Almond Natural Sugar Brittle

It has been a while since I last wrote a new blog post. The new mom life is keeping my hands full. It is hard to capture pictures of new foods I make and write about them. But my good little one still allows me to spend enough time in the kitchen. Guess she will be a foodie like me and I am really praying she likes her veggies :) As a busy nursing mom it is very important to keep healthy snacks handy. And most important is that the recipes should be quick, easy and fast. As making a trip to the grocery store is more challenging than spending 30 mins in the kitchen.

Last week I made for myself some easy peasy protein packed Almond Brittle with Date Palm Jaggery. And yes it takes only 15 mins...like literally! Jaggery is an essential part of Indian culture and has several health benefits. To start with basics, it is a more complex sugar form than refined sugar so does not spike blood sugar levels. Its unique deep flavor and rich aroma adds great taste to any sweet recipe. Jaggery is typically made from sugarcane or date palm. The juice is boiled for hours and hours in a thick iron vessel with constant stirring. The preparation method makes jaggery high in mineral content. A picture is better than a thousand words and I found this informative picture about benefits of jaggery

Source

So while you reall all about jaggery, I will dive down to the Almond Brittle recipe.

2 cups raw almonds

1/2 cup jaggery, powdered

1 tsp cardamom powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup water

1 Tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

• Oven roast almonds at 350 deg F for 20-30 mins
• Prepare a cookie sheet well rubbed with ghee/butter
• Meanwhile, in a heavy bottom pan boil water and add jaggery. Stir continuously until it boils. Reduce to hard ball consistency. This takes around 8-10 mins on medium high heat.
• In a food processor, roughly chop roasted almonds.
• As the jaggery syrup reaches firm ball consistency, turn off the heat. Add almonds, ghee, cardamom powder and salt. Quickly mix all ingredients thoroughly.
• Spread on the cookie sheet and let it set for 40-50 mins
• Cut in pieces and store in an air tight container. It stores well at room temp in the air tight container for several weeks.