Deepavali/Diwali is just round the corner. I started preparing for it over the weekend and with only a few days to go I have recipes lined for Deepavali to be posted on FOI. Kaju Katli or cashew barfi is the most loved sweet both by kids and adults. This is the safest bet when distributing sweets as most people love it! I am no exception to that and I can eat many of these in one day, just chew them all up (I try not to though :)). It seems like a very complicated recipe to make but with only a few ingredients it can be one of the most easiest sweets to make if you get the consistency right. Follow stepwise to ensure you get the right consistency right from making the cashew powder to making sugar syrup to the dough consistency. More Deepavali recipes and festival recipes for you try! Happy preparation for the festival of lights! Let’s begin on a sweet note.
Kaju Katli | How to make kaju katli? | Cashew Barfi
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Nutty, fudgy, everyone's favourite with the goodness of cashews, kaju katli
Author: Vindhya Desai
Recipe type: Sweet
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 20 barfis/katlis
Ingredients
- 1 Cup whole raw, unsalted cashews
- ½ Cup sugar
- ¼ Cup water
- 2 Tsp desi ghee for greasing
Other Tools:
- Parchment or butter paper
- Rolling pin
- Modaka/Modak carver or pizza cutter to slice barfis
Method
- Pulse cashews till they are coarsely ground do not completely grind them ,they must not release oil
- In a pan, add sugar and water. Stir till sugar dissolves
- On low-medium flame, boil till one thread consistency is formed, it bubbles up and then forms single thread when pressed between fingers
- Add cashew powder and mix well till it is evenly combined
- Saute the mixture till it forms a dough ball. This will take around 8-9 minutes. Keep an eye on it!
- Remove from heat immediately and put the dough onto a working surface. Let it cool for a few minutes (4-5 minutes). At this stage the dough will be a little coarse
- When it becomes easy to handle, apply some ghee and knead into a smooth dough
- Grease 2 parchment/butter papers
- Keep the dough in between 2 parchment sheets and roll into 1 Cm thick disk using a rolling pin. Apply even pressures on all sides. The edges will be a little jagged but they taste so yummy. Nothing gets wasted, all of it is awesome!
- Cut into katlis by running the cutter straight and diagonal
- Serve! Nothing else needs to be done!
Notes
Use whole/halved/broken cashews. Make sure they are good quality, at room temperature, raw and unsalted (please!)
Parchment/butter paper makes it easy to to roll. You can even press this evenly on a greased plate and then cut into squares
Make sure the dough is quickly removed from hot pan once it comes together. The residual heat continues to cook the mixture. It might become very dry if it overheats
Do NOT underheat the sugar syrup it crystallizes and do NOT overheat the sugar syrup it caramelizes (turns brown/golden) both of which can spoil the barfi
Make sure knead the dough till it becomes once single ball and feels smooth and nice on the surface
Always only pulse the cashews they powder quite quickly. Do not grind them, they will release oil and become a lump
Mix the cashew powder well with the sugar syrup and ensure there are no lumps
Cover with silver vark if you want to get the sweet shop effect (I avoid it as it is not considered healthy)
Add kesar/saffron to make kesar kaju katli for an exotic effect
Parchment/butter paper makes it easy to to roll. You can even press this evenly on a greased plate and then cut into squares
Make sure the dough is quickly removed from hot pan once it comes together. The residual heat continues to cook the mixture. It might become very dry if it overheats
Do NOT underheat the sugar syrup it crystallizes and do NOT overheat the sugar syrup it caramelizes (turns brown/golden) both of which can spoil the barfi
Make sure knead the dough till it becomes once single ball and feels smooth and nice on the surface
Always only pulse the cashews they powder quite quickly. Do not grind them, they will release oil and become a lump
Mix the cashew powder well with the sugar syrup and ensure there are no lumps
Cover with silver vark if you want to get the sweet shop effect (I avoid it as it is not considered healthy)
Add kesar/saffron to make kesar kaju katli for an exotic effect
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Stepwise:
Pulse cashews till they are coarsely ground do not completely grind them, they must not release oil
In a pan, add sugar and water. Stir till sugar dissolves
On low-medium flame, boil till one thread consistency is formed, it bubbles up and then forms single thread when pressed between fingers
Add cashew powder and mix well till it is evenly combined
Saute the mixture till it forms a dough ball. This will take around 8-9 minutes. Keep an eye on it!
Remove from heat immediately and put the dough onto a working surface. Let it cool for a few minutes (4-5 minutes). At this stage the dough will be a little coarse
When it becomes easy to handle, apply some ghee and knead into a smooth dough
Grease 2 parchment/butter papers
Keep the dough in between 2 parchment sheets and roll into 1 Cm thick disk using a rolling pin. Apply even pressures on all sides. The edges will be a little jagged but they taste so yummy. Nothing gets wasted, all of it is awesome!
Cut into katlis by running the cutter straight and diagonal
Serve! Nothing else needs to be done!
