Showing posts with label Nuts. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Mixed Nuts Chikki | Dried Nuts Brittle

Mixed Nuts Chikki, a delicious & crunchy Indian styled brittle with mix of nuts and jaggery. Making chikki at home is super easy provided that the jaggery/sugar syrup consistency is perfect. Jaggery syrup consistency can make or break this recipe easily, so like any chikki making, you should be very attentive while making the syrup and extra caution when the syrup reaches its desired consistency. I'm not saying this to scare you, it's actually a caution warning, so you can make this chikki perfectly at your first attempt itself.

Over the holidays, I bought a couple of bags of assorted shelled nuts and I kept it as it is without removing the shells for a month. Finally two weeks back, with the help of hand mortar & pestle, successfully removed all the shells(you might know this if you have followed me on IG where i shared this in story). Whenever i have a lot of dried nuts at home, i would usually make this Dates Nuts Ladoo which is sugar free, super easy to make and taste delicious. But this time, I wanted to try something different and made this chikki. It turned out super good and makes a perfect after meal snack/sweet.

Why do my chikki not harden ?

Jaggery syrup consistency is the key to get the perfectly crunchy chikki. Make sure that the jaggery reaches hard ball stages before adding the nuts.

Why does my chikki lose its crunchiness after a while ?

Make sure to store it in a airtight container for retain its crunchiness for a longer time. It stays well for weeks at room temperature.

Why do my chikki chewy?

The jaggery syrup doesn't reach the required consistency. Again, make sure to check the syrup consistency and add the nuts.

Why doesn't my chikki hold the shape?

If the jaggery syrup consistency passes the stage of hardball then you can't spread the mixture and cut.

What are the nuts I can use in this recipe?

You can add any nuts as you like . Peanuts, cashews, pistachios and pecans , all taste good for this chikki.

Are the seeds necessary for this chikki?

I personally like to add sesame and flax seeds in my chikki. If you don't like them you can skip it.

What are the substitute for jaggery?

Traditionally indian chikkis are made with jaggery ! Palm jaggery is a good alternate and gives nice flavor too. Sugar also works but i haven't tried it so far !

Hope, I have answered most of the questions that might have arisen while making chikki. If you have any other questions, leave it in the comment, and I will try to answer to the best of my knowledge.

Lastly, many chikki recipes online call for equal amounts of jaggery and nuts. Personally I find that too sweet so I have been using 1/2 cup of tightly packed jaggery for a cup of nuts for years now and the jaggery syrup is just enough to hold the nuts and make an awesome treat without overpowering sweet. If you're a person who loves chikki but find the store bought chikkis are too sweet then i would highly recommend to give this ratio a try and i'm sure that you will absolutely love it. Now let's check out on how to make this mixed nuts chikki.

Mixed Nuts Chikki | Dried Nuts Brittle

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves :12 small pieces
Recipe Category: Snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

Almonds - 1/2 cup

Walnuts - 1/2 cup

Sesame Seed - 1 tbsp

Flax Seed - 2 tbsp

Jaggery - 1/2 cup(tightly packed)

Water - 1/4 cup

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Procedure

Heat a pan and add the almonds and walnuts, roast them till they are aromatic.

Next add the sesame seeds and flax seeds, roast till the flax seeds are started to pop.

Transfer into an another plate. In the same pan add the jaggery and water. Let the jaggery melts completely.

Then keep the flame in medium and let it boil till the jaggery syrup reaches hard ball consistency. Pour a few drops of jaggery syrup into the cold water, the syrup settles at the bottom and you can able to roll the syrup as ball. The jaggery ball should be hard and brittle, that's a correct stage.

Keep the flame in lowest possible immediately and add the roasted nuts and mix it well until all the nuts coated with jaggery syrup. Then transfer the mixture on to the parchment paper.

Spread it gently, cover it with another parchment paper and roll it with a rolling pin for a even layer.

Give it a rest for 3-4 mins and then cut into desired shape.

Tasty and crunchy Mixed Nuts Chikki is ready. Let it cool completely and store it in a airtight container. It stays well for weeks in room temperature.

