Kaju Katli/Kaju Barfi is a popular Indian dessert made with powdered Cashews and Sugar syrup. This Indian Cashew fudge is a popular Diwali sweet that is loved by everyone!
It has a soft texture, the taste is milky, nutty and less sweet than other typical Indian sweets. The Kaju powder is cooked in the sugar syrup and then shaped into Diamonds and usually topped with an edible silver foil known asΒ Vark, which is purely optional.
This recipe is really easy to follow for beginners and can be made in minutes. Apart from the Diwali festival, this sweet is popular for any special occasions, like festivals and weddings in India.
Kaju means cashew; Barfi is often made by thickening milk with sugar and other ingredients. Homemade kaju katli are good for heart health as far as you consume them in a limited quantity and avoid overeating.
Kaju Katli / Kaju Barfi Recipe
Kaju Katli/Kaju BarfiΒ is a popular Indian dessert made with powdered Cashews and Sugar syrup. This Indian Cashew fudge is a popular Diwali sweet that is loved by everyone!
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Hot Water
- 1/4 Tsp Cardamom powder
- 1 Cup | 130gm CashewsΒ (1 1/4 Cup Cashew powder )
- 1 Tsp Ghee ( 1 Tsp extra to grease )
- Silver foil(optional)
Instructions
- Keep the Cashews in the refrigerator to make it cold and then blend into fine powder using the pulse mode of your grinder or grind in few seconds rest. This is to prevent the cashews to release its oils and become paste.
- Sift the grinded cashews with the help of a Sieve and grind the left over solids again into fine powder. Sift them and discard any left over. Fine Cashew powder is ready.
- Make the Sugar Syrup by boiling Sugar and Water in a Pan. Once the sugar gets dissolved completely, becomes bit sticky add the Cardamom powder and the Cashew powder. Do not wait for any string consistency to form. The Cashew powder needs to be cooked along with the sugar syrup. This way the Cashews stay soft and creamy inside.
- Keep Stirring Continuously on Low Heat. Takes only a few minutes for it to thicken. Add Ghee. Once it stops sticking to the pan, take out a drop in a bowl and dip your fingers in water, then try to form a soft ball, if you are able to form it then its time to switch off the Heat. If not then continue cooking till it does. DO not let it get Hard. It should still be in paste consistency.
- Once a soft ball can be made, Turn off the Heat and allow it to cool by mixing it in the pan itself. Keep kneading with a spatula till it forms a soft dough like consistency.
- Place a Parchment paper on top of a flat tray. Grease with Ghee, spread it well with a brush. Place the Kaju dough and knead it a few times while still warm. Once it is smooth enough, place another parchment paper on top and roll it out flat, slightly thick depending on how thick you want your Kaju barfi to be.
- Then apply edible silver foil on top, flatten it out. This step is optional but gives a good look to your dessert.
- Now Allow to cool completely in room temperature in a cool place. I kept mine in an Ac room, it was hard after an hour or so. You can also let it cool under a Fan.
- Now Cut into Diamond shapes, with the Gaps around 2 Inches apart both sides. You can use a scale to be precise. I used a big steel scraper tool.
- Serve it during Diwali or any special occasion. This recipe is so easy to make, takes hardly fifteen minutes and tastes creamy and mouthwatering. This recipe makes around 16-17 Diamond shapes of 2 inches apart depending on how thick you have rolled it out.
- Happy Diwali! Bon Appetit!
Video
Notes
Keep the Cashews in the Refrigerator to make it cold prior to blending. This really helps in getting fine powder else they might release their natural oils and turn into paste.
Before chilling it, you may wash and blanch your cashews to get rid of any dirt or parts of the black skin on it to get a pure white texture.
Do not wait for any string consistency to form while making the sugar syrup. Let the Cashews cook along with the sugar syrup and this step will make the Barfis creamy and soft inside. Keep stirring continuously on LOW Flame.Β
If you need thicker Barfis, roll out the dough slightly thicker. I like them bit slim so rolled out accordingly.