Peanut Chikki / Kapalandi Mittai /Indian Peanut Brittle with Jaggery

Chikki/Kappalandi mittai is a  famous sweet of India,well versed with every Indian.Peanuts and jaggery are the two main ingredient of the recipe; kappalandi mittai/chikki which many of you might have tasted during your school days,college days and as hostelers.I too love this sweet a lot and mom used to make it at home(though I was unaware of the recipe) but then I saw this recipe in Asha @ A Tasty Challenge's space.Just hooked it up immediately,the best part of her space is she always writes every minute bits of the recipe in detail and same goes with this recipe.The correct staging of jaggery consistency is mentioned there.I have followed the recipe exactly the same,try this out to get the fresh taste of peanut chikki :-)

Ingredients
peanuts 1 1/4 cup(without skin)
jaggery 1 cup
water 1/2 cup
salt a pinch

Method
Preparing the Pans
-Select two pans such that one fits into the other and line the larger pan with parchment paper.The second pan is to weigh the mittai.
-Apply a light coating of ghee on the under surface of the weighing pan (smaller pan).

Preparing mittai
-Dry roast the peanuts till toasted and browned here and there.Keep stirring continously and it takes about 5-8 minutes on medium heat.
-Let it cool completely and crush it in a mortar and pestle.(Crushing helps to bind with the jaggery well & just to separate the two lobes of peanut and crush some of them partially,don't over do it.)Keep aside.
-Heat a pan on medium heat and melt the jaggery and salt with half cup of water.Strain it twice to remove impurities.
-Again heat the strained liquid ,keep stirring till it reaches the soft crack /270 degrees F stage.(Refer notes for the staging)
-Quickly toss in the crushed peanuts,remove from flame and give a stir asap and remove it on the parchment paper with 1/2 cm thickness and weigh it down with the smaller pan.
-Make it even by rolling with a rolling pin after a minute by placing another parchment paper on top.
Make markings on the mittai to cut it along but don't cut through now.

-Wait for 10 minutes to cool down and cut along the marked lines.Cool completely before serving .

NOTES
* Don't use roasted and salted peanuts.If you are using peanuts with skin,then dry roast in a non stick pan and wait till the skin lightly browns.Remove from fire and put it in a kitchen towel.Make a bag/potli like and then rub with your palm on it.By then the skin gets easily removed.
* Peanuts tend to float in jaggery resulting jaggery in the bottom and peanuts on top.That's y the weighing with smaller pan is important.
* The marking of lines before the mittai is cooled down is because it turns very hard on cooling and will not cut out in correct shapes like mine.
** The staging is as follows-The one thread (230 degrees F)consistency is a familiar one with all;in which sugar forms one thread when pressed between thumb and index finger.After the one thread comsistency,keep stirring the jaggery to avoid burning at the bottom and keep flame on medium heat.Then is the second and third stage where there are two and three threads formation respectively when pressed between the fingers.After this is the soft ball stage,when a drop of sugar/jaggery put in cold water becomes a soft pliable ball.Then comes the hard ball stage,dripping a drop of sugar/jaggery in cold water forms a hard ball.(260 degrees F)Keep stirring to get the next final stage or soft crack stage(270 degrees F)-a drop of syrup in cold water becomes pliable non brittle thread when pulled.(At this stage the bubble formed are less)Any temperature below the soft crack stage will give you a chewy mittai and not the hard ones.It takes 45 seconds -1minute to attain the soft crack stage after the hard ball,so keep a watch closely.
* Any left overs can be preserved in air tight containers /Ziploc bags.

Sending this to The Kerala Kitchen hosted by Jehanne @ The Cooking Doctor ,Show Me Your HITS -IRON RICH FOODS ongoing@  my space, Guest Quest ,