Peanut (Groundnut) Butter

One of the main fats in groundnut butter is oleic acid. When substituted for other fats in your diet, oleic acid is shown to help maintain good cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure. Managing these levels in your body can lower the risk of heart disease. Peanut (groundnut) butter also contains omega-6 fatty acid.

Preparation Method:

1. Groundnut Pre-cleaning & Shelling: Good quality groundnut pods are sorted out and destoned before shelling in openers.
2. Groundnut Grading: Shelled groundnuts are graded according to their size to ensure selection of only big and bold groundnuts for the process.
3. Groundnut Roasting & Blanching: Roasting is done at around 160 °C for about 40-60 minutes depending upon the moisture content. Roasting reduces the water content to around 1% which increases the shelf life of groundnuts and helps in enhancing the flavour. After roasting, groundnuts are cooled and then blanched (removal of outer red skin).
4. Grinding: Groundnuts are then ground in a groundnut butter mill in two stages to produce fine and creamy butter. The outlet temperature is around 65-75°C. All ingredients like salt, sugar, and stabilizers are added during this process.
5. De-aeration: Air is incorporated in the groundnut butter during milling and subsequently it is removed in a vacuum.
6. Cooling: A scraped surface heat exchanger is used for cooling. The outlet temperature depends upon the type of stabilizer used.
7. Filling and Packing: Peanut (groundnut) butter is filled in pet jars or metal drums as per the requirement of the buyer. Immediately after filling, the jars are vibrated to remove any remaining air bubbles. After keeping jars or drums for around 35-40 hours at around 20°C, the groundnut butter sets completely and can be dispatched.

Homemade Peanut (Groundnut) Butter

Ingredients: 2 cups (16 ounces) raw shelled groundnuts, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1-2 tablespoon groundnut oil (optional, for creamier groundnut butter), 1-2 tablespoon honey or other sweeteners (optional, for sweeter groundnut butter)

Optional Add-Ins:1-2 tablespoon cocoa powder, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or other spices, a handful of chocolate chips, a few spoonful of Nutella

Equipment:Baking sheet, food processor or blender, spatula, and container with a lid

Instructions:

Roast the groundnuts (optional): Heat the oven to 350°F and toast the groundnuts for about 10 minutes on a baking sheet until lightly golden and glossy with oil. You can skip this step if you prefer raw butter or if you’re using pre-toasted nuts; roasting gives the groundnut butter a deeper flavor and also helps to make the oil blend into the butter smoothly.

1. Pulse the groundnuts until ground: Transfer the groundnuts into a food processor or blender. If you have toasted the nuts, do this while the nuts are still warm. Pulse a few times until finely ground. For chunky groundnut butter, remove 1/2 cup of chopped nuts and set aside.
2. Process for 1 minute: Run the food processor or blender continuously for 1 minute. Stop and scrape down the sides. At this point, the groundnut butter will look gritty and dry, almost like couscous.
3. Process for 1 minute: Run the food processor or blender continuously for another minute, then stop and scrape down the sides. At this point, the butter will start clumping together. It’s not quite groundnut butter, but it’s getting there!
4. Process for 1 minute: Run the food processor or blender continuously for another minute, then stop and scrape down the sides. At this point, the butter will become glossy and soft.
5. Add salt, oil, sweetener and add-ons over the top of the groundnut butter.
6. Process for 1 to 2 additional minutes: Continue processing the butter until it becomes completely smooth. Homemade groundnut butter will still be a little grittier than the commercial groundnut butter, but it should be spreadable at this point. Taste and add more salt or other add-ons to enhance the taste. If you reserved some groundnuts for chunky groundnut butter, add them now and pulse a few times to incorporate the crunchy taste.
7. Transfer the groundnut butter to a storage container: Scrape the groundnut butter into a storage container, cover, and refrigerate. The groundnut butter can be used immediately.

Recipe Notes:

Using Toasted Nuts: You can also use pre-toasted groundnuts available in the market. It is recommended to give the pre-toasted groundnuts a quick trip through the oven to warm them up and to help the oils to loosen up.

Making More or Less Groundnut Butter: : You can use this technique with any amount of nuts. You will end up with about half a cup of less groundnut butter than the amount of nuts you would have originally used at the beginning of the process (for instance, 2 cups of groundnuts make about 1½ cups of groundnut butter).

Groundnut Chikki

Groundnut Chikki (Groundnut Chikki, Groundnut Brittle) is a healthy, delicious traditional candy made from groundnuts and jaggery. It is a perfect replacement for chocolates. This recipe uses jaggery to make crispier chikkis in an easier manner. However, you can follow tips given below to make it with sugar as well.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes, Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients: 1 cup groundnuts, 3/4 cup jaggery (grated or finely chopped) and 1 tablespoon greasing ghee (clarified butter)

Directions:

1. Roast groundnuts in a pan (preferably a heavy-base pan) on a medium flame for approx. 5-6 minutes. Stir constantly to prevent burning.

2. Let the roasted groundnuts cool for about 3-4 minutes. Remove their skin while they are slightly warm and break them into halves.

3. Grease the surface of counter top or the reverse side of a big plate and a rolling pin (belan) with ghee.

4. When the jaggery is dissolved, stir it and cook for approx. 4-5 minutes on a low flame.

5. Check the consistency of the dissolved jaggery by dropping a small drop of the dissolved jaggery in a bowl filled with water. If the jaggery drop turns into a solid drop and sits at the bottom of bowl, then it is cooked. Otherwise, cook it for some more time and repeat the check.

6. Turn off flame and add the groundnut halves. Mix until all the groundnut halves are coated with the dissolved jaggery.

7. Pour the mixture over the previously greased surface.

8. Quickly roll the mixture flat using a rolling pin. Keep its thickness around 1/3 inches.

9. Make parallel horizontal and vertical cuts (approx. 3-inch apart) with a knife while the mixture is still hot.

10. When cooled, break it into pieces and store it in an airtight container.