Since my childhood I have loved this sweet and have been grown up listening that since this sweet requires a lot of patience,technique and expertise hence it is expensive and so royal in its taste. But after trying it , all my misconceptions and perceptions cleared away in a wink. For making this delicious , children’s favorite mithai, all you need is 15 mins out of your busy schedule and strong determination. Believe me after making them, you would not worry about going to market and buying the authentic KAJU KATLI. Also say goodbye to your fear of food adulteration which is hovering in the market.

INGREDIENTS:
1. Whole Cashews(kaju) (dried/not frozen)- 1 Cup
2. Sugar (Cheeni) – ¹⁄₂ cup
3. Water – ¹⁄₄ cup (for syrup)
4. Saffron strands – 15 (optional)
5. Silver foil (chandi ka worq) – 5 sheets (optional)
6. Pistachios – for garnishing

METHOD:
| Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking time : 10 mins | Makes 15 -18 pieces.

1. Take cashewnuts and powder them in a grinder/mixer /food processor without adding any water. Don’t overdo it by continually grinding them to make it in a fine paste. All we need here is a coarse powder. Over-grinding may release oil from cashews , hence avoid it.
   

2. Now heat the wok(kadhai) or any non-stick pan. Add sugar and water in it. Heat it until all the sugar dissolves and it starts forming one thread.Make sure it does not go beyond one thread.
   If it goes add 2-3 tbsp more water and continue boiling.
   For checking one thread consistency,
   there are 2 ways:
   a) Place a drop of syrup between your 2 fingers(thumb and index finger) after cooling it in a plate. NOw try to stretch and see if you could see one thread being formed in a distance of 1 cm.
   b) You may take a bowl filled with room temperature water. Now drop a spoonful of syrup in water,if you see a line floating in water,it is ready.

3. As soon as you see one thread add the cashew powder and lower the heat to low. Continue stirring.This may take 3-4 mins at low heat.
   

4. When you see the cashew paste have started leaving sides of the wok or pan stop cooking. Turn off the heat.Here too don’t overcook it or it will get harder and lose its soft and goey texture. Now add the saffron strands(kesar) to it and mix it well.
   This is the stage at which you should stop cooking further.To check for the right consistency of the dough, take a pinch from it, try to roll it in a ball with your fingers ,if you are able to do it,then you have got it..

5. Quickly transfer the contents on a greased parchment /butter/wax paper placed on a board or chakla(While transfering the contents from the wok to the countertop or board ,please don’t scrape the sides of the pan,since some cashew paste will stick and gets hard on cooking). Take another parchment paper and grease it with ghee(clarified butter) and cover the top of the cashew spread.
   

6. In between the two papers try to make a dough like structure of this semi-solid mass of cashew paste. Then roll it with a rolling pin(belan) in 0.5 inch thickness .
   

7. After rolling to the desired thickness and evenness, you would see that the burfi is almost cooled. This is its speciality, it hardens up as soon as it is cooled.

8. You may cut out diagonal lines after cooling down completely or even when it is slightly warm. Since they are easy to cut even after cooling,so you don’t need to worry for this last step. Before cutting take the silver foil and place it on the rolled burfi gently just like you have applied stickers or tattoos in childhood.
   

9. You may garnish the top layer with pistachios or silver vark before cutting out lines.
   

NOTE: If by any chance your kaju paste has turned dried and you get a hard kaju katli ,don’t panic. Just break the pieces and add hot ghee on it which will help in reviving the softness and you may again form the dough , then roll it and cut into diamond shapes.

It is recommended to store outside in an air-tight container for future use. Please don’t refrigerate because in U.S. it gets harder and drier on refrigerating.
Enjoy and share your experiences here!Your suggestions are warmly welcome !!
Don’t be confused by this pic , I have just tried to highlight the texture of the kaju katli in this pic ,but while doing this I end up eating the whole piece and was left with this bit to be photographed. 😛

Please feel free to ask or suggest as need be !! Till then happy cooking !! 🙂