Ever since i first saw 'make your own nutella' on SmittenKitchen website a few months ago, it has stayed resolutely in the back of my mind. Maybe even displaced other more important things in that little brain space. For those in India who don't usually have bread for breakfast, Nutella is a sweet hazelnut spread with cocoa. I suspect millions have it as part of their breakfast everyday around the globe. It is now available in supermarkets in India but quite expensive as it is imported. I have a weakness for all things chocolate and have been eyeing Nutella for a while now - though i don't care much for Hazelnuts. Sometimes i involuntarily reach up to the Nutella bottle on the grocery aisle, turn it around in my hand and decide it is still too expensive. I won't lie, this has happened a few times now.
Saturday night i found myself home alone, when the husband went off for a boys night out and two of my girlfriends couldnt make it to a get-together (OK i am partly to blame, i called them at the last minute). Still, it only meant that the time was ripe for making my own choco-nut-spread. And i went looking for the recipe online again. I have followed the ingredient list as is but changed the method quite a bit to suit my kitchen. And while we are on the subject, i think you can do without the extra 1/4 cup of sugar. One cup should suffice.
A word of caution is in order here, this recipe is best suited for a heavy duty mixer/ blender or food processor. My 550 Watt mixer almost gave up on me (don't tell the husband but i even had a light smoke coming out of the mixer at one point). So I had to warn you beforehand to look-out, as there is no way you are not going to want to make it right away. The resultant spread was not as smooth as i wanted it to be, but it tasted super delicious anyway. Boy, I was glad to have been home alone on this Saturday night!
Recipe adapted from SmittenKitchen.
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw peanuts
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3-4 tablespoons peanut oil
Method
Heat a heavy bottomed skillet (the widest one you have) on medium heat until hot. Pour the raw peanuts and stir constantly so they heat evenly. You will hear crackling sounds when the peanuts try to pop out of their skins and split into two halves. There will also be a slight aroma. Remove from heat when the peanuts have browned slightly, around 8-10 minutes total.
Leave them to cool slightly for 5 minutes, the peanuts turn crispy during this time. If you are using raw peanuts with skins on, you have to remove the skins now by either rubbing them between your palms or using your finger tips to rub the skins off. This step was the most time consuming and i highly recommend using skinned peanuts if you can get them.
Transfer the skinned peanuts to a mixer or food processor and grind them for about 5 minutes. If you have a low wattage mixer like me, you might want to do this step in installments of 1 minute each with a gap of 15 minutes to allow the mixer to cool down.
Add the sugar, salt, cocoa and peanut oil and continue to grind for a minute till well blended. Transfer to a jar and store in refrigerator. For a quick breakfast, spread a spoonful of this chocolaty treat on a slice of bread, top it with sliced banana and enjoy :-)
Linking this to Sobha's Just 4 fun event at Good Food.
is peanut oil enough to make it a paste or one need to add water??
ReplyDeleteYou should not add water, it will become chutney and will spoil soon if you add water. Just the peanut oil and keep processing in the mixer/food processor until it turns into paste.
ReplyDeletewow, so yummilicious, homemade spread sure sounds great :) lovely entry for my event :) Thanks dear :)
ReplyDeleteJoin the Just "4" Fun event :)