Cashew Nut Nokkal is a simple and delightful dessert/snack made with just 4 ingredients. These are so addictive, so make sure to make a large batch to go around.
This month’s marathon has helped me learn the names of the traditional Tamil Nadu dishes that I have eaten in the past but never knew were called.
This particular one, the cashew nut Nokkal or the Mundhiri Paruppu Nokkal, for example, is something I have seen a lot inside the paruppu thengai koodu (the traditional cone) at weddings and functions but never knew that it had a different name when made as a snack of its own.
My husband absolutely loves this Mundhiri Paruppu Nokkal / candied cashew nut and whenever amma goes to a function and sees this as a sweet in paruppu thengai koodu, she would make sure to get some for him.
I clearly remember that she made this cone when she came from India for our seemantham. We did not eat this after that. When looking through Meenakshi Ammal’s book for recipes, I came across the name Nokkal and out of curiosity went in to see it.
What is Nokkal?
So there are two kinds of Nokkal. One is called the sugar Nokkal, which is made out of sev made from kadalai maavu (besan), kind of like manoharam, but made with sugar instead of jaggery.
The other kind is the cashew nut Nokkal which is made with cashew nuts and sugar. The recipe was so simple and it was ready in absolutely no time. I also bought some roasted unsalted cashew nuts and that made the process even easier.
If making with raw cashews, we just have to fry the cashews in ghee until golden brown. The recipe in the book suggests deep fry the cashews. We can just use a couple of teaspoons of ghee and pan-fry the cashews. The only thing to remember is to entirely cool down the roasted cashews or else the end product would become soggy instead of crunchy.
My other recipes from this series
A - Athirasam
B - Badam Burfi
C - Chettinad Masala Cheeyam
D - Dosai Milagai Podi
E - Ellu Urundai
F - Fruit Kesari
G - Godhumai Rava Pidi Kozhukattai
H - Homemade Rice flour
I - Inji Marappa
J - Jevvarisi Thengai Paal Payasam
K - Kancheepuram Idli
L - Lemon Pickle
M - Manapparai Murukku
Preparation time – 5 minutes
Cooking time – 20 minutes
Difficulty level – easy
Ingredients to make Cashew Nut Nokkal
- Whole Cashew Nuts – 1 cup (1 measure)
- Sugar – 1 cup (1 measure)
- Cardamom powder – ½ tsp
- Nei / Ghee – 2 tsp
Procedure to make Cashew Nut Nokkal
- Fry the cashew nuts in batches in ghee until golden brown. I used roasted unsalted cashew nuts and hence just used a little ghee to fry the cashews until warm and aromatic. If using raw cashew nuts, make sure you fry the cashews until golden brown. Drain the roasted cashews and keep them aside until it has completely cooled down.
- Once the cashews have cooled down, heat the sugar with just enough water to immerse. Boil the sugar until it reaches one-string consistency. This is when you take a drop of syrup in between your index finger and thumb and it forms a single thread when stretched.
- At this stage, add the cardamom powder followed by fried and cooled cashew nut. Turn off the heat.
- With a wooden handle keep stirring the mixture, gently without breaking the nuts. This step is very important as it helps the sugar syrup to coat the nuts evenly when cooling down. If you do not stir, the sugar will solidify and settle in the bottom and the nuts will not have the coating over them.
- Keep stirring for about 10 minutes and by then all the nuts would have been coated evenly with the sugar. Now keep the nuts separated in the pan or on a plate and let it cool down completely. I have the pictorial showing how the syrup solidifies in the 10-minute duration.
- Store it in an airtight container and enjoy!
Similar Recipes
If you made this recipe and liked it, give a star rating on the recipe card or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #MyCookingJourney and tagging me @sandhya.ramakrishnan. You could follow me and my recipes on Facebook |Instagram | Pinterest | twitter
Recipe
Cashew Nut Nokkal
Equipment
- pan
- Stove
Ingredients
- 1 cup Whole Cashew Nuts
- 1 cup Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Cardamom powder
- 2 teaspoon Nei / Ghee
Instructions
- Fry the cashew nuts in batches in ghee until golden brown. I used roasted unsalted cashew nuts and hence just used a little ghee to fry the cashews until warm and aromatic. If using raw cashew nuts, make sure you fry the cashews until golden brown. Drain the roasted cashews and keep it aside until it has completely cooled down.
- Once the cashews have cooled down, heat the sugar with just enough water to immerse. Boil the sugar until it reaches one string consistency. This is when you take a drop of syrup in between your index finger and thumb and it forms a single thread when stretched.
- At this stage, add the cardamom powder followed by fried and cooled cashew nut. Turn off the heat.
- With a wooden handle keep stirring the mixture, gently without breaking the nuts. This step is very important as it helps the sugar syrup to coat the nuts evenly when cooling down. If you do not stir, the sugar will solidify and settle in the bottom and the nuts will not have the coating over it.
- Keep stirring for about 10 minutes and by them all the nuts would have been coated evenly with the sugar. Now keep the nuts separated in the pan or on a plate and let it cool down completely. I have the pictorial showing how the syrup solidifies in the 10 minute duration.
- Store it an airtight container and enjoy!
Jeri says
These candied cashew nuts were so delicious but highly addictive! We couldn't stop eating them! We will definitely be making them again!
Mallika Chellappa says
The only difference between paruppu thengai and nokkal is the former uses jaggery and that latter sugar!
PT is a must at weddings, often left in the conical mould. Nokkal was also being made by Spencers(I think?) many years ago
(They were also catering for Indian Railways.. used to supply ghee in little kinnams with every order.. I think it cost 14 annas per plate of food. Those were the days!)
Aditya Iyer says
Such a delightful dish. The term Nokkal is in fact new to me, We always called it Mundhiri paruppu - Paruppu thengai which itself is a rarity.