Nutty bars with Protein Powder and Jaggery

My sister and I loved jugu pak  when we were kids.  Jugu Pak  is very similar to the peanut brittle we get in the shops – except that this is made with jaggery.  The peanuts would be lightly roasted and then crushed lightly using a pestle and mortar.  Yes, this was before the days of the electric food processor!!  This recipe is similar to the jugu pak recipe but I have used a variety of protein rich nuts as well as protein powder. All these ingredients make a tasty nutty bar.

The main ingredients I used for this recipe are:

Mixed nuts:  You can use any nuts.  I used a mixture of  walnuts, cashews and almonds.  All the nuts were roasted first to release their oils and natural flavours. Nuts release their energy slowly so help to keep you feeling full for longer.

 

Protein Powder:  I used the Salted caramel Impact Whey Protein Powder. This protein powder  contains high-quality protein, which contributes to the growth and maintenance of muscle. This protein powder does have some  sweeteners so no extra sugar is added to the bars.  You can use any brand or flavour of protein powder you like.

Jaggery: For this recipe I used a shop bought jaggery which was slightly lighter in colour.  Jaggery is made from unrefined cane sugar.  This product is called Gor or gud and when we were in Kenya- it was  available quite cheaply so it was used instead of sugar by a lot of us.  It was also believed that Jaggery was healthier than sugar so another reason for using it.  For me, I just love the taste of sweets and desserts made from jaggery. You can read more about jaggery here. 

Salted Butter :  This also helps to bind the bars and gives it a lovely flavour.  Vegans can use a butter substitute.

Jump to Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of mixed nuts
• ½ cup protein powder
• ½ cup melted butter (vegans can use coconut oil or a butter substitute)
• ½ cup jaggery

Method:

1. Prepare an area on your worktop for rolling out the hot nut crunch on.  Spread a large greaseproof paper there.

2. Roast the nuts and chop them small using a large knife.

3. In a large wok, add the jaggery and pour on the melted butter and allow the jaggery to melt too. Note:  Cook this at a medium heat or the jaggery and butter will start to burn.

4.  Once the jaggery has melted,  turn the heat down and add the nuts and mix well.   Once mixed, add the protein powder and mix this well.  If for any reason, it feels dry you can add a bit more butter.  Some recipes ask to add water but I wouldn’t recommend that as this will ruin your nut crunch.   It won’t last long and start to get mouldy.

5.  Once all this is mixed, switch off the heat and transfer the mixture over on the greaseproof paper and spread it out using a spoon and then use a rolling pin to thin the mixture.

6.  You will get some uneven edges so just use a knife to square out the nut crunch and cut out the slices into squares or rectangles and allow this to cool.  At this stage, you have to taste some of the warm nut crunch as the taste is exceptional.

7.  They will look a bit rustic but once anyone in your family tries these – they won’t be able to resist these.

You may wish to checkout the following easy and different recipes for snack bars from my blog.

• Muesli or granola bars
• Goji berry cereal bars Powder
• Nutty Energy Ladoos with dates
• Ferrero Richer and whole nut topped bars
• Dates, Nuts and Protein Energy Balls
• Mixed Nuts Barfi with Dates
• Oats, Peanut Butter and Protein Powder Bars
• Choco nut Energy Bars

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