Kaju Katli or Cashew nut burfi is an ever-favorite dessert loved by kids and adults alike. A must-have sweet for any festive occasion or celebration. Made with just cashew nuts and sugar, this recipe can be made in under 20 minutes.
Let me begin this post by wishing my readers, friends, and family a very happy and prosperous Deepavali. Here I am after a long break from the blogging world, in my new base and I am making the comeback with the favorite sweet of my boys, Kaju Katli.
Every time we go to India, or someone visits from India, Kaju katli / cashew nut burfi is one sweet that my boys beg to bring. I never thought this would be so easy to make and it took me exactly 20 minutes to make it. I have already made 2 batches of this in the past 2 days and every time the recipe worked perfectly well.
Preparation time - 10 minutes
Cooking time - 15-20 minutes
Difficulty level - easy
Ingredients to make Kaju Katli - Makes 15-18 pieces
- Cashew nuts - 1 cup (at room temperature) *
- Sugar - ½ cup
- Water - ¼ cup
- Saffron threads - a few (optional)
- ghee - about 1 teaspoon (to grease the palms)
Procedure to make Kaju Katli
- Even before you decide to make this sweet ensure that your cashews are in room temperature and not in the refrigerator or freezer. If the cashews are cold, bring them to room temperature and then begin the process.
- Grind the cashews in batches (at room temperature) to a powder without adding any water. Make sure that you do not run the blender/mixer at full speed and just pulse them in intervals.
- This step is very important because if the mixer gets heated up, it makes the cashews warm and it will start letting out its oil. Pulse it in intervals and scrap the sides of the mixer bowl. Transfer the cashew powder to a bowl and then repeat with the remaining cashews.
- In a wide, heavy bottom pan, add the sugar and the water and bring it to a boil.
- Now test the sugar for single-thread consistency. Once the sugar syrup is all bubbling, take a little bit of the syrup in the ladle and let it cool for a couple of seconds. Now touch the syrup with your index finger and press it against your thumb. You should see a single thread forming from the syrup when you open the fingers. This requires some practice, but the recipe is pretty forgiving even if you are close to the consistency.
- Now add the cashew powder to the sugar syrup and mix well to avoid any lumps. You would notice that the mixture is already like a thick porridge. Keep mixing the mixture until it starts to come together as a wet chapatti dough (this takes only about 5-6 minutes). Do not let it cook any further as the cashew nut burfi might become flaky than soft and chewy.
- Turn off the flame and let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
- In the meantime, grease the countertop surface or a wide plate and transfer the burfi to the surface.
- Grease your palms with ghee and then start kneading the burfi when it is still warm, but manageable. Knead it for 3-4 minutes until it is smooth and glossy. This step is important for smooth katlis. If the mixture is still a little sticky, grease your palms well and knead more.
- Transfer the kneaded mixture between layers of wax/parchment paper and then roll it out to a thin layer.
- Using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, cut the burfis into the desired shape. If using saffron, add it to the rolled-out burfi and then roll it one more time to make the saffron stick to the surface.
- Let the katlis cool down and then store them in an airtight container.
Expert tips and FAQs
- To get a fine powder, it is very important that the cashew nuts are at room temperature.
- Single-thread consistency is preferred, but if you fail to get that the recipe is still forgiving and should work fine.
- Kneading the cooked burfis ensures smooth and glossy katlis.
- If the mixture is dry or crumbly during kneading, add a teaspoon or so of warm milk and then knead again.
- If the mixture is wet, grease your hands more and keep kneading. It should harden up as we knead.
- Also, I would suggest keeping the mixture on the wet side rather than dry, because the texture of the kaju katli is just like store-bought. Also, this way we don't have to use milk, increasing the sweet's shelf life.
Other Dessert Ideas
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Recipe
Kaju Katli | Cashew Nut Burfi
Kaju Katli is an ever favorite dessert loved my kids and adult alike. A must have sweet for any festive occasion or celebration. Made with just cashew nuts and sugar, this recipe can be made in under 20 minutes.
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Servings: 18
Calories: 63kcal
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1 cup Cashew nuts in room temperature *
- ½ cup Sugar
- ¼ cup Water
- few Saffron threads optional
- 1 teaspoon ghee to grease the palms
Instructions
- Even before you decide to make this sweet ensure that your cashews are in room temperature and not in the refrigerator or freezer. If the cashews are cold, bring them to room temperature and then begin the process.
- Grind the cashews in batches (in room temperature) to a powder without adding any water. Make sure that you do not run the blender/mixer in full speed and just pulse them in intervals. This step is very important because if the mixer gets heated up, that in turn makes the cashews warm and it will start letting out its oil. Pulse it in intervals and scrap the sides of the mixer bowl. Transfer the cashew powder to a bowl and then repeat with the remaining cashews.
- In a wide, heavy bottom pan, add the sugar and the water and bring it to a boil. Now test the sugar for single thread consistency. Once the sugar syrup is all bubbling, take a little bit of the syrup in the ladle and let it cool for couple of seconds. Now touch the syrup with your index finger and press it against your thumb. When you open the fingers, you should see a single tread forming from the syrup. This requires some practice, but the recipe is pretty forgiving even if you are just close to the actual consistency.
- Now add the cashew powder to the sugar syrup and mix well to avoid any lumps. You would notice that the mixture is already like a thick porridge. Keep mixing the mixture until it starts to come together as a wet chapatti dough (this takes only about 5-6 minutes). Do not let it cook any further as the katli might become flaky that soft and chewy.
- Turn off the flame and let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
- In the meantime, grease the counter top surface or a wide plate and transfer the burfi to the surface.
- Grease your palms with ghee and then start kneading the burfi when it is still warm, but manageable. Knead it for 3-4 minutes until it is smooth and glossy. This step is important for smooth katlis. If the mixture is still a little sticky, grease your palms well and knead more.
- Transfer the kneaded mixture in between layers of wax/parchment paper and then roll it out to a thin layer.
- Using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, cut the burfis into desired shape. If using saffron, add the it to the rolled out burfi and then roll it one more time to make the saffron stick to the surface.
- Let the katlis cool down and then store in air tight container.
Notes
- To get a fine powder, it is very important that the cashew nuts are at room temperature.
- Single thread consistency is preferred, but if you fail to get that the recipe is still forgiving and should work fine.
- Kneading the cooked burfis ensures smooth and glossy katlis.
- If the mixture is dry or crumbly during kneading, then add a teaspoon or so of warm milk and then knead again.
- If the mixture is wet, grease your hands more and keep kneading. It should harden up as we knead.
- Also I would suggest to keep the mixture on the wet side rather than dry, because that way the texture of the kaju katli is just like store bought. Also this way we don't have to use milk and that increases the shelf life of the sweet.
Nutrition
Calories: 63kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 47mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin C: 0.04mg | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 0.5mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @Sandhya.Ramakrishnan or tag #MyCookingJourney!
Uma Parameswaran says
Super cool description...now I know where I went wrong.thanks a bunch.wishinh you the very best in your efforts 🙂
Jayanthi nagarajan says
Very clear instructions.thankyou Sandhya.