Name: Kaju katli Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 7 min
Total time: 22 min
Ingredients: 1 cup cashews (150 grams); 1/2 cup sugar (100 grams); 1/4 cup water (60 ml); 3-4 cardamom pods (crushed and skin removed); few saffron strands

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Last updated on April 17th, 2020

Kaju Katli recipe- Delicious, melt in mouth thin slices of cashew fudge sweetened with sugar. It is one of the most popular Indian sweets. During Diwali people love to gift and receive boxes of kaju katli. While this sweet is super expensive in shops, it is very easy to make kaju katli at home. You need just three ingredients and no ghee is required. Although many recipes suggests adding ghee, you don’t really have to. Read on to know why. Here is how to make best kaju katli at home with loads of tips, tricks and trouble shooting.

What Is Kaju Katli?

Kaju means cashews and katli means slices or pieces. So kaju katli literally means slices of cashews (Fudge). This is a vegan and gluten free exotic sweet that you can literally make in 15 minutes.

For the amount of time and effort goes in, this kaju burfi tastes like million bucks, really. It is so expensive in shops and apart from certain mithai shops, this sweet tastes stale in many places. That is due to the use of low quality or rancid cashews. But with this recipe you make at home you can make best ever fresh, hygienic, & economical delicious kaju katli in 15 minutes 🙂

Indian festivals like Diwali is all about sweets. There are loads and loads of sweets made at home not only for family but also for gifting near and dear ones. The aroma of fresh homemade gulab jamun, kaju katli, besan ladoo, badam halwa, adirasam, chocolate burfi, ashoka, kalakand, mysore pak etc literally fill the home for days.

Unlike common belief not all Indian sweets are difficult to make. For example this kaju katli may be intimidating to try as it looks very exotic but it is such a simple recipe. Especially the recipe of kaju burfi I am sharing here.

You just have to mix and cook powdered cashews in sugar syrup, knead and make slices. As easy as that. Unlike most of the recipes you will fond online and in books, my recipe for kaju katli does not call for 1 string sugar syrup.

If making sugar syrup is difficult for you, simply follow this recipe and try this sweet today. You cannot mess up. Trust me when I say I have made this kaju katli so many many times, scaling up and down and every time rewarded with best ever kaju katlis, thin smooth and melt in mouth. Just look at the pictures 🙂

You may find the process a bit complicated if you are a beginner but there are lot of ways to troubleshoot the mistake as well as many tips to make this recipe right.

Once prepared you can store kaju burfi for a week at room temperature. This sweet does not contain milk or ghee, so the shelf life is somewhat higher.

Serve kaju katli as snack with tea or dessert or as always pack in a pretty box and gift to your loved ones for Diwali.

Cashew and almond based sweets are quite popular in north India. Nowadays we do find an array of these sweets in south Indian shops too. Along with kaju katli I also make kaju strawberry, kesar kaju barfi, chocolate kaju katli, badam katli, kaju pista rolls, badam peda recipes. These are so easy to make and ideal for gifting.

This Kaju Katli Recipe Is

Better than the ones from sweet shops, fresh, hygienic & economical.

Delicious, rich and melt in mouth

Simple, quick & easy

3 ingredients & 15 minutes to make from scratch

Vegan & gluten free

Kid friendly sweet with mild flavor.

Ingredients For Kaju Katli

To make kaju katli or burfi you will need just three ingredients. Cashews, sugar and water. That’s it. Like any recipe that calls for minimum ingredients, go for finest quality cashews for this sweet.

Cashews– Use best quality fresh cashews that are absolutely not rancid. Taste a few before committing in the recipe especially if you are making large scale. No amount of flavoring will cover up the rancid taste of cashews, if you know what I mean.

Sugar- Traditionally kaju katli is made with granulated white sugar only. Here I have used organic raw sugar so the color is slightly dark. I have not tried making this sweet with any other sugar.

Flavoring– Traditionally this sweet is not flavored at all. Just cashews and sugar. However you can add a pinch of saffron, cardamom or rose water.

Tips To Make Perfect Kaju Katli

Prepping Cashews- Use fresh and plump cashews that are at room temperature. If you have refrigerated cashews, remove them to the counter before an hour. I like to dry roast the cashews briefly say for 3-4 minutes. This will make them crispy and easy to powder.

