Pé-de-moleque

Pé-de-moleque ("street-boy's foot") is a traditional sweet from the Brazilian cuisine made of peanuts and molasses. Origin of name: Certain streets in Brazil were made by laying down various odd rocks in a loose layer of sand/dirt, and having street-boys stomp on them to flatten the surface. Streets made by this method came to be called "pé-de-moleque." The appearance of the peanuts stuck together by molasses was found to be similar to that of these types of streets, and so, the sweet took the same name.

The sweet is prepared by mixing roasted, peeled peanuts with melted brown sugar or rapadura, with or without the addition of macerated peanuts as well. The mixture is gently stirred over low heat until it gets close to crystallizing. Then the mixture is placed on a plain stone or metal surface (preferably thinly oiled with butter to ease removal) in pieces similar in size to cookies. This traditional preparation results in soft, irregularly-shaped sweets of a dark brown colour. Softness results from the incorporation of peanut oil.

Besides the traditional process, the sweet is also produced industrially, by mixing melted sugar with peanuts and then pouring the mix into square moulds, resulting in hard bars of a lighter colour.

The same sweet is popular in India by the name of "Chikki" and is sold commercially, on a large scale. It is popular in the northern and central states.

Recipe:

Total time: 1 hour

3 cups water2 pounds brown sugar1 pounds whole roasted peanuts - shelled1 teaspoon salt

Makes about 24 patties

Boil water and sugar until it spins a thread. Put in the peanuts and salt and mix lightly. Make patties, using a tablespoon as a measuring guide. Let cool on greased marble or cookie sheet.