For more Indian sweets and snacks, check my collections

Pressing it with rolling pin gives the chikki glossy look on one side(because the syrup settled on one side) and rusty look on another side. Look at the pic below :-)

Notes:

You can use any kinds of mixed nuts as per your liking.
Make sure to sure good quality of jaggery which is used making syrup or pagu vellam.
Instead of jaggery, you can use palm jaggery too.

Friday, June 19, 2020

Homemade Granola | How to make Granola

Granola, a delicious and healthy breakfast/ snack food made from rolled oats, nuts and dried fruits.The flavor and the taste from the home made granola is really amazing !! Make them in bulk and store them comes handy for breakfast on busy mornings.

When we were newly married, most of the days, our morning breakfast was some kind of store bought cereal. Before marriage, ST was so used to having cereals for morning breakfast in the US, so later when i had joined him, i too followed the same because i didn't know anything in cooking back then. Initially i liked it without bothering much about how healthy it is for breakfast and all. Later it's kind of bored and started to make the typical tamilnadu breakfast such as idli/dosa for breakfast.

Now it's more than 3 years since we bought a pack of cereal from the store. Instead i have been making this granola at home and we liked it so much more than any store bought cereal that we had tried so far. It's such a simple recipe and ready in 20 mins, it can be served with milk for breakfast or with yogurt as a snack. Before moving to the recipe, let's answer all the basic questions that might have popped in your head about granola.

Which oats is best for granola?
Old fashioned rolled oats is best for making granola. Don't use the quick 2 mins oats for this recipe

Which oil is best for making granola?
My personal choice is coconut oil. I love the mild coconut flavor in the granola. But you can use the olive oil, canola oil or any flavorless oil also.

What are the nuts taste best with granola?
In today's recipe, i have used almonds alone. But you can use whatever nuts you like. Almonds, pecans, cashews and walnuts also taste good with granola.

Honey or maple syrup for granola?
Again it's purely a personal choice. I like maple syrup over honey any day. Also i have read that using honey helps to clump the granola together, so if you're into clumpy granola, use honey or half and half of both

How to make clumpy granola ?
Personally i don't like clumpy granola, so haven't tried all those tips available online for making clumpy granola. Like i said before honey helps to make clumpy granola. Another tip is to press the oats well and bake it. Once it's out of the oven, don't stir it immediately, let it cool naturally, all these help to get clumpy granola.

When to add dried fruits in granola?
Add the dried fruits into the granola once it's baked, no need to bake them, it's easily burned in baking.

What are the other things to add granola?
Seeds can be added in granola. Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds and sesame seeds are taste great with granola.
In addition to that coconut flakes or slices can be added. Personally i like to add desiccated unsweetened coconut flakes into my granola. The flavor of coconut goes well with the oats and it's my favorite ingredient in making granola.

Homemade Granola | How to make Granola

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2
Recipe Category: Breakfast | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Rolled Oats - 2 cups
Almonds - 3/4 cup
Raisins - 1/2 cup
Desiccated Coconut - 3 tbsp
Coconut Oil - 1/4 cup
Maple Syrup - 1/4 cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Vanilla extract - 1/4 tsp

Procedure

First take the coconut oil and maple syrup in a bowl, add salt & vanilla extract into it.

Mix it all well together. Then add the oats and almonds(i have chopped them into half). Mix them well until all the oats coated with oil & syrup mixture.

Preheat the oven @300 F. Line the baking tray with parchment paper and transfer the oats mixture into it. Spread them evenly as single layer and put it in the oven and bake it for 20-25 mins. Half way through take the tray out and mix it well and press it again and put it back in oven.

Once the oats are out of oven, add the raisins and coconut. Mix it well. Let them cool completely and store it in air tight container.

Healthy Granola is ready !!

For more international breakfast recipe, check out here or if you do like pancakes, check out this amazing oats pancakes made from rolled oats.

Notes:

Other than raisins you can add whatever the dried fruits you like
Every oven differs slightly and so keep an eye on the oats while baking.
When the oats is well toasted, it's crunchy when it's cooled.
Instead of using chopped almonds, you can use as it as whole also.
If you're coconut oil is frozen, put it in a bowl of hot water or microwave it until it's all melted.
If you're making in large quantity, use large pan or do it in batch for even roasting of oats
In addition to the vanilla extract,you can add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon flavor also for extra flavor.

