Kaju Katli - Kaju Katli Recipe - Diwali Sweets Recipes

Kaju Katli is a dream, especially when home made. TH doesn't like Indian sweets except for this one sweet we buy pretty much each time we egt back from India - Kaju Katli! Since we always end up buying it, I never bothered trying to make Kaju Katli at home but since it's Diwali and the festival best suited for trying out sweets, I decided to give his favourite sweet a shot.

It's always a bit scary to make a sweet that requires you to check the done-ness of sugar with the one string consistency test. I watched the recipe video for Kaju Katli (cashew burfi) in Manjula's Kitchen but used my own proportions for making it.

Kaju Katli - Indian Cashew Burfi for Diwali

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Makes 12 pieces

Ingredients:
1 cup of raw cashew nuts
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of water

How to make Kaju Katli

1. Measure out the cashew nuts. They need to be raw and dry, so if you have refrigerated the nuts, make sure you leave them out for a while and dry with a kitchen towel.

2. Grind the cashew nuts in your small mixie jar. I powdered them coarsely but you can make it a fine powder too. Just take care not to make it a paste. The powder needs to be dry so pulse slowly until it's powdered.

3. Lightly roast the powdered cashew nuts in very low heat. Don't overdo this, or you will get a paste. I roasted it for about a minute or so. Turn off heat.

4. To prepare the sugar syrup, add the sugar to the water and bring to a rolling boil.

Continue boiling the sugar syrup until it reaches the one-string consistency. It took me about 7 mins to reach this but the time will depend on the heat you use. To check if it's ready, take a small amount of the sugar syrup on the back of a spoon, take a bit with your finger tip and check between the index finger and thumb. If the sugar syrup is sticky and extends into a string, it's done!

5. Immediately pour into the pan with the roasted cashew nut powder and mix gently until well combined. Take a small amount and see if you are able to roll it into a soft ball. If you are, then it's ready. Otherwise, cook for a bit longer.

6. When the right consistency is reached, remove from fire and pat into a greased (with butter or ghee) plate or tray.

7. Once it cools, cut into desired shape. Diamond is the norm so I (tried to, anyway) did the same.

Yummy homemade kaju katli / cashew burfi is ready for Diwali.

This is an easy Diwali sweet recipe you can use to make your sweet ahead of time. Kaju Katli keeps well in an airtight container at room temperature for 5-6 days.

Notes:

- my sugar syrup got a bit over done because I was trying to take a picture of the one-string consistency between my fingers! If you are not trying to do the same, your kaju katli will look more moist and not as crumbly as mine

- grind the cashew nuts a little at a time so that it powders uniformly and doesn't turn into a paste

- you can add some saffron strands to the sugar syrup if you like the flavour

If you have any ideas for easy Diwali sweet recipes, leave a comment!