While on our recent flight, when my daughter asked for a caramel popcorn snack, I obviously restricted her not only due to the white sugar caramel.. but I could imagine a long list of unnecessary components dancing their way into the box. I was and am truly scared of the butter… too much salt… baking soda…. corn syrup… preserving agents and other unknown ingredients in the pack. I know I sound quite obsessed with healthy food. And as always, I promised her to make a healthier version of Caramel Popcorn at home.
Though in a while relaxing my obsession, I bought her a pack of caramel popcorn and tasted to find the original taste and texture of it. Crispy, buttery, salty, perfectly sweetened with caramelized sugar –  it definitely tasted good. Reading the ingredients, I couldn’t control the guilt of having those unwanted preservatives and unknown elements included in the pack to increase its shelf life.
Now, to keep up the promise..(by the way, I am approximately 75% good at keeping up my healthy promises in the kitchen), I decided to try a healthy caramel popcorn version not altering the taste of the packed junk that we had.
Off late, I have been quite successful in making peanut and sesame candies with jaggery syrup. With that confidence of getting the right syrup consistency, I went to fetch cane jaggery from my storage. In a corner, I saw the ‘chukku karuppatti’ specially bought from Thiruchendur Temple.

 

Chukku Karuppatti is a flavourful/healthy combination of palm jaggery and dry ginger, moulded for storage in a hand-made palm leaf box. It is a household remedy for cold, cough and indigestion. So, you guessed right… caramel would be made from ‘chukku karuppatti’ – ‘dry ginger palm jaggery’ – that would aid in digestion too!
Here’s how I made it .. from scratch… with dry corn and no added ingredients. I prefer the taste of popped corn made from the humble pressure cooker than one made in a microwave.
Palm Sugar Caramel Popcorn – flavoured with dry ginger

 

Ingredients

for pop-corn

• dried corn (to pop-up) – 1 cup
• oil – 1 tsp
• salt – 1/2 tsp

 

pressure cooker popcorn

 

for caramel

• chukku karuppatti/palm jaggery with dry ginger – 1/2 cup

Cane Jaggery can also be substituted for Palm Jaggery

healthy brown syrup

 

Method of Preparation

coating popcorn in palm syrup

 

1. Melt 1/2 cup palm sugar in 1/4 cup water either in minimum heat or by just stirring
2. Keep the palm sugar aside at this melted level
3. Before making caramel, it is better to make popcorn as the thickened syrup would harden quickly
4. In a pressure cooker, take 1 tsp oil and salt; add dry corn and mix well
5. Close the lid without the whistle and let the corn pop up in a few minutes
6. Pop corn is ready
7. Open the lid and keep aside and start making caramel
8. For caramel, in a wide bottomed pan, take the already melted palm sugar and make a two string consistency syrup
9. If one feels the quantity of syrup is too much for the quantity of popped corn, take the extra syrup and store for any other candy next time
10. Immediately add the popcorn in the syrup and mix well
11. Crispy Caramel Popcorn is ready
12. Cool and store in an airtight container.

 

 

It is truly a great feeling of satisfaction and pride to have fulfilled a promise given to your young one!