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Eggless Spinach Muffin | Muffin recipe | Breakfast recipe

Spinach Muffin, a delicious, healthy and easy to make muffin in minutes. These Spinach muffins are mildly sweetened, super soft, looks vibrant and tastes absolutely delicious. It's perfect for grab and go breakfast as well as tea time.

I love spinach and it's one of my favorite greens, hence i'm always looking for new ways to include them in my diet. This spinach muffin is the latest addition to my spinach recipe collections.

Almost a year back, I had tried this recipe from pailin's kitchen for the first time with slight variation and immediately fell in love with it. The original recipe has egg in it, but I replaced it with more curd & milk and the result was awesome with wonderful texture and taste. Since then, i have been baking this muffin regularly at home.

Related: Lemon Cupcake with Lemon ButterCream Frosting

Tips to make vibrant green color muffins

Highly recommend to use baby spinach for this recipe for vibrant color. Compared to the regular spinach, the color of the baby spinach is so vibrant hence the muffin also would be bright green color.
Try to use fresh spinach which is more greener and vibrant.
Don't over cook, remove from the oven when the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean

How to store the leftover

It stays well for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. If you like to store them for more days, put it in the freezer. Microwave it for a couple of secs before serving, it tastes as good as fresh !

Now let's check out on how to make these healthy spinach muffin.

Related: Green Chicken Kebab/ Hariyali Chicken Kebab

Spinach Muffins

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Makes : 8
Recipe Category: Muffins | Recipe Cuisine: International

Ingredients
Baby Spinach - 100 gm
All purpose flour - 3/4 cup
Wheat flour - 1/4 cup
Butter - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Curd - 1/3 cup
Milk - 2 tbsp
Banana - 1/2
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp
Vanilla essence -1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/8 tsp
Nuts and dry fruits - 1/4 cup(optional)

Procedure

Preheat the oven at 350F
Measure and take all the ingredients, in a mixie jar or blender jar, add the curd, milk, melted butter, vanilla essence and spinach.

Grind them into smooth puree and keep aside. Take a bowl for mixing dry ingredients, add all purpose flour and wheat flour in the bowl and then add baking soda.

Next add baking powder, sugar and cinnamon powder one by one.

Mix it all together and sieve it once to remove any lumps. In an another bowl, mash the banana and keep it ready.

To the flour mixture, add the spinach puree and mashed banana. Mix it together well.

If you're using dry fruits and nuts, add at this stage and mix it together well.

Take the muffin pan and line them with liner and pour the batter evenly on the pan. Bake at 350F in the preheated oven for 20-22 mins or until the tooth pick inserted in the center will come out clean.

Tada, Healthy and tasty Spinach Muffins are ready.
Looking for more baking recipes?? check out here.

Related : How to make Spinach Roti / Green Roti

Related: Chocolate Banana Bread

Notes:

Instead of baby spinach, normal spinach can also be used here, but the color would be more dark
Make sure everything at room temperature before starting.
It makes 8 medium size muffins.
You can freeze this muffin and microwave it just before serving.

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Dates Truffles | Dates Nuts Truffles | Truffles Recipe

Dates Truffles, an easy to make truffle recipe(no cooking) with natural sweetened.This recipe was inspired from pailinskitchen,as i liked the idea of making truffles with dates & nuts,I have made few changes as per my liking and the available ingredients in my pantry on last weekend and it turned out so chocolatey and tasty,even you couldn't identify that these are made with dates.So bookmark this to try on coming Valentine day for your loved ones.

Dates Truffles

Preparation Time : 20 mins | Cooking Time : 0 mins | Makes : 12
Recipe Category: Dessert | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Dates(chopped & pitted) - 2/3 cup
Nuts & dried fruits - 1 cup(i used walnut,cashew & raisins)
Cocoa Powder - 11/2 to 2 tbsp
Cinnamon powder - 1/4 tsp
Unsweetened Coconut flakes - 1/4 cup

Procedure

Chop the dates into small pieces and put it in the mixie jar and pulse it twice or thrice in mixie/blender until it becomes fine paste.