Grinding Cashews- The first point to remember while making kaju burfi is to get your cashew powder right in perfect texture. You need cashew powder that is as fine as possible. There should not be any lumps or big pieces absolutely. If your powder is not very fine, sieve and grind the big particles again.

While grinding do not grind them for long at a stretch. If you do so cashews will release oil and instead of powder we will end up with greasy paste. Use the pulse option on your mixer and grind at small intervals. If you have coffee grinder or spice grinder it is also a good choice to grind cashews for kaju katli.

Do we made 1 string sugar syrup?– For this sweet you ideally need 1/2 string syrup. That is you have to cook te sugar syrup just for a minute or two after it reaches sticky consistency. The easiest way is look for when all the sugar dissolves completely and the syrup boils vigorously. At this stage you are safe to add cashew powder.

How long to cook– Typically you cook the mixture until it starts to leave the sides of the pan and not until it completely leave the sides of the pan. Over cooking leads to dry and brittle kaju katli. If by any chance you over cook and the mixture turns very dry, just add 2-3 tablespoons milk and mix well. Note that If you add milk the shelf life of the sweet will be less though.

If you under cook the mixture on the other hand the katlis will be very sticky and not set at all.

To check if you have cooked properly, take a small pinch of mixture and roll between your fingers. if you are able to form soft ball that is very slightly sticky then the mixture is at correct stage. If you are unable to form a ball, return the mixture to the stove top and cook for 2-3 minutes in low flame.

Always cook in low flame- Cooking in low flame is must for best light colored kaju katli.

Is ghee necessary for kaju katli– Absolutely no, you dont need even a drop of ghee for this sweet. Cashews itself is full of oil and if made properly there is no need for adding ghee while cooking the mixture or even for greasing. Just make sure not to alter the quantity of water or sugar in the recipe.

To make melt in mouth Kaju katli- knead, knead and knead the cooked cashew sugar mixture well. It is crucial to knead the mixture for at least 4 minutes while it is still warm for melt in mouth kaju burfi. Knead the dough while it is warm. You can wait for the very hot to cool down a bit, but you have work quickly and make the katlis while the mixture is warm.

Roll the dough into desired thickness- I like to make 1/4 inch thick circle for shop like katlis. You can keep it ticker or thinner. Cover the dough ball with a butter or parchment paper and roll.

Let the kaju katlis set– Once you have sliced them let them set for 12-15 minutes before you store them. This will ensure non sticky katlis. After rolling the dough you can spread some edible silver foil or vark but I usually don’t use it as it is difficult to source the real ones. Be wary about the quality of your edible silver foil if you use.

How To Make Kaju Katli.

Preparing Cashew Powder:

1. Heat a pan and add cashews and roast for 3-4 minutes. Do not change the color. let cool.

2. Transfer to a grinder jar and spice grinder and grind to a fine powder. Grind at small intervals. Refer to the tips above.

Making sugar syrup for kaju katli

3. Combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water in a heavy pan.

4. Mix gently and cook in low flame.

5. Let the sugar dissolve completely. Add 3-4 crushed cardamom pods and few saffron strands.

6. Once the sugar dissolves the mixture will start to boil.

7. Once the sugar syrup starts to boil vigorously, it is the correct stage.

Preparing kaju katli

8. Once the sugar syrup boils vigorously, quickly add the prepared cashew powder.

9. Mix well and cook in low flame.

10. After 3-4 minutes the mixture will begin to thicken.

11. And after 6-7 minutes the whole mixture will come together as a soft mass and begin to leave the sides of the pan.

12. Take a small pinch and roll between your fingers. If you are able to form a soft balls, it is correct stage.

13. Remove from flame and keep mixing in the pan itself for a minute.

14. Now remove the whole mixture to a butter paper. Scrape the edges and add them as well. We will knead and make everything very smooth.

15. Add few saffron strands and start kneading the mixture. Knead for 3-5 minutes into a very smooth dough. This step is crucial for melt in mouth kaju katli.

16. After kneading roll the dough into a 1/4 inch thick circle.

17. Slice into diamonds or squares.

18. Let cool completely. Store in airtight containers and serve kaju katli as required.

19. You can store kaju katli for a week at room temperature and around 2 weeks in refrigerator.

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I hope you will try this kaju katli recipe and enjoy as much as we did. P