Kaju ki barfi or kaju katli is a diamond shaped Indian dessert, and one of the country’s favourite dishes. The sweet barfi has a vark that makes it shine like a diamond too, and it's often present during Diwali and other festivals. People have long enjoyed this classic dessert but now there are flavours too, like strawberry kaju katli and mango kaju katli. This is also an easy and fun dessert to make at home. Simply follow this detailed Best Indian Dessert Recipe and you should have the perfect kaju katli on your hands, that you can then share with loved ones.
Ingredients:
- 160 grams cashews
- 100 grams sugar
- 5 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon Ghee
- Optional:
- 1 teaspoon chopped rose petals or
- 1 teaspoon rose water or
- 8 to 9 strands of saffron
Directions:
- In a grinder or blender, add the cashews. They need to be room temperature and not chilled or refrigerated.
- Blend until the cashews have turned into a smooth and fine powder. But don't grind so much that fat starts to get released from the cashews. Remember, you have to grind in short intervals. This means grinding for a few seconds, then stopping and shaking the bowl, then grinding again. You basically want to have space because if you grind continuously the fat will come out and it will become a paste. You don't want a paste, you want a fine powder.
- Sieve the cashew powder into a bowl so that any larger chunks or pieces of cashew don't get mixed in. set aside.
- Grease a big steel plate with butter and set aside.
- In a pan on low heat, heat sugar and water together. Once all the sugar has dissolved in the water, add the cashew powder. You don't need to wait for the sugar syrup to reach any sort of consistency like one string or two strings. Simply see that the sugar has fully dissolved and then add the cashew powder.
- Stir well and keep cooking on a low flame. The cashew mixture will start to thicken. Cook for about 10 minutes. The entire dough will start to come together.
- Once cooked, transfer the dough to the greased plate.
- Add the rose petals to the mixture.
- Once the mixture has cooled enough that it can be touched, start kneading the dough slightly. Then flatten the dough, cover it with butter paper, and then flatten it with a rolling pin. You should have a thickness of about 5 mm.
- Remove the butter paper and let the dough cool down more.
- Once cool, use a knife to cut the dough into diamonds and serve.
Tips, tricks and notes:
- Once you add the dough to the sugar syrup, you need to mix in the powder gently. Then cook till the dough starts to leave the sides of the pan and collect inward on its own.
- The dough should be soft but sticky. A good way to check is to take a small part of the dough, shape it into a ball, and then roll it out. If it is sticky, it's not right. It needs to roll out smoothly.
- When kneading the cashew dough, you are essentially binding it together to make the dough smooth and even. Don't skip this step. If you roll the dough out into the plate without kneading it first, it will be uneven and have a grainy texture. So knead it, let it smooth out, and then transfer to the plate.
- If you want to, you can make a large batch and store it. It can be stored at room temperature for about two weeks or in the fridge for a month.
- If you are using saffron, just roast them with saffron strands, crush them into a powder using a mortar and pestle, and then add the powdered saffron to the cashew dough.
- If you're using rose water or kewra water, add it to the sugar and water solution and let it mix in well. This will give the barfi more flavour.
- If using cardamom powder, simply add a pinch to the cashew powder and mix in well.
- Make sure you’re using plain, unsalted cashews. They should not have been toasted or fried. Simply use regular, room temperature cashews.