Dry Fruit Chikki Easy Mixed Nut Brittle Recipe

Chikki is an Indian dessert or brittle traditionally prepared using jaggery and peanuts (groundnuts). These days you find variations to it prepared using sesame seeds (til), chocolate, watermelon seeds, sunflower seeds, and mixed dry fruits. Traditionally you need to bring the jaggery syrup to a hardball consistency to get the perfect chikki or brittle. Today, I have used sugar as a base, and here you do not have to worry about any string consistency. Therefore, preparing this chikki is really easy.

Lonavala chikki is an Indian sweet or snack item named after Lonavala, a small town in Pune district, Maharashtra, India. Lonavala chikki is also called guddani and is prepared using sugar or jaggery, nuts, and ghee. These are hard, brittle, and crisp with a glossy light brown color. Did you know that Maganlal Aggarwal, a sweet shop owner, decided to make high-calorie snacks for railway workers building railway lines from Mumbai to Lonavala? The workers loved it and also carried it with them as a snack while traveling. This was definitely a good business opportunity, and the railway authorities planned to commission Aggarwal to sell these chikkis for travelers between Mumbai and Lonavala. Nowadays, the variety of chikkis sold are unlimited, from Shengdana Chikki (peanut/groundnut brittle) to chikkis containing crushed cashews, chocolate, gulkand & cashew chikki, malai chikki, hazelnut butter chikki, strawberry groundnut chikki, mango chikki, etc. The possibility of flavor combinations is endless and left to the chef’s imagination. Dry Fruit chikki is also called premium chikki because of the special nuts that are used. For cost-cutting, you can use half nuts and half peanuts. This dry fruit chikki is favorite since my high school days. I loved it so much that I had chosen this as one of the sweet items in my wedding sweet box that was distributed to all the guests who had attended my wedding. Dry fruits chikki was on my to-do list for a long time. But whenever I had cravings, I bought it from the halwai or dry fruit shop 🙂

When I first attempted to make chikkis several years back, I was scared because it required preparing sugar syrup or caramel. I thought it was complex. But I was wrong. I have tried this recipe several times now with different combinations of nuts, and it works perfectly every single time. Preparing chikki is super easy. You don’t need a candy thermometer; you don’t have to check for any string consistency. Just follow a few basic tips given below in each step, and you will get that crunchy chikkis at home. I am posting the recipe for chikkis now so that you can make it for Diwali, the holiday season, Christmas, Lohri, or Makara Sankranti. Maybe you don’t have to wait for the festival season as I did, and you can make it anytime. This is also great for your kid’s snack box, picnics, or as a travel snack.

1 tablespoon Ghee or Brown butter ⅓ cup Cashews chopped ⅓ cup Almonds, chopped ⅓ cup Pistachios, chopped 1 cup Sugar 8 strands Saffron or Kesar (optional) 1 tablespoon Rose petals (optional) ¼ teaspoon Cardamom powder (optional)

In a pan on medium heat, add ghee. Once melted, add cashews and saute just for a few seconds. Do not wait for any light brown color here. Transfer it to a plate. Add almonds and saute for a few seconds in the same pan, transfer it to the same plate as cashews. Then add pistachios and saute for a few seconds. Transfer this to the same plate and keep this aside. In the same pan on low flame, add sugar and stir it until the sugar has melted. Don’t panic here. You need patience. Sugar will take some time to melt completely. It may take 7 to 10 minutes. But make sure you do not melt this on high flame as it will burn your sugar syrup and make it bitter. The time taken to melt the sugar will vary depending on the thickness of the pan and the intensity of the flame. CHECK OUT VIDEO HERE While the sugar is melting, grease the plate or tray with ghee or use parchment paper. Then, grease a rolling pin with ghee and keep it ready. Once all the sugar has melted, add saffron, cardamom powder, rose petals, and saute for a few seconds. Add the roasted nuts and continue to saute for a few more seconds till everything is mixed well. Transfer the mixture immediately to the greased tray or parchment paper. Roll it as thin as needed. I like thin chikkis. If you like thick chikkis, you can roll it thick. Don’t worry about the shape. Brittles taste great anyway. Cut it into shape when it is still warm. You can check my video here. Let it cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Store it in an airtight container and use it as and when required.

Chikki can be stored in an airtight container for 2 weeks. You can also wrap each chikki in plastic wrap like the one you get in mithai shops, and this will keep it crispy for a longer time.

BEST INDIAN SWEETS AND DESSERTS DIWALI SWEETS RECIPES DIWALI SNACKS RECIPES FASTING, VRAT, UPVAS RECIPES POPULAR & EASY BURFI RECIPES

Check out this simple and detailed video recipe on easy and best mixed nut brittle or dry fruit chikki