Dry Fruit Chikki is the Indian version of nut brittle made with mixed nuts like cashews, almonds, pistachios, and walnuts. It is sweetened with jaggery and flavored with cardamom. This crunchy mixed nuts chikki is the perfect winter dessert or snack that is delicious and nutritious.
Dry fruit chikki is a delicious, healthy variation of the traditional peanut chikki. Made with assorted nuts and jaggery (unrefined sweetener), this mixed nuts chikki is the perfect nutritious winter treat or snack to have on hand!
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What is Dry Fruit Chikki?
Chikki is an Indian brittle (sweet) traditionally made with peanuts (groundnuts) and/or til (sesame seeds) in jaggery syrup.
It is also known as Gajak in North India and is brittle, and crisp with a glossy finish.
Chikki is typically made during the winter season, especially during the Indian festivals, Lohri and Makarsankranti. But it is a healthy snack, all year round for after school or after work and even in the lunchbox as a sweet treat.
Lonavala, a hill station near Mumbai, India is famous for its varieties of chikki and dry fruit chikki is one of them.
Dry fruit chikki is a variation of the traditional chikki where instead of peanuts (or sesame seeds), mixed nuts (like cashews, almonds, pistachios, and walnuts) and seeds (pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds) are used.
It is also known as premium chikki due to the use of assorted nuts.
To make dry fruit jaggery chikki, first, cook the jaggery syrup to a hardball consistency, This ensures the perfect brittle that is crunchy (not chewy) and doesn’t stick to your teeth.
Then add in the roasted nuts of choice, spread it evenly on a flat surface lined with parchment paper, roll and cut into squares while the mixture is still warm. Once it has cooled, break it into pieces to make brittles or chikki.
Mixed nuts chikki can be made ahead of time and stays good for days at room temperature and is so delicious and nutritious. It is one candy that is protein-packed and so good for you.
Recipe Ingredients
Nuts and seeds – Use dry nuts and seeds for this recipe. The most common are cashews, almonds, and pistachios. In addition, I’ve also used walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds for this recipe. You can also use pecans, sunflower seeds, macadamia nuts, peanuts, or nuts of your choice.
Jaggery – It is also known as Gul in Marathi and Gud or Gur in Hindi. Use good quality jaggery. I’ve used natural jaggery for this recipe. Depending on the color of the jaggery the chikki color can vary.
Cardamom powder – provides a nice touch of warmth and flavor to this nutty dish. In addition, you can use some saffron too. I skipped saffron.
Ghee – Indian clarified butter helps provide a wonderful shine to the chikki. Little goes a long way. Skip to make chikki vegan.
Please refer to the recipe card for exact measurements of ingredients.
How To Make Dry Fruit Chikki (Step-by-Step Method)
Prep Work
Keep two large parchment papers ready, grease them with ghee or oil and a rolling pin ready. We will use this to spread and shape the mixture.
1 – Heat a pan on medium heat and dry roast the mixed nuts (Cashews, almonds, pistachios, and walnuts) for 4-5 mins stirring intermittently. Ensure they don’t burn.
2 – Now add the sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds and roast for another 2 mins.
3 – Turn off the heat, and mix for a couple of more mins. You can also take the pan off the heat and transfer the nuts to a clean dry bowl or plate so they don’t cook further. Add the cardamom powder and dry rose petals to this mix.
4 – Mix well and keep aside.
Making Jaggery Syrup for Chikki
5 – Heat a pan (nonstick preferably) on medium heat and add jaggery.
6 – Keep stirring continuously till the jaggery melts and starts bubbling (turns frothy).
7 – Add ghee and keep stirring
8. – Cook jaggery until it thickens and the color changes to a slightly dark amber. (texture and color almost look like whipped coffee)
9 – At this point, turn heat to lowest and test jaggery syrup for hardball consistency. To do this, take a small bowl filled with cold water and drop a few drops of this melted jaggery.
10 – There are three ways to check, first gather some of the jaggery dropped in water and roll it into a ball, It should turn hard quickly.
11- Next try to break the hardened jaggery, it should break or snap easily and clean with a sound.
The third way to test is, to eat some hardened jaggery and it should not stick to your teeth. if it sticks to your teeth in which case you can cook for a couple of mins and do the water test again.
12 – If it passes all three tests, then jaggery syrup is ready! The hardened jaggery should be brittle and not soft.
Note: Do not cook past the hardball consistency as the jaggery will burn, taste bitter, and give a very dark amber color.
Making Dry Fruit Chikki
13 – Once you have the right jaggery syrup consistency, stir in the roasted nuts and seeds.
14 – Mix until well combined. It will need some muscle strength.
15 – These next steps should be done quickly and while the mixture is still warm. Turn off the heat and immediately transfer the mixture to one parchment paper.
16 – Cover it with the second parchment paper and using a rolling pin, spread the mixture as thin or thick as you like but not too thin. I like to keep it to the thickness of dry fruits.
17 – Remove the top parchment paper, and sprinkle some more rose petals.
18 – Using a rolling pin, roll once again to even out. This also helps stick the sprinkled rose petals.
19 – Cut into 1-inch squares while it is hot. Allow cooling completely (about 10-15 mins or as long as needed).
20 – Break to separate the squares. They should snap off easily. Dry Fruit Chikki is ready!
Storage & Serving Suggestions
Allow dry fruit chikki to cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to a month.
You can serve this healthy protein packed dry nuts chikki it as a dessert or as an afterschool or mid afternoon snack in lunchbox. Or crush it and add the brittle pieces to your ice cream. Either way it is delicious!
Recipe Tips
Use fresh nuts so they don’t have a rancid smell or taste. You can use whole nuts, cut them in half, or roughly chop them.
Roast the nuts and seeds on low heat, do not brown or burn them. They will turn crunchy as they cool. You can use nuts of your choice.
Cook jaggery syrup on medium-low heat (to avoid burning) until it reaches the hard ball stage. Do not cook jaggery beyond this point.
Start checking your jaggery syrup by adding drops in water once it starts thickening and changing color (turns darker than the original).
Overcooking the jaggery past the hardball stage can result in hard, burnt/bitter-tasting chikki. Undercooking the jaggery syrup will result in a chewy chikki that sticks to your teeth.
Remember to work quickly once the nuts and jaggery are mixed as the mixture hardens quickly and will get difficult to roll.
Use 2 parchment papers (greased with oil) to roll the chikki, which makes it easy, and clean to roll and get even layers.
Slice the chikki while it’s warm, making it easy to break once cooled.
The color of the chikki can vary based on the variety of jaggery used. Mine was slightly darker in color and hence the dark color.
You can easily double or triple the recipe, just make sure you use a bigger pan so you have room to mix.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can make dry fruit chikki with sugar. Melt the sugar completely on medium-low heat. It may take around 8-10 mins depending on the pan used. Once the sugar is melted, add the roasted nuts to it and mix. The rest of the steps are the same. Just be careful, do not melt the sugar on high heat as it will burn the sugar syrup and lend a bitter taste.
Sticky Chikki indicates the jaggery syrup is not cooked to the right consistency of hard ball stage.
More Makarsankranti Recipes
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Recipe Card
Dry Fruit Chikki
Dry Fruit Chikki is the Indian version of nut brittle made with mixed nuts like cashews, almonds, pistachios, and walnuts. It is sweetened with jaggery and flavored with cardamom. This crunchy mixed nuts chikki is the perfect winter dessert or snack that is delicious and nutritious.
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Instructions
Roast nuts and seeds
Heat a pan on medium-low heat and dry roast the mixed nuts (Cashews, almonds, pistachios, and walnuts) for 4-5 mins stirring intermittently. Ensure they don’t burn.
Now add the sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds and roast for another 2 mins.
Turn off the heat, and mix for a couple of more mins. You can also take the pan off the heat and transfer the nuts to a clean dry bowl or plate so they don’t cook further. Add the cardamom powder and dry rose petals.Mix well and keep aside.
Making Jaggery Syrup
Heat a pan on medium-low heat and add jaggery to it.
Keep stirring continuously till the jaggery melts and starts bubbling (turns frothy).
Add ghee and keep stirring
Cook jaggery until it thickens and the color changes to a slightly dark amber. (texture and color almost look like whipped coffee)
At this point, turn the heat to low and test the jaggery syrup for hardball consistency. To do this, take a small bowl filled with cold water and drop a few drops of this melted jaggery.
There are three ways to check, first gather some of the jaggery dropped in water and roll it into a ball, It should turn hard quickly.
Next try to break the hardened jaggery, it should break or snap easily and clean with a sound.
The third way to test is, to eat some hardened jaggery and it should not stick to your teeth. if it sticks to your teeth in which case you can cook for a couple of mins and do the water test again.
If it passes all three tests, then jaggery syrup is ready! The hardened jaggery should be brittle and not soft.
Note: Do not cook past the hardball consistency as the jaggery will burn, taste bitter, and give a very dark amber color.
Making Dry Fruit Chikki
Once you have the right jaggery syrup consistency, stir in the roasted nuts and seeds. Mix until well combined. It will need some muscle strength.
These next steps should be done quickly and while the mixture is still warm. Turn off the heat and immediately transfer the mixture to one parchment paper.
Cover it with the second parchment paper and using a rolling pin, spread the mixture as thin or thick as you like but not too thin. I like to keep it to the thickness of dry fruits.
Remove the top parchment paper, and sprinkle some more rose petals.
Using a rolling pin, roll once again to even out. This also helps stick the sprinkled rose petals.
Cut into 1-inch squares while it is hot. Allow cooling completely (about 10-15 mins or as long as needed).
Break to separate the squares. They should snap off easily. Dry Fruit Chikki is ready!
Notes
Nutrition
Calories: 72kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.001g | Cholesterol: 0.4mg | Sodium: 0.4mg | Potassium: 52mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 5IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 0.5mg
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