India On A Plate: How A Lonavla Man Invented Chikki, Our Favourite Winter Snack

Lonavla, Maharashtra. The birthplace of the humble chikki.

Gud dani, gud patti, layiya patti, gud badam: the simple symphony of jaggery and peanuts has been around for centuries. But it was only in Lonavla that gud dani became chikki with the addition of sugar to the mix. The sugar is what gives our favourite winter snack its hard and candy-like texture.

Screen grab/India On A Plate

The only thing that can outdo the chikki is perhaps its origin story. While the combination of gud-peanut and gud-til has been around for a while, it was a man named Bhimraj Agarwal who first thought of commercialising this sweet. It all started 100 years ago with the laying of the first train tracks on the mountainous terrains of Lonavla.

Given that constructing railway tracks on the ghats was a strenuous job, the situation called for a bite-sized and cheap energy snack. Keeping this in mind, Mr Agarwal prepared and distributed a combination of jaggery and peanuts to the labourers working on the tracks.

Screen grab/India On A Plate

Maganlal chikki borrows its name from Mr Agarwal's son Maganlal who first had the idea to sell this from a tiny shop just behind Lonavla station. The railway tracks, once complete, made way for more visitors who were mesmerized by this snack.

Kubbra Sait on a mission to find the original shop where chikki was first made

Today, if you happen to be on the streets of Lonavla, you're bound to run in to countless Maganlal chikki shops with red boards. But these are not the real ones. To find the original store check out the video below, and join Kubbra Sait and Indiatimes as we discover India's flavourful history with #IndiaOnAPlate