Kaju barfi is a simple fudge made of cashews and sugar. This recipe will help you to make thin kaju katli with a delicious melt-in-the-mouth texture. Recipe can be easily halved and made with ¾ cup cashews.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 20 · 20 katli
  • Category: Dessert
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 1½ cups cashew nuts ((kaju - 200 grams))
  • 90 ml water ((6 tablespoons, refer notes))
  • ¾ cup sugar (- 150 grams (refined white sugar is best, use ½ cup (100 grams) for low sweet, refer notes))
  • 1 teaspoon rose water (or ⅛ teaspoon cardamom powder or both)
  • 2 teaspoons ghee (for cooking)
  • 1 teaspoon ghee (for greasing)

Method

Preparation

  1. If you store your cashews in the refrigerator, bring them to room temperature. (Spread on a tray and leave on the counter for about 2 to 3 hours.) Add them to a grinder or food processor jar and pulse a few times until it turns to a powder.
  2. Do not run the grinder for long time as the cashews begin to release oil and turn lumpy.
  3. To ensure the powder is not very grainy, sieve it if you want and blend the coarse particles again. The cashew powder will be slightly grainy.

How to Make Kaju Katli

  1. Add ¾ cup sugar and 90 ml water to a non stick or a heavy bottom steel pan. Heat & dissolve it well.
  2. When the sugar melts completely and begins to boil rapidly, add the cashew powder. Lower the heat.
  3. Mix well to blend the sugar syrup and cashew powder. The mixture must be smooth without any lumps.
  4. Keep stirring and cook on a medium heat until slightly thick, for about 5 mins. Pour 1 teaspoon rosewater or ⅛ teaspoon cardamom powder and one teaspoon ghee.
  5. Cook till the kaju katli mixture turns thick, for another 4 mins. It should begin to leave the sides of the pan. If it doesn't then drizzle few drops of ghee again and mix. (It takes me 9 mins in total)
  6. At this stage the mixture should not look dry/crumbly but should be moist and sticky.

Check if mixture is ready

  1. To check if the mixture is ready. Turn off the stove and set the pan aside. Take ¼ teaspoon of this kaju katli mixture and cool down a bit.
  2. Roll it to a ball with greased fingers. You must get a ball that isn't sticky. Upon cooling completely this has to get the texture of the katli or fudge.
  3. Transfer the cooked kaju katli mixture immediately to a greased parchment paper. Let it cool down to a warm or slightly hot temperature that you can handle.
  4. Grease your fingers and knead the mixture until it looks really smooth. Takes me under 2 mins and avoid over-kneading. (Alternately, hold the edges of the parchment paper to cover the mixture partially and knead it)
  5. Troubleshooting - If your kaju katli mixture tends to stick a lot, it means it is still undercooked. Add back to the pan and cook the mixture for a little longer. If your mixture looks dry & crumbly, sprinkle some boiled and cooled water and knead.
  6. Shape the mixture to a ball and place on parchment paper. Cover it and using a rolling pin, roll to a large sheet of ¼ inch thickness. If you want place the edible silver/ vark directly on it and press down.
  7. Cool completely and cut to desired shapes - squares or diamonds. Store kaju katli in an airtight box.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.