Kaju Katli

Kaju Katli, is basically a North Indian sweet, but now popular throughout India. There is no sweet shop in India which does not keep Kaju Katli.  Kaju Katli is like a sort of burfi made using Kajus i.e. Cashewnuts.  My children luv them a lot whenever I used to buy it for some guests I used to get one for them also a small box, otherwise they will not allow me to gift it.  But again Kaju Katli is one of the most expensive sweets in the shop, so I wanted to find out a way to make it at home so that it is not so expensive and at the same time more good than the store bought ones. 

So then I found out a recipe at last which gives the same texture and taste like the store bought ones. My children loved them, I never got a chance to photograph it, though I have been making them for years now.  This recipe I got from Raks Kitchen.  So I thought of posting it now, since this month its Raks Kitchen who is being "Tried and Tasted". It is a sure shot recipe and a never let down recipe. So go ahead and try it.

Making Kaju Katli is very simple, infact the simplest of most of the sweets. And gets ready in very less time and does not involve laborious work.  So ahead and make these Kaju Katlis in your kitchen itself, rather than buying it from the shop. The total cooking time is just about 10 to 15 minutes, depending upon the quantity of the Cashews. The ingredients are very very minimal just Cashews and Sugar, thats it nothing else.

Ingredients

Kaju (Cashews) powered - 3 cups
Sugar - 1 & 1/2 cup
Ghee - for greasing your hands

Method

Powder the Cashews in a dry mixer.  Grind it to a smooth powder at a stretch and not at intervals. Do not keep it coarse.  If during the process of fine grinding, the cashew powder sticks to the wall of the mixer it is ok.

In a non-stick pan put in the sugar and add just enough water, so that the sugar gets immersed in it. Boil it.  The sugar gets dissolved and then starts forming a thick syrup.  Keep a small bowl of water nearby to check for the consistency of the sugar syrup.





The sugar syrup should be 1 string consistency or when you pour a little sugar syrup in the bowl of water it should stay in the water and should not get dissolved.



At this stage add the cashew powder and keep stirring. Slowly the mixture starts boiling and thickening.  Switch of the flame. To test whether it is ready for the Katlis, wet your fingers with water, pinch a small piece of the dough and try to roll it between yours fingers. If you are able to roll a ball without getting your fingers sticky, then it is done. If you feel its not done then put on the stove again and start stirring.




When it is done, put off the stove and still keep stirring in the same pan itself, till the mixture forms like a dough.  Then when it is still warm transfer it to a working board and clean working platform and start kneading the dough.




At this stage the dough will have a grainy texture. Smear your hands with ghee and keep on kneading till you get a smooth dough.

Roll the dough into a thin layer and cut it diagonally.  First just draw the lines ligthly on the dough with the knife and then cut it. This helps you in getting even size pieces.

I used about 3 cups of the powder and it gave me about 40 to 45 whole pieces.  So I said making Kaju Katlis at home is very easy and light on our pockets too.

Note :
Try to choose good quality Cashews. It creates a lot of difference in the taste and texture.

Never use the cashews directly from the fridge or freezer. Bring it to room temperature and then grind it.

The consistency of the sugar is very important, if it doesn't reach the right consistency then the dough will remain sticky.

If the consistency of the sugar has more farther than the one string consistency then add some water let it reach again the required consistency.

After transferring to the counter keep on kneading and kneading till you reach smooth textured dough.

Sending this Kaju Katlis to Sowmya of Nivedhanams who is hosting Tried and Tasted this month.  Dear Friends, I am also looking for future hosts for Tried and Tasted Event. Interested Bloggers please contact me at venkateshlakshmi7(at)gmail(dot)com. For further details about the event and host list on Tried and Tasted, see here.

Manasi of A Cook @ Heart is holding a event called "I Must Make That" and she also has a giveaway. And after seeing her announcement I realized that the CupoNationIndia is catching up faster. And so sending this entry to her.

Sending this to Sumee's culinary Bites where she is hosting Bon Vivant - Quixotic Fixes.

and to the Sweet Luv - CJ#4 hosted by Cooks Joy