Kaju Katli, a delicious and rich fudge made from cashew nuts and sugar. Kaju Katli is a Hindi word where Kaju means "Cashew nuts" and Katli means "Slice/Burfi". It's one of the most famous desserts/ sweets to prepare on any festive occasion all through North India.

As I'm a South Indian, i was not aware of this sweet in my childhood days. During my working days in Chennai, we got a diwali gift hamper every year from the company. That's where i first saw this sweet and initially i thought it was milk sweet/burfi based on its look.

After tasting a piece, i loved it instantly. It was so rich and at the same time had very subtle sweetness making you want to eat more and more.

After marriage , i have tried this sweet many times at home. For me, it takes a while to get that perfect taste and texture. Though it needs only two ingredients and the recipe looks so simple, there are few minute things to take care of to get that perfect delicious kaju katli.

From my experience of cooking all these years, i find that the less ingredient recipes or the basic foods are the most difficult one to nail. Do you ever feel it ?

Ok, now let's talk about the key ingredient for kaju katli!

Cashew nut powder

I personally like to make my own cashew nut powder for this katli. To make the cashew nut powder at home, here are the few things to take care of .

Make sure to use the good quality cashew nuts whether it's whole or split.
If you store the cashew nuts in the refrigerator/freezer, bring them to room temperature before powder it.
Use a dry mixie/blender jar to powder it.
Don't run the mixie/blender for a longer time, the cashew nuts will start leaving the oil.It ruins the recipe.
If you find a lot of little granules of cashew nuts after grinding, make sure to sieve it once. I always do this for smooth kaju katli.
You can make the cashew nut powder ahead of time and store it in airtight container. I usually get it ready the previous night itself. So when the day i'm making the kaju katli,it's so much easier.

Now let's talk about the next important thing in getting perfect kaju katli !

Sugar Syrup

For soft and melt in your mouth kaju katli, you need a thin thread single consistency sugar syrup
Dip your fingers in the water, take a little bit of sugar syrup in between index finger and thumb, when you move your fingers a little apart, it forms a single thread. And at the same time, when you move your fingers apart like more than 1/2 inch apart, then the string breaks. That's the perfect sugar consistency of making kaju katli.
Once the sugar syrup starts to boil, keep the flame low-medium, so it will be easy to reach the correct sugar consistency.

Correct Stage to switch off the heat

When the whole mixture becomes thick, take a little bit of cashew mixture on a separate plate. Dip your fingers in the cold water and then take cashew mixture and roll it in between your fingers. When you can roll non-sticking ball, then kaju katli is ready and it's time to remove from the heat.
Make sure to dip your fingers in cold water because the mixture sticks to the warm hands.
Also when you pour the mixture on the butter paper, the last bits of the mixture starts to thicken. That's also the indication of a perfect stage! See the step by step pic for more understanding

Kneading the dough

For smooth kaju katli, kneading the cashew mixture is really important.
Once you pour the cashew mixture in the butter paper, immediately start kneading the mixture with the help of butter paper. Don't touch it with your hands immediately since it's super hot.
When the mixture is hand bearable, you can knead with your hands and make a smooth ball.

Shaping Kaju Katli

Let the mixture come to room temperature before start shaping.
In case, the mixture is dry and not smooth enough to roll with a rolling pin, then add a tbsp of warm milk and start kneading again till it's smooth.
Place the mixture in between the butter paper for easy rolling.
Cut into desired shape as you like.

I believe that i have shared all the tips to get perfect kaju katli. If you have any other questions, do leave it in the comment section,I will try my best to answer.

My little one turned one a couple of days ago! I had saved this post in my draft for a while to post on his birthday :-) But with our exhausting trip to India including winter storm, staying at hotel, missing connecting flights twice, waiting for hours at airport, travelled almost half of the world for three days before reaching the destination and finally lost our both check-ins luggage, i have no energy to turn on the laptop to click the publish button.

Despite all the hurdles, we had a great celebration on his birthday and finally after a week, we got our luggage. Such a roller roaster trip, it was !

Ok, enough with the long story! I wish everyone a very Happy New Year ! See you all in the next year with more interesting recipes.

Kaju Katli | Cashew Burfi

Preparation Time : 10 min | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 20
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

Cashew - 1 cup

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Water - 1/4 cup

Ghee - 1/2 tsp

Procedure

Measure the cashew and add it in the blender/mixie jar and powder it nicely.

It should be like fine rava. Then sieve it once to avoid big pieces of cashews and keep it ready. At this stage, you can store in airtight container for later use too.

Next add the sugar and water in a non-stick pan and turn the heat on medium flame.

Let the sugar melts completely and boil it till it reaches the fine single thread consistency.

Add the cashew nut powder, keep the flame in low and stir it continuously.

Cook till it's thick. To check whether it's ready, dip your hand in water and take a little bit of the cashew mixture and roll it. If you're able to roll it without sticking, then it's time to turn off. Transfer the mixture on to the ghee greased butter paper. Gather the butter paper around the mixture.

And start kneading the cashew mixture until it's smooth ball.

Then place an another butter sheet over it and roll it with rolling pin till the thickness of the katli you need.

Cut the kaju katli into desired shape. I cut it in the traditional diamond shape here.

That's it, Delicious and rich Kaju Katli is ready!

Notes:

Make sure to powder cashew nuts finely for smooth kaju katli.
I would highly recommend to use the non-stick pan to avoid sticking at the bottom.

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Friday, December 30, 2022