Rose Chikki Recipe – 15 Minutes
Today’s recipe is for one of my favorite easy Indian sweet treats, rose chikki! I associate chikki with all of my trips to Gujarat, India growing up. This is because our trips were always planned around Uttaryan also known as Makar Sankranti which is a harvest festival. Chikki is always made and distributed for this specific holiday as a sweet treat. In Gujarat, this holiday is celebrated as a day where everyone is out on their balconies flying kites. There is nothing more beautiful
Chikki is made either with sugar or gur (jaggery). I think the gur version tastes so much better than sugar. All it takes is five ingredients: gur (jaggery), ghee, mixed nuts, rose water and rose petals.
This particular version of rose chikki is based on the a well-known type we would get during trips to Lonavala, a hill station outside of Mumbai.
Notes on Ingredients:
I’ve noticed that using organic jaggery produces a darker look to the chikki and the quality of jaggery varies greatly from brand to brand. I have used organic jaggery for my chikki.
I have used a mix of nuts: cashews, pistachios and almonds. Feel free to use the blend you prefer. Chikki is commonly made using sesame seeds or peanuts which is also very delicious.
Notes on the Process:
Candy Thermometer: The easiest way to take the guess work out of when the jaggery is ready for the nuts to be mixed in is to use a candy thermometer. Hard ball stage is at 260 degrees but I usually turn down my stove at about 255 as it will continue to heat for a few minutes and I do not want the jaggery to burn.
Alternative Method: If you do not have a candy thermometer, drop a bit of jaggery into a bowl of a little water. When at the right stage, it will quickly solidify into a hard ball and sink to the bottom. Alternatively, drop it in water to help it cool/solidify and then take a bite. If it sticks to your teeth it is not ready. The mixture is ready for the nuts and rose water when you eat it and it does not stick to your teeth.
Do not step away while doing this, it is all very quick but you need to pay attention else the jaggery could easily burn.
Chikki is similar to brittle, it should have snap to it!
Rose Chikki
Ingredients
- 1 cup mixed nuts cashews, pistachios and almonds
- ¾ cup gor
- 1 tsp ghee
- 1 tsp rose water
- Rose petals
- Parchment paper optional for easy rolling
Instructions
Step 1
- Roast the nuts on low-medium flame stirring for about 5 minutes. Remove and keep nuts aside.
Step 2
- Add ghee and once it melts add jaggery to the pot on low-medium. The jaggery will melt and begin bubbling. If you have a candy thermometer, let it cook until it reaches hard ball stage (see notes above). I like to turn down the stove when it reaches 255. If you do not have a thermometer then drop a bit of the syrup into a small bowl of water. When at the right stage, it will quickly solidify into a hard ball and sink to the bottom. The easiest way is to take a bite – if it sticks to your teeth it is not ready. The mixture is ready for the nuts and rose water when you eat it and it does not stick to your teeth.
Step 3
- Turn off stove once you have determined it is at the right stage. Add in rose water and mixed roasted nuts. Mix together and place onto parchment paper. Add another parchment paper on top and roll out to about ¼ inch quickly.
Step 4
- Remove top layer of parchment and add rose petals and lightly roll over with rolling pin to help them stick.
Step 5
- Cut into rectangles/squares. I used a pizza cutter to make it easier. If you atleast make some cutting lines it will be easy to snap apart once cooled. Enjoy the rose chikki once it has cooled!
