Caramel Pori Bars
Caramel Pori Bars are a fun take on the traditional pori urundai made for Karthigai. These are made with rice crispies, sugar, mixed nuts and flavoured with cardamom.
Servings 5 bars
Ingredients
For caramel
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tsp butter or ghee
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp honey
- ½ tsp lemon juice
For the bars
- 1 tbsp almonds
- 1 tbsp pistachios
- 2 cups pori/murmura/puffed rice
- ½ tsp vanilla
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
Instructions
- Grease a small box with parchment paper, butter if needed and set aside.
- Roast the puffed rice and nuts in a dry pan for 2 minutes on low heat. Do them one at a time. Alternatively, microwave them individually for 30 seconds. Be careful not to burn them. The puffed rice has to be crispy.
- To a pan on low heat, add the sugar followed by the butter and water. Let it dissolve. It is important to not STIR this.
- As it dissolves, use a brush dipped in water to remove any crystals that may form on the sides. Make sure you do this entire process in low flame.
- As it turns slightly golden, add the honey, cardamom, vanilla and roasted nuts, puffed rice.
- DO not tip all the puffed rice at one, keep some and mix in stages. It has to be a sticky mass when you move to the box. Also, there is NO cooking at this stage. Just mix and move to the box.
- Remove it to the greased tin/box and spread it as evenly as possible.
- These bars cool quite soon, so in a couple of minutes you will be able to use your fingers to press them tight.
- Let them sit for 10 minutes and make bars. This measure makes 5-6 bars as shown above.
- Store in an airtight box.
Notes
Vanilla is optional. I added since it has a beautiful aroma. You can add either of the two - cardamom and vanilla.