, then coarsely crush it in mixer. Just pulse it for 2 seconds, three times. Some should get crushed while some remain whole. Remove and keep this ready aside.

Apply melted ghee to a tray / plate to add the chikki when done. Keep this ready with the chapati rolling pin (lattoni) to which also apply some ghee and keep both ready aside.

In a thick bottomed kadai, add 2 cups of jaggery (I used chikki goda / chikki gur available in Mumbai this does not take much time to get to thread consistency), 1 tblsp of ghee and melt it on medium flame till it dissolves and comes to a boil, lower the heat and check the thread / string consistency or just add a little bit into a small glass of water. Leave it for few seconds. If it can be formed into a ball, then jaggery is ready. You should get about 2 strings for this chikki. 

Now add in the coconut and fry well on medium heat for about 5-7 minutes. Do not at any point leave the chikki unattended. The final stages of making chikki is very important, you may burn the whole lot in a fraction of secconds, so now lower the heat to minimum, add in 1 tsp of cardamom powder and the crushed roasted gram and mix well. Remove from fire and mix the whole mass of chikki well till you get the mixture coated evenly with the jaggery. You should make this whole procedure really fast else the chikki will start to harden up.

Pour it over the greased tray and roll it with chapati rolling pin to which you should apply a little bit of ghee so that the mixture does not get stuck to it. Roll the chikki evenly into a block shape. 

Leave it to cool a bit, say 10-15 minutes before you make insertion marks for easy cutting of the chikki later on. Make the markings and leave it to cool completely. 

Once cooled cut it into pieces and store it in an airtight container. Enjoy this chikki as and when you wish or crave to eat something sweet. Remains good for a week.