Kaju Katli - Deepavali Sweets Series.

One of the most favourite sweets growing up, has always been the Kaju Katli. I guess I fell for its pillow like softness, sweet thats not to much nor too little, but just right, and the little bite sized goodness coming in such small packages! I dont remember when they started getting really famous, but I still loved them a lot! The other sweet that I really really loved was the Sweet Sev from Gomathy Sankar Sweets & Savouries near Ranganathan Street in T.Nagar. Madurai Appa would always get a small quantity of about 250 gms, and we would all get just a couple to savour. But I loved the slightly salty sev inside coated thickly with layers of hardened sugar!!!  Its always a pleasure to reminsce about little memories from our childhood, blasted in to the present!

The first time I ever made this sweet was about 2 years ago when my little one simply loved it so much. She said they were thin and tiny, and so they were hers!. And that was why I could never find good ones to shoot! It`s almost tradition to make it for Deepavali since then, and quite a few of my readers had requested for this recipe!  Happy Deepavali you guys. This recipe is specially for my reader Ramya!!!

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup Cashew Nuts.

1/2 Cup Sugar.

1/4 Cup Water.

1-2 Drops Rose Essence.

1 Tsp Ghee to grease your hands before kneading .

PREPARATION:

• Take the measured quantity of cashew nuts and pop them in the mixer jar. Grind them steadily until it becomes a fine powder.  In many places, people store all their nuts in the fridge or freezer to prevent it from becoming rancid. In such cases, keep the cashews out for at least an hour so they come down to room temperature. When they are ground cold, the heat from the mixer causes them to stick together and the powder is not as free flowing and fine. Set the powder aside.
• The next important step is bringing the sugar solution to “single string” consistency. This is needed for Boondhi Laddoos, Kaju Katli, Badushah and some other sweets.
• Take a wide mouthed kadai and add a heaped 1/2 cup of regular white sugar. Top it with 1/4 cup of water and set it on the stove on medium flame. Keep stirring the mixture on and off and after about 5 minutes you should see it bubbling and frothing.Add the required rose essence. This step is purely optional.  To check if the sugar solution has reached the required consistency, add a few drops in to a small bowl of water. If it makes a fine thread that does not dissolve in the water, then its done.
• If not, continue on medium to medium low until its reached.
• Tip the ground cashew powder in to the kadai and keep on stirring until it reaches a slightly thicker mass. It would be still a little sticky but will the sugar will start hardening rapidly, so do not worry. It should look like sticky chappathi dough.
• Switch off the gas and remove from the heat. Wait for about 4-5 minutes.

Cahsew Dough after kneading!

• Clear a clean surface to work on and grease it with a little ghee.
• Now transfer the cashew dough to the greased surface and knead it gently with greased palms.
• The dough should get smooth and shiny on the outside and get in to a pliable round ball.
• Using a rolling pin roll in to a smooth thin sheet. I used parchment paper as its non sticky.

Cashew Dough pressed thin in parchment paper.

• With a knife, cut in to diamond shapes.
• Decorate each diamond with a string of saffron.
• When cool, transfer to an air tight container.
• Kaju Katli with absolutely no ghee or no oil is ready!

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