Black + White Sesame And Peanuts Chikki.

Black + White Sesame And Peanuts Chikki / Til Aur Shengdanechi Chikki …… A Calcium Rich And Nutricious Snack Bar …. A sweet monsoon treat for all my Frds. here ….. Enjoy ......

Chikki is one of the easiest cracker / sweet traditionally made with ground nuts, cashews, almonds sesame seeds and jaggery. Chikki is very easy to prepare and can be done in a jiffy. Sesame / til is high in calcium and with jaggery the combination becomes a good source of iron and minerals. In India in the State of Maharastra is a very well known hill station by the name ‘Lonavala’ which is famous for chikki. Lonavala chikki is very famous and so is the jaggery or gud available in around the vicinity. 

You get chikki gud / gur / jaggery / god in Maharashtra which is specially used in making chikki, laddoo, snack bars etc. They are gummy in nature and bind very well with the ingredients. White sesame / til chikki with ground nuts is very famous so is the laddoo prepared by the same. It is prepared during the famous festival of ‘Makara Sankranti’ throughout Maharashtra. I have already posted the sankranti laddoo before. This chikki is in similar lines. We in Southern parts of India extensively use black til, while it is rarely used elsewhere. I have prepared this chikki using both black and white til with coarsely ground roasted groundnuts with chikki gud.

Ingredients :

250 gms Jaggery. (I used chikki gud / jaggery)

125 gms Black Sesame Seeds / Til.

100 gms White Sesame Seeds / Til.

50 gms of peanuts.

1 tsp Cardamom Powder.

2 tblsp Ghee.

** Grease a tray with ghee and keep this also ready.

Pick and clean both black and white sesame seeds to remove unwanted particles. 

Roast the peanuts till done and let cool a bit. Husk the peanuts and put them in a mixer grinder and crush them to a coarse powder. Do not make it to a smooth powder. Remove and keep it aside.

Take a thick bottomed large pan and add in both black and white sesame seeds. Roast on medium heat till the raw smell goes away and the seeds are crunchy. The seeds should be roasted properly and evenly, so keep stirring or it may get burnt at the bottom. The seeds sometimes splutter, so do be careful and stay a little bit far when stirring the seeds. Remove and put in a tray and add in the coarsely powdered peanuts and cardamom powder. Mix well and keep this aside ready. 

In the same pan add in the ghee and let it melt. Add in the jaggery / gud and a little bit of water ie about 2 tsp and allow the jaggery to get melted evenly on low heat. Keep stirring. Once the jaggery / gud has completely melted bring it to boil on medium heat till bubble appear. Cook the jaggery till you get 2 thread consistency. You can just touch the jaggery between you thumb and index finger and check the thread consistency. You can also add a tsp of melted jaggery into half a cup of water, if it settles down and comes to a ball consistency the jaggery is done and ready. 

Now add the roasted mixture of sesame and peanut to the jaggery and mix well. Keep mixing till all the seeds are evenly coated with jaggery mixture and it come to a thick mass like consistency. Remove and slide it off on to the tray in one go. 

Spread a little bit of oil to a back side of a tumbler and pat the sesame on the tray evenly through out the tray into a leveled layer. You can also use a rolling pin for the same.

It has to be done while still hot coz. the chikki starts getting hardened fast. The chikki is done. Now all you have to do is wait for 10 -15 minutes before you put an impression of squares on the chikki which will make it easier for you to break them into pieces. 

Once the chikki has cooled down completely cut them on the markings and store them in an airtight box and enjoy as and when you desire to munch on. Children will finish this in no time. So be prepared to make next batch soon enough.