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kaju katli
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5 from 4 votes

5 Ingredient Kaju Katli - Melt In Your Mouth

This recipe for homemade five ingredient kaju katli (kaju barfi) is delicious. It is smooth, creamy and halwai jaisa with a melt in mouth texture. It’s one of those sweets you can’t just have one of! Boxes of kaju katli, amongst other Indian sweets are often gifted during Indian holidays.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Indian
Diet: Vegetarian
Keyword: diwali mithai, holi mithai, indian dessert, kaju barfi, kaju katli, traditional indian dessert
Servings: 9 kaju katli
Calories: 63kcal
Author: Shilpa Joshi

Equipment

  • Non stick pan
  • Silicon spoon
  • Parchment paper
  • Rolling Pin

Ingredients

  • 1 cup cashew flour finely ground cashews, 102g
  • ¼ cup milk powder 25g
  • ½ cup sugar 108g
  • ½ tsp ghee
  • ⅓ cup + 2 tbsp water
  • gold or silver foil optional for decoration

Instructions

  • Grind cashews. Do not over grind, do it in pulses so cashews do not release fat. Sieve so only using finely ground cashews.
    Sieve ground cashews
  • Mix cashew flour and milk powder together in a bowl
    cashew flour and milk powder in a bowl
  • Add water, sugar and ghee to non-stick pan. Turn stove on medium and whisk until sugar dissolves. Let simmer on medium heat for about 4½-5 minutes.
  • Turn heat to low. Slowly add in the milk powder/cashew flour blend while mixing. I added it in three parts whiles continuosly mixing.
  • Bring gas to medium once, it will bubble, then bring back down to low (i kept it two notches above lowest setting).
  • Keep mixing total time about 4½-5 minutes. You will notice the mixture has thickened and when you run a spatula/spoon through the mix it holds shape, as pictured.
    Kaju katli in pan
  • Turn off gas, remove from heat. Let stand 3 minutes.
  • Pour onto a