Transfer the dates paste into a bowl and then add the nuts & dried fruits and then shift the cocoa powder into it.

Then add the cinnamon powder and mix it well with your fingers until it becomes single mass.

Then divide the mixture into 12 equal parts and roll into balls.Finally roll the balls in the coconut flakes. Do the same for the remaining balls.

Tasty Dates Nuts Truffles is ready to serve.

Notes:

Chop the nuts into small pieces.
You can use any nuts and dry fruits like almonds, apricot, cherries,pistachio.
I used 11/2 tbsp of cocoa powder, but you can add up to 2 tbsp of cocoa powder for strong flavor.
If the dates is very hard to process in blender/mixie, soak it in a tbsp of hot water for 15 mins.
Instead of coconut flakes, you can use the cocoa powder also for rolling the balls to make it more chocolaty.

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Eggless Fruits & Nuts Cake | Eggless Christmas Cake | Christmas Recipe

Christmas Fruits and Nuts cake, after the biryani, christmas cake comes to my mind when i think of christmas. In my childhood, we brought this christmas cake/plum cake from the nearby shop(sugi sweet stall) in our area.It was not a whole cake, they sliced them as pieces like the commercial modern cake that are available in stores nowadays and wrapped it in the butter paper and placed it in the big tray, i was once a big fan of this cake,whenever i went out with my mom for shopping groceries or vegetables in the evening(Yep,that cake was available only after 4pm and almost it was over by the time 7PM), i pestered her to buy this and it was only 2 rupees then. Don't know whether that sweet stall still making that kind of cake.

Now coming to today's recipe, i have tried christmas cake twice before and it didn't turned out as expected. Last weekend when i was searching again for christmas cake recipe, found this recipe in joyofbaking, i tried few recipes from her website and it turned absolutely delicious,so without hesitation,make notes of the recipe and i changed few things to our preference and tried it. It was so moist & delicious and i personally like her idea of using loaf pan to bake,so you can slice and wrap them in butter paper for single serving and it reminds me of childhood memories.It's eggless and ready to make cake,no need of soaking,give it a try and let me know how it turns out for you.

Eggless Christmas Cake

Preparation Time : 20 mins | Cooking Time : 1 hr | Makes : 2
Recipe Category: Cake | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cup
Dried fruits & nuts - 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups
Light brown sugar - 3/4 cups
Butter - 1/2 cup
Butter milk - 1 cup
Vanilla Extract - 1/2 tsp
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon - 1/2 tsp
Ginger powder - 1/4 tsp

Procedure

Take the flour in a large bowl,then add the baking soda,cinnamon & ginger powder and salt in a sieve and sieve it on the flour.

Mix it well with the flour and keep aside, now chop the dry fruits and nuts roughly into small pieces (i used black raisins,dates,almond,cashew and walnut) and add into the flour. Mix well such that all the nuts and dried fruits coated well with the flour.

Melt the butter and let it comes to room temperature and then add the sugar into it.

Then add the butter milk and vanilla extract and whisk it well till the sugar dissolves.

Add this sugar mixture into the flour and mix it gently. Take the loaf pan, butter it well and dust it with all purpose flour.

Transfer the cake mix into the loaf pan and bake it in the preheated oven of 350F for 55 to 60 mins. Remove it from the oven when tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean.Mine got ready in 60 mins.

Let it cool completely on wire rack before slicing.Delicious Fruits and Nuts cake is ready.

Notes:

Add more dry fruits compared to nuts,it will help to keep the cake moist.
You can use any dry fruits and nuts as per your liking.
The original recipe calls for 1/4 tsp of cloves and nutmeg powder, but i feel that are overpowering,so skip it, but you can add if you like more spices in your cake.
Dont cut the cake when it's warm, there is a chance of crumbling, so let it cool completely on wire rack.
If you're worried about the cake sticking at the bottom, you can use parchement paper on the bottom,but mine cake out clean from the pan.

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Tuesday, February 2, 2021