Walnut Brittle
Walnuts- the best nut :I guess I am one of the few who feel this way, but I simply love the walnut, raw or roasted, by itself or in brownies, or pies, or cakes... its gives the crunch to every munch! I remember being so happy the first time I read about the walnut and all the good fats it contains. My love seems justified :)
Anyway, I have been trying for decades to get my dear dad to have walnuts, and mom tells me he is just starting to try them out, so I thought, "Hey! Why don't I post one of my very own modification of the walnut, so they become as big fans of the cranial nut as me!!" So here goes:
A LINK to the health benefits of walnuts.
An article: Cholesterol and Walnuts
News headlines, NutraUSA: FDA backs the heart healthy benefits of walnuts
What Nutritionists are saying about nuts.
I use just 2 main ingredients for this recipe: Molasses and walnuts. How simple does that get??? How much molasses? Well, I don't really make this recipe like a brittle or chikki, but instead make it like, maybe, honey roasted walnuts; meaning you can choose the number of walnuts you want to have. In order to do that, I use more nuts ( 3 cups instead of the 2 I mentioned in the recipe) for the same amount of molasses.
I made a big batch 2 weeks back, but my husband whisked it off to snack on at work, so I will have to take a rain check on posting the picture! :)
Ingredients:
Molasses: 2 cups (packed, grated if using gur or bellam or jaggery)
Walnuts: 2 cups
Ghee or Olive oil: 1 tsp
Method:
Roast the walnuts at 250F for 12 to 15 minutes, they shouldn't get too dark. If you want to do it stove top, you can dry roast the nuts on a thick bottomed skillet for 5 minutes on low-medium or till the walnuts are dark cream color inside when broken.
To a thick bottom pan, add the ghee or oil, and add the jaggery/molasses. Let it melt on a low-medium flame for 1 to 15 minutes, the jaggery will change color a little. Keep stirring and do not let it over-cook at this stage, or it gets burnt.
One way to check if the consistency is right is to place one drop of the melted jaggery on a place and then see if it is crisp after it cools down.
Once the consistency is right, add the nuts and mix thoroughly to coat all nuts as evenly as possible. You can adjust the amount of the nuts to suit your tastes. If you like it less sweet, add more nuts; if you like it chikki form, this ratio should be good enough.
Spread out on an aluminum foil and let cool. The advantage to this is that you can easily peel the foil off.
Store in Ziploc or air tight boxes.
Nutritional Information:
This is for 1/10th of the recipe i.e., 91 g
Calories: 353
Calories from Fat: 132
Total Fat: 16 g (24% of DV)
Saturated Fat: 2 g (8% of DV)
Trans Fat: 0 mg
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 25 mg (1% of DV)
Carbohydrates: 54 g (18% of DV)
Dietary Fiber: 2 g (6% of DV)
Sugars: 38 g
Proteins: 4 g
Vitamin A: 0 % of DV
Vitamin C: 1 % of DV
Calcium: 16 % of DV
Iron: 21 % of DV
Percent daily values are based on a 2000 calorie diet and may vary based on individual requirements.
Caloric Breakdown:
Carbohydrates: 58% Fats: 38% Proteins 4%
I want to mention that though this is a healthy snack, you should try and consume it in moderation because of the high carbohydrate and fat content. Though the fat is good fat, it still is fat, and so requires much more effort to burn.
