My little one, Avyan, loves Indian sweets more than cakes or doughnuts. His current favorite is Jalebi and Kaju Katli.
Kaju Barfi/Kaju Katli is a classic Indian sweet. It never gets old and people never get bored of it. It is either prepared or bought in boatload for any Indian festive occasion or special occurrence.
What key ingredients are needed for Kaju Katli?
CashewSugarGhee (Clarified Butter)
Flavor choice:
Cardamom PowderSaffron ThreadRose Water
Most often, edible silver leaf is added on the Kaju Katli for garnish.
How to make Kaju Katli/Cashew Fudge
Ground the cashew and sift it to get dry cashew powder. I prefer using a coffee grinder for this! Cook the cashew powder in sugar, water and ghee until it turns into pliable soft dough.Knead the dough while it’s still warm. Apply a little ghee on your hands as you knead the dough.Roll it gently to 1 cm thick sheet on a greased parchment paper. Leave it aside for 1 hour.Slice it into diamond shapes and leave it aside for a few more hours to dry up and set completely.
Key Notes to remember
When you are grinding the cashew, make sure you do not grind it for too long or else, it will start releasing oil and get lumpy. The cashew powder needs to mildly grainy and dry.Make sure you sift the ground cashew and either grind the big chunks once again or save it to use in a curry.Cook at medium heat and keep stirring constantly to avoid the cashew from getting stuck at the bottom of the pan.Do not overcook as it will turn dry instead of creamy and fudge like.
How to know if the dough is ready?
Grease your fingers with a little ghee. Then, take a tiny lump of the hot dough and try to roll it into a ball. If it’s not sticky and the shape is holding, the dough is ready.
Storing the Kaju Katli
Once it’s completely set, store it in a clean dry airtight jar in the refrigerator. If stored properly, it will stay good for a month! Cashews, as you know, are quite expensive and for dishes such as this, get the packet with broken cashews instead of whole. The broken cashew packets are always slightly cheaper than the whole cashew packets.
More Diwali sweets:
Jalebi
Chhena Malpua
Gajar Halwa
Making Kaju Katli at home might sound like a daunting task. Trust me, I thought so too and always depended on the store-bought ones. But, once I made it at home, I realized that it’s actually not that difficult. And unlike store bought ones, you can have completely control on what goes in.
