Peanut Chikki/ Peanut Brittle (Kadalai Mittai)

I like to call it kadalai mittai...no, kappalandi mittai to be very precise....thats what we call it in our place :)
an all time fav of all desis (Indians)....we always had a bag of this in our snack shelf..
I have not seen my mom make this at home...dont know why, may be because we used to get it in every other grocery store in my hometown, even in the tiny petti kadas (small convenient stores near the houses)

After coming to the US, we always had to depend on the Indian grocery store to get some chikki...but sadly, most of the time we had to compromise with stale or kind of cold, not crisp, not so fresh chikki....
and that made me look for the recipe for chikki in the web....and surprisingly got to know its not that very difficult to make some home....but let me warn you first, you have to try it a couple of times to master the right consistency and the timing factor...i have had my share of flop attempts too :)
but once you get the grip on it,  its a piece of cake.

You can either use roasted unsalted peanuts or get raw peanuts and roast them in the microwave.
I always buy raw peanuts in bulk and roast them in microwave.It hardly takes 4-5 mins...

Here is the recipe

You'll need:

Peanuts: 1 cup (roasted & unsalted or raw peanuts roasted in microwave)
Sugar: 3/4 cup
Ghee: 1/4 tbsp
Baking Soda: a pinch

How to make:

Spread the raw peanuts evenly in a single layer in a microwave safe plate. Microwave it for 2 min on high.
Let stand for a couple of min, take it out of the microwave, give it a stir and put it back in the microwave for another one min.
Repeat the process until the peanuts are roasted. Usually it gets done in 4-5 min. It might still look raw when you take them out of the microwave. When it cools down, it will have the perfect crunch...
Make sure you don't burn them...
Not in a mood to do this, always go for store bought roasted ones :)

Heat a pan and coat it with ghee and add the sugar. Sugar will start melting and change into amber color.
The consistency of the sugar syrup is the key. And also mixing it with the nuts and spreading it fast.
Once the sugar starts changing color, immediately pour a drop of it into a bowl of cold water. If it crystallize, then its the right texture.
As soon as the color starts to change, take it off the stove, add a pinch of baking soda and immediately add the roasted nuts and mix well.
Pour this gooey mixture into a greased pan and flatten it use a rolling pin.
Or use the greased bottom of an another smaller pan, to press down the mixture.
Once cooled, break down into desired sized pieces.
Store in an airtight container.

P.S: It might take a couple of attempts to get the right consistency of the sugar syrup....so I would suggest always try with a smaller quantity first. But I promise you'll get there :)
Also you can use other nuts like cashews, almonds, pistachio etc along with the peanuts to make it a healthy energy bar :)