Chikki from ellu bella/ Energy bar from left over sesame mixture:

Makara sankranti festival is over and you may have left over Ellu Bella which you got from your near and dear ones during distribution to each other.Usually there will be no takers for this after two days of festival. Even I had some left over sesame mixture and tried this Indian Chikki or energy bar from these power packed ingredients.This mixture usually has lots of sesame seed, which is a high iron source, peanuts, coconut bits etc.

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Ingredient:

Left over ellu bella mix – as much as you have

Sugar – 3 to 4 spoons (What I took)

Butter – 1 table spoon

Cardamom powder – ¼ teaspoon

Method:

  • Separate Sugar blocks as well as jaggery chunks from the mixture.

pic 1

  • Take one thick bottomed vessel; add all these jaggery and sugar chunks as well as extra sugar with butter.
  • Heat this by constant stirring, until it becomes caramelized liquid.
  • Immediately mix in the rest of the sesame mixture and cardamom powder mix nicely to coat caramel liquid uniformly.

chikki collage

  • Spread this on a clean kitchen counter or butter paper laid baking tray and press this nicely till it is uniformly flat.
  • You can use either pav bhaji masher or roti belan to press this mix.
  • Make a mark when it is hot by using sharp knife.pic 5
  • When it is cool, store this in an airtight container.

 

Til Chikki /Indian Sesame Brittle:

Makara Sankranti and Sesame/Til seed are very much associated with each other. Every year my kids look forward to having their favourite Chikki on this auspicious day. This time I wanted to make a different type by enhancing its nutritional value by adding other ingredients too. Finally came up with this recipe. 

chikki main

Here I have taken one big water tumbler as a measuring cup.

Ingredients:

Peanut: 1 cup

Sesame seed – ½ cup (white and black mix)

Sunflower seed -1/2 cup (de-skinned one)

Roasted gram – ½ cup

Almond – ½ cup (slice or chunks)

Cashew bits – ½ cup

Desiccated coconut – ½ cup

Sugar – 2 ¼ to 2 ½  cups  ( if light sweet, add 2 1/4 cup otherwise, add more) 

Ghee/clarified butter – 2 tablespoons

Cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp 

Method:

-Dry roast peanuts, remove the outer skin and make halves.

-Now dry roast sesame seeds, Sunflower seeds, Roasted gram, almond chunks, and Cashew bits one by one and keep aside. For roasting, you can use a stovetop method or microwave.

pic 1

-When it’s a little cool, add desiccated coconut, cardamom powder and mix nicely. Keep it aside.

-Take one rolling pin and apply little ghee and keep aside.

-Now we have to make the caramel by adding sugar and ghee in a thick bottomed vessel/tawa. Keep this on a stovetop, heat it until it attains liquid form and becomes light brown in colour. This is caramel. (Please refer to the below picture for stages to attain light brown colour)

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-Without wasting any time, mix in the nuts and spread this on a wooden plank or on a clean kitchen platform. Use ghee applied chapati rolling pin (belan) and spread this mixture nicely till it is uniformly flat.

-Leave this for 5 minutes. Take one knife and mark, cut it into the desired shape. After it cools down completely you can store this in an airtight container.

Chikki Preparation by Using Jaggery: (Ratio should be 1 part of dry fruits: ½ part of jaggery)

Follow all the steps precisely like Sugar added chikki. You can omit or add any ingredients according to your wish.

Instead of Sugar, take grated jaggery, loosely fill the cup and measure, by using the cup in which you are taking the ingredients.

-First, take the jaggery, put water, ghee. Heat the solution and strain. If any sediment or tiny particles, it would go away, and the final result would be perfect.

-Then start boiling, until it reaches the frothy, thick. At this stage, pour one drop of the liquid in a small cup of water and check. It should come together, like a crystal and you should be able to break it easily.

-If it is not yet ready, it will come(extend) like a chewy thread. You will not be able to break it.

-If it is ready, pour all the roasted dry fruit, mixed and kept into the solution. Switch off the gas. Give a stir, spread, and follow all the steps like a sugared one, which I have dealt earlier.

-Enjoy all the goodness without a pang of guilt.

NOTE: -I would suggest the usage of Sugar for the first-timers. It is foolproof and easy.

-After a couple of trials with Sugar, you would be knowing about the stages and gradually shift to jaggery.

-Here, I have taken round, organic ball jaggery, made into chunks by using the stone pestle.

 

 

 

 

Pea pod salad:

After peapod pakoda, I wanted to try some more with peapod. Peapods are so rich in flavour as well as taste. So, I tried a salad and it turned out so tasty and healthy. Here’s the recipe.

collage-1

Ingredients:

Peapods –as required

Olive oil – 1 to 2 teaspoon

Garlic – 7 -8 flakes

Salt

Red chilli flakes – ½ – 1 teaspoon

White sesame – 1 teaspoon

Method:

  • Separate fresh and green peels (pods) while opening, to collect green peas.
  • After this, peel off the inner membrane (which will not cook and it is fibrous too)
  • How to remove inner membrane: If you want to see a pictorial guide, click here
  • You basically have to take one of the ends, fold in and pinch inwards, slide your thumb beneath and remove the glossy membrane and separate. If membrane breaks in-between, try from the other side.
  • Discard inner membrane and use outer green cover to make salad.
  • Wash these peels and drain, keep aside.
  • Slice garlic and keep aside.
  • Dry roast sesame and keep aside.

collage

  • Take one tawa, add oil .When oil becomes hot, add garlic slices and fry until it is brown.
  • Add in washed and drained peapods, fry for a while. Sprinkle salt and red chilli flakes.
  • Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and serve.
  • I served this with Spinach Khichdi. Click here to see the recipe.