Kaju Katli Recipe | Cashew Barfi Recipe [Step by Step Pictures] | Diwali Sweets 2013

After the huge effort with the Boondi Ladoos, making Kaju Katlis seemed like a cake walk. It really did :). I just wished S was there when I actually attempted to cut diamond shaped pieces, you see hes the art guy in the family ;), I dont think I did a bad job but am sure S would have perfected it well. It is an easy sweet I think and something as rich as cashews suit the Diwali occasion really well. Kaju Katli needs no introduction but for the benefit of any non-Indian readers of this blog - Kaju katli is a sweet make by dissolving raw cashew powder into sugar syrup which is later allowed to set for a short while, then cut into diamond shaped pieces and served. Cashew powder and sugary syrup, just two ingredients make this hugely popular Indian sweet. Indian shops sell this sweet with a coating of the edible silver paper which is what attracted many of us to this sweet. I remember buying this sweet for this purpose alone and loved licking just the wrapper off it.

There are few sweets that you hold in a supreme position in your mind, sweets like boondi ladoo and kaju katli and many others which are normally not attempted by home-cooks, these sweets are always reserved to be bought from shops. When you actually end up making them at home and they turn out good, its a food-bloggers high I tell you. I thoroughly enjoyed making kaju katli and boondi ladoos this season and the last two days of sweet making has set the Diwali mood in my home. So what are you waiting for - get set, ready and go make these awesome sweets this Diwali

Ingredients

Serves - makes 25-30 pieces
Prep and Cook time - 45 min

Raw Cashew nuts [at room temperature] - 2 cups
Regular Granulated sugar - 3/4 cup
Water - 1.5 cups, or as much needed to make sugar syrup

How do you do it

1. First powder the cashews well. Now while you use the mixer for this purpose be careful, make sure the mixer jar is completely dry, free of any water/grease. Do not over-powder, as over-powdering will result in cashews emitting oil and it will become pasty. Pulse for 20 seconds and you should be done. Even if its slightly coarse, dont worry, it will becomes fine when you eventually make the kaju dough. Also make sure kajus are at room temperature, do not powder them right out of the refrigerator, they will let out moisture and it wont work well.

2. Now on to the making of sugar syrup. Take sugar in a pan and add water to it until the water is one inch above the sugar. Keep this pan on the stove, in medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Then let the sugar syrup boil until a "single string consistency" is formed. This takes a while, about 15-20 minutes i would say in medium heat. Once the sugar syrup starts boiling and bubbles are formed, its time to start paying attention to the syrup. After this stage the syrup becomes sticky at one point. Use a ladle and dip it into the sugar syrup. Touch the syrup on the ladle with your index finger. Now use your thumb finger too and bring the index finger in contact with the thumb and release slowly to see if a single string is formed. At the initial stage, you will find a string form but it will go off immediately - this is "half thread consistency". Once this happens within few more minutes of boiling the sugar syrup, you will get a single string which will hold when you use your index and thumb finger to test again. At this stage lower the flame and add in the cashew powder and mix well.

3. The above step is important because if you put in the kaju powder before the "single string consistency" of sugar syrup is formed, the mixture will become a sticky paste and the kaju dough will not come together. Also while the sugar syrup is happening, take a huge aluminium foil sheet and grease it with a tsp of ghee.

4. For about 2-3 minutes saute this mixture well until it forms a lump. To test if the mixture is ready to be taken off flame, take a tiny amount, blow it to cool the mixture and try forming a small ball, like shown below, if it holds well, your mixture is ready to go off the flame. This step usually takes only 2-3 minutes to get to that stage. If you let the mixture in flame for too long, the barfis will end up being hard. If you take them before the right consistent, they will not set. So be careful here.

5. Transfer this mixture to the greased sheet now. Once the mixture cools a bit, knead to form a dough. About 10 minutes of kneading. If needed you made add a tbsp or two of milk to this mixture and knead. I dint use milk, it worked fine without it. Using milk will reduce the shelf life of this sweet and in this case you may need to keep the sweet refrigerated.

6. Using the roti rod, roll the dough into a square if possible of medium thickness. I made into a round. You can see below. Once done, use a toothpick to make lines so its easier to cut. Give it about 10-15 minutes to set after which you may cut it into diamond shaped pieces and there kaju katlis are done :).