Name: Kaju Katli Recipe - How to make Kaju Barfi | Cashew Barfi
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 250 grams Raw Cashews (Whole or Broken ); 2 tbsp Milk Powder (Can use up to 15 to 30 % of Cashews); 150 to 200 grams Sugar (60-80% of Cashews, Adjust to taste); 1/3 cup Water (80-100 ml); Edible Silver Leaves (aka chandi ka warq/vark )

Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

Kaju Katli Recipe – How to make Kaju Barfi | Cashew Katli – Cashew Fudge Recipe | Kaju Katli Halwai Style is a quintessential Indian sweet prepared for festivals & special occasions. It’s simple, fuss-free & effortlessly made using very few ingredients just under 20 minutes.

How many Kaju Katli fans there? Kaju Katli is hands down one of my favourite Indian sweets. They are utterly gorgeous diamond-shaped sweets topped with delicate silver leaf, it just melts in your mouth and disappears in a flash. It’s one of the most gifted sweets in India for sure during the festive season. Now, we are all home for this holiday and it’s definitely going to be a low key Diwali this year.…all thanks to COVID!

What is Kaju Katli

Kaju= Cashews & Katli= Fudge

Kaju – cashews, are finely ground and mixed with milk powder and cooked in a sugar syrup to make little diamond-shaped sweets. Traditionally, it is topped with Chandi vark (silver leaf). This is one of the most well known and beloved Indian sweets, most commonly associated with Diwali celebrations.

Kaju Katli Recipe needs only 3 basic ingredients- cashews, milk powder & sugar. This barfi can be easily prepared in 20 minutes without much fuss and effort. Moreover, this yummy sweet does not require ghee unlike other traditional Indian Sweets. Adding a little ghee is optional though. You can also add some cardamom powder for flavour which is also optional. I do not use both ghee & cardamom. This Kaju Katli Recipe is just like the Halwai style!

Steps to follow for

Kaju Katli Recipe – Cashew Fudge:

Grinding Cashews:

Place cashews (room temperature) in a blender. You can also use any food processor or even a spice grinder.
Grind to a smooth powder in batches. However, don’t over grind it otherwise cashews will release oil (remember you aren’t making cashew butter).
You can sieve if there are coarse pieces of cashew. You can skip sieving if you get a fine powder. However, I recommend sieving for the perfect melt in the mouth texture of kaju katli.
To this cashew powder, add in 2 tablespoons Milk Powder and mix well until well combined. Set it aside.

Sugar Syrup:

Add sugar and water in a pan on medium heat. Stir to combine.
Let the sugar melt and then once the sugar melts, let the mixture boil until you get one string consistency.

Making Kaju Katli Dough:

Then turn off the heat and add in the cashew powder mix. Stir to combine. Mix well at this point to get rid of lumps.
Now, turn on the heat and Keep stirring the mixture on low heat. You can add a teaspoon of ghee and stir (optional). I’m not adding any ghee.
Keep stirring until the dough will leave the sides of the pan (about 5 minute). This is the stage when you want to remove pan from heat. Make sure not to cook too long either as you will lose the flavour & texture of katli. Adding right amount of water to the syrup is important to not make the mixture very runny which in turn will need more time to cook to thicken. This is the trick here. The lesser you cook, the better it tastes.
You can check if the dough is done or not by taking a small piece from mixture, let it cool down a little and then roll it between your thumb and index finger. You should be able to make a non-sticky ball out of it.
It means your dough is done. If not, you need to cook it further. It will be done around 5-6 minutes on low heat.

Kneading the Dough:

Once the dough is done, transfer it to a sheet of greased parchment paper.
Wait for 2 to 3 minutes for the dough to cool down a bit. Then knead the dough(placed in the parchment paper) with your hands to make it smooth (look at the video). You have to knead the dough while it’s still warm. But be careful to not burn your fingers. This kneading step is very important to get the right texture.
And if the dough looks very dry while kneading, you can sprinkle some warm water or milk to make it smooth.
Flatten the dough. Then place another sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough. Roll it using a rolling pin to get the desired thickness applying equal pressure on all sides.

Shaping Kaju Katli:

Once rolled, apply Edible Silver Leaf (chandi warq/vark) if using. Adding silver vark will not enhance the taste but it looks very beautiful.
Cut the dough into diamond shape by first cutting the dough vertically and then horizontal to get a diamond shape.
Separate the kaju katli and enjoy! You can store the kaju katli on the kitchen counter for about 2 days and in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Tips to follow for Kaju Katli Recipe:

The basic process of making kaju katli is simple, however like with most Indian sweets it takes some practice & technique to get it right. Here are few key points to keep in mind while making kaju katli.

Make sure cashews are at room temperature before grinding. When you grind them, sieving the mixture at least once is a must to get rid of any bigger pieces to get perfect texture.
Do not over-grind the cashews. If you do that, the mixture can go from fine to crumbly 7 cashews will release oil. You will get cashew butter and you don’t want that.
Be mindful when preparing the sugar syrup – measure both sugar and water precisely and keep a close eye on the mixture to only one string consistency.
When adding the dry ingredients to the sugar syrup, turn off the heat & add. Also, do not add it all at once, otherwise, your mixture may get lumpy.
Keep the heat low later while constantly stirring the cashew mixture. Do not leave the mixture unattended, stir continuously till it is ready. This really doesn’t take very long, just a few minutes. If you under cook it, the katli will not set. Do not overcook it either.
Cook until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan completely.
Knead the final dough well while it’s still warm.
Use parchment paper to roll the dough and cut.
If you want to make these vegan, skip the ghee if using or use vegan butter. My recipe doesn’t call for ghee except for greasing the parchment paper. You can replace with vegan butter or coconut oil.
You can also skip the silver warq if you want.

Print Recipe

Kaju Katli Recipe - How to make Kaju Barfi | Cashew Barfi

Kaju Katli Recipe (Cashew Barfi or Fudge) is a quintessential Indian sweet prepared for festivals & celebratory occasions….fuss-free, simple & easy barfi recipe with very few ingredients.

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Total Time20

Author: Padma Veeranki

Ingredients

250 grams Raw Cashews Whole or Broken
2 tbsp Milk Powder Can use up to 15 to 30 % of Cashews
150 to 200 grams Sugar 60-80% of Cashews, Adjust to taste
1/3 cup Water 80-100 ml

For Garnish (Optional)

Edible Silver Leaves aka chandi ka warq/vark