Peanut Chikki (Gajak/Indian Peanut Brittle) is a beloved traditional Indian sweet, particularly enjoyed during winters and the festival of Makar Sankranti in January. This sweet, crispy, and crunchy delight is made with just two basic ingredients—peanuts and jaggery.
Homemade Peanut Chikki is a healthier substitute to store-bought options, as it is preservative-free, refined sugar-free, and made with care. It’s an easy recipe that comes together in just 30 minutes, offering the perfect blend of nutrition and indulgence.
Chikki traditionally refers to the variety made with peanuts, but there are many delightful variations to explore. It can be prepared with ingredients like sesame seeds, roasted chana dal, puffed rice, amaranth seeds, mixed nuts, and more. While there are endless flavors and combinations to try, my heart always comes back to the classic and comforting basic peanut chikki.!

The recipe for Peanut Chikki is incredibly simple, consisting of just two key steps:
- Roasting the peanuts: Make sure they are roasted to perfection without burning them. To save time, you can use store-bought roasted peanuts.
- Preparing the jaggery syrup: This is the critical step! Cook the jaggery syrup until it reaches the hardball stage for the perfect texture and crunch. Please review notes for more detail.
You can enhance the flavor of Peanut Chikki by adding 1 Tbsp of ghee and a pinch of cardamom while the jaggery is melting. This simple addition brings a delightful aroma and richness to the chikki, making it even more irresistible.

Do give this homemade Peanut Chikki recipe a try—it’s quick, easy, and sure to impress with its delightful taste and texture. Perfect for celebrating festivals or enjoying as a wholesome winter treat.
Click here for Murmara Ladoo/Pori Urundai recipe.
Step by Step Instructions with Photos
Preparation Tips for Perfect Peanut Chikki:
- Ice Water Test: Keep a bowl of cold water ready to check the consistency of the jaggery syrup.
- Rolling Setup: Take two pieces of lightly grease parchment paper. Grease with a thin layer of ghee to prevent the chikki mixture from sticking. For more stability, place a silicone mat underneath the parchment paper to prevent it from sliding while rolling.
- Cutting Tools: Keep a knife or pizza cutter handy.
Roasting Peanuts
- Heat a thick bottomed heavy kadai or pan and add the peanuts in it.
- Dry roast the peanuts on medium heat for about 8-10 minutes, stirring continuously to make sure they roast evenly.
- Once the peanuts start to separate their skin, have a roasted smell, and no longer have a raw odor, turn off the flame. Let the peanuts cool down a bit.


- Once the peanuts have cooled down or become warm, rub them between your palms. The skin will peel off easily.


- Make sure you remove all the husks and keep the peanuts ready for use. Alternatively, you can use a winnow or sieve to sift off the peanut husks.


- Now add peanuts to Ziploc bag and using a rolling pin, lightly smash the peanuts into halves. This will give the chikki a delightful texture and help it hold together better.


Make Jaggery Syrup
Cooking jaggery syrup at the right stage is an essential step to making the perfect peanut chikki.
- Under cooked jaggery syrup: you’ll get a chewy texture, chikki sticks to the teeth while eating.
- Overcooked jaggery syrup: you’ll get super hard, rock-like chikki.
- In a big wide pan add chopped jaggery. Keeping the flame on low, stir jaggery until it melts.
- Add 1 Tsp. ghee and cardamom powder in melted jaggery if using.
- Keep stirring on low flame, until the jaggery is melted and turn into a light, runny and bubbly syrup.


- Keep cooking jaggery syrup on low flame for 5 minutes or until syrup turns thick and glossy. Keep stirring continuously to prevent it from burning.
- Check the consistency, by dropping syrup into a bowl of cold water, it should form a hard ball and snap easily. If it is stretchy and stringy then this is not the right stage. You’ll need to cook it more.
- Immediately switch off the flame once jaggery syrup reaches its right consistency.
Note: We are looking for hard ball stage (250-265 F) of syrup consistency. If you have a candy thermometer then it should reach between 260-265 F. If you don’t have a candy thermometer then use the old-fashioned method by using a bowl of cold water.


Make Peanut Chikki
- Working quickly add roasted peanut to the jaggery syrup and mix well making sure jaggery syrup coats peanuts uniformly.
- Immediately pour the chikki mixture onto a greased parchment paper or marble board.
- Place second greased parchment paper and using a rolling pin, flatten the chikki mixture into one even layer keeping the thickness to about ¼ inch.



- While it is still warm, remove the parchment paper and carefully make the cut-marks using a sharp knife or pizza cutter into equal-sized squares.
- Let chikki to cool down completely at room temperature.
- Once the Peanut Chikki has cooled down it will break easily at the cut-marks. The chikki will get crispier as it cools down.
- Enjoy the homemade chikki or store it in an airtight container for a month.



Recipe Card

Easy Peanut Chikki/Peanut Gajak Recipe
Description
This sweet, crispy, and crunchy delight is made with just two basic ingredients—peanuts and jaggery.
Ingredients
Instructions
Roasting Peanuts
-
-
Heat a thick bottomed heavy kadai or pan and add the peanuts in it.
-
Dry roast the peanuts on medium heat for about 8-10 minutes, stirring continuously to make sure they roast evenly.
-
Once the peanuts start to separate their skin, have a roasted smell, and no longer have a raw odor, turn off the flame. Let the peanuts cool down a bit.
-
Once the peanuts have cooled down or become warm, rub them between your palms. The skin will peel off easily.
-
Make sure you remove all the husks and keep the peanuts ready for use. Alternatively, you can use a winnow or sieve to sift off the peanut husks.
-
Now add peanuts to Ziploc bag and using a rolling pin, lightly smash the peanuts into halves. This will give the chikki a delightful texture and help it hold together better.
Make Jaggery Syrup
-
-
In a big wide pan add chopped jaggery. Keeping the flame on low, stir jaggery until it melts.
-
Add 1 Tsp. ghee and cardamom powder in melted jaggery if using.
-
Keep stirring on low flame, until the jaggery is melted and turn into a light, runny and bubbly syrup.
-
Keep cooking jaggery syrup on low flame for 5 minutes or until syrup turns thick and glossy. Keep stirring continuously to prevent it from burning.
-
Check the consistency, by dropping syrup into a bowl of cold water, it should form a hard ball and snap easily. If it is stretchy and stringy then this is not the right stage. You’ll need to cook it more.
-
Immediately switch off the flame once jaggery syrup reaches its right consistency.We are looking for hard ball stage (250-265 F) of syrup consistency. If you have a candy thermometer then it should reach between 260-265 F. If you don’t have a candy thermometer then use the old-fashioned method by using a bowl of cold water.
Make Peanut Chikki
-
-
Working quickly add roasted peanut to the jaggery syrup and mix well making sure jaggery syrup coats peanuts uniformly.
-
Immediately pour the chikki mixture onto a greased parchment paper or marble board.
-
Place second greased parchment paper and using a rolling pin, flatten the chikki mixture into one even layer keeping the thickness to about ¼ inch.
-
While it is still warm, remove the parchment paper and carefully make the cut-marks using a sharp knife or pizza cutter into equal-sized squares.
-
Let chikki to cool down completely at room temperature.
-
Once the Peanut Chikki has cooled down it will break easily at the cut-marks. The chikki will get crispier as it cools down.
-
Enjoy the homemade chikki or store it in an airtight container for a month.
Note
- Roasting Peanuts: Do not skip removing husk after roasting peanut, roast peanut until crunchy to make best chikki. To save time you can use store bought skinless roasted peanuts too. Peanut should be unsalted.
- Jaggery/Sugar: For this recipe jaggery powder will not work, use jaggery available in form of balls or bucket one. Also, instead of jaggery you can use white sugar. However, chikki prepared with jaggery it my favorite.
- Jaggery syrup: Cooking jaggery syrup at the right stage is an essential step to making the perfect peanut chikki. The syrup should be cooked to the hard boiled staged to get the best results. Add a drop of jaggery syrup to a bowl of cold water to check the consistency.
- Under cooked jaggery syrup: you’ll get a chewy texture, chikki sticks to the teeth while eating.
- Overcooked jaggery syrup: you’ll get super hard, rock-like chikki.
- Flavoring: You can add finely chopped dry fruits to make it more nutritious, and cardamom powder for flavoring
- Slicing: It is very important to cut mark chikki while it is still hot. Cooled and set chikki is hard to cut.
- Batch: Making chikki is easy but requires attention and quick actions. I always prefer making in batches.
- Storage: Chikki can be stored in airtight container for up to 2 months at room temperature.
- Variation: For variation you can use, chopped dry fruits, roasted cereals, sesame seeds, amaranth seeds, murmurs etc.