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Chikki for Uttarayan is made with roughly equal weights of jaggery and nuts or til, the jaggery cooked until a drop snaps cleanly in cold water, then mixed fast and rolled thin. Peanut and til are the classic kinds; a dry fruit chikki with kaju, badam and pista uses the same method with a little less jaggery.
On 14 January, when Ahmedabad is up on its terraces flying kites from morning to dark, chikki is what gets passed around between turns at the string. Here is how to make it at home so it snaps instead of bending.
Why chikki belongs to Uttarayan
Uttarayan is Gujarat’s name for Makar Sankranti, and in Ahmedabad it is the biggest day of the winter. The city’s International Kite Festival is held around it, and in the pols of the old city families spend the whole day on the rooftops.
The food of the day is winter food: undhiyu, jalebi, til laddoo and chikki. Til and jaggery are both traditional for Sankranti across India, and chikki suits a rooftop because it is hard, keeps for weeks and does not need a plate.
The three chikkis and their ratios
| Chikki | Main ingredient | Jaggery | Ghee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peanut (sing) | 200 g roasted, skinned, halved peanuts | 200 g | 1 tsp |
| Til (tal) | 200 g white til, roasted | 150–180 g | 1 tsp |
| Dry fruit | 200 g chopped kaju, badam, pista | 150–170 g | 2 tsp |
Jaggery, peanuts and ghee are not things we stock, so buy them from your grocer. Use a dark, good-quality jaggery; pale, very soft jaggery often will not set hard.
For the til, Safed Tilly (white sesame) gives the classic pale Uttarayan chikki. For a dry fruit mix, we would use:
- 80 g Kaju Tukda, because it is chopped anyway
- 70 g Regular Badam, chopped
- 30 g Pista Kernels, chopped
- 20 g magaj or a spoon of til for filling the gaps
The method, step by step
- Get everything ready first. Grease a steel plate or the back of a thali, and a rolling pin. Once the jaggery is ready, you have under a minute.
- Roast the nuts or til. Dry-roast on low heat until fragrant. Til should turn pale gold, not brown. Keep them warm in the pan; cold nuts cool the syrup too fast.
- Melt the jaggery with the ghee on low heat, with a tablespoon of water if it is very hard. Stir until it melts completely.
- Cook to the hard-crack stage. It foams, darkens slightly and thickens. After about five to eight minutes, drop a little into a bowl of cold water. If it hardens at once and snaps cleanly, it is ready. If it bends or sticks to your teeth, cook a little longer.
- Take it off the heat and stir in the nuts quickly, until every piece is coated.
- Tip onto the greased plate and roll thin, about 5 mm, pressing fast.
- Cut while still warm, with a greased knife. Once it cools fully, it will break unevenly.
- Cool completely, then break along the cuts and store.
When chikki goes wrong
- Chewy, not crisp: the jaggery was not cooked long enough. The water test is the one step not to skip.
- Bitter, burnt taste: the jaggery went too far, or the flame was too high. Keep it on medium-low.
- Too thick to bite: it was rolled too slowly and set before it spread. Work in smaller batches.
- Nuts falling out: too few nuts for the jaggery or not mixed enough. Stick to the ratios above.
Storing chikki for the season
Chikki keeps for two to three weeks in an airtight tin. Humidity is its enemy, because jaggery pulls in moisture and turns sticky, but mid-January in Ahmedabad is dry, which helps. Put a sheet of butter paper between layers so the pieces do not fuse.
Dry fruit chikki goes stale a little faster than peanut or til, because chopped nuts have more exposed surface. Make it closer to the day.
Ordering for Uttarayan
Order your til and nuts a week before the festival. Orders to Ahmedabad usually arrive in two to four days. Everything above is on our seeds shelf and the nuts shelf, and today’s dry fruit prices in Ahmedabad are on the city page. Delivery is free on every order, and orders start at ₹1,000. If you are choosing between kaju grades, our guide to kaju grades explains why broken kaju is the right buy here.
Questions people ask
What is the ratio of jaggery to peanuts for chikki?
Roughly equal weights, for example 200 g jaggery to 200 g peanuts. For til and dry fruit chikki, use a little less jaggery.
Why is my chikki not hard?
The jaggery was not cooked to the hard-crack stage. Test a drop in cold water; it should snap cleanly before you add the nuts.
Can I make dry fruit chikki with sugar instead of jaggery?
Yes. Caramelise the sugar to a light golden colour and add the nuts straight away. It sets clearer and crisper than jaggery chikki.
How long does homemade chikki last?
Two to three weeks in an airtight tin, a little less for dry fruit chikki.
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Written at our counter, where these questions get asked every week.
