Kaju Katli – Mundiri Cake

I never knew Kaju Katli was so simple until I heard this recipe from a family friend. It appears like a lot of beloved sweets are actually quite simple but a very important point to note is that they all involve little nuances, fine details which lend the dish its distinctive taste and texture. I am sending these off to Nivedhanam Sowmya’s AuthenticIndian sweets event. This event page has now become a treasure trove of Indian sweets. I spent quite some time the other evening going through the recipes. Any festival or occasion at home and you want to try a new sweet, just head here.

Three important details to note while making Kaju Katli is that:

1.      The cashew nuts need to be dry or they’ll clump up when you try to powder them. To quickly dry them, dry roast the cashews in a kadai/skillet for about 2 minutes until lightly toasted but not browned.

2.      The sugar syrup has to be one string consistency for the dough to come together like it does.

3.      Just before you spread out the cooked dough, knead it to make it smooth (I learnt this only after I’d already made these Kaju Katlis and mine are therefore a little homey with a few cracks here and there and they’re not as pliable as the store bought ones. My Kaju Katlis were a bit stiff but not hard. Next time I will try the kneading step as well.

Kaju Katli is a classic very elegant sweet and it’s great that you can make these in under half an hour and it doesn’t involve oil or too much ghee. Oil always makes me guilty, sugar doesn’t. It’s strange.

Prep time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins
Makes: 30 small diamonds
Ingredients

Cashewnuts (un-salted) – 150 gm
Sugar – 1-1/4 cup
Water – 1-1/4 cup
Ghee – 1 tbsp

Method

1.      Dry roast cashew nuts in a kadai/skillet on low for 1-2 minutes till lightly toasted but not browned.

2.      Grind the cashew nuts to a very fine powder in a mixie or food processor. Set aside.

3.      In a wide pan, combine sugar and water together and bring to a boil. Let is continue boiling till it reaches one-string consistency. From being runny, it’ll start getting sticky and syrupy after some time. Do this test – Take a small drop of the sugar syrup between your thumb and forefinger and slowly lift the fingers apart very gently. If you see a very thin filament type string stretch between your fingers, it is done.

4.      Add the powdered cashew nuts to the sugar syrup and stir well. It will very quickly absorb the syrup and turn into a dough - in a matter of seconds. Remove from fire immediately.

5.      Transfer to a greased flat surface and spread using a rolling pin to your desired thickness – about a quarter of an inch usually. Then using a knife cut into diamond shapes. When cool, transfer to an air-tight container and store up to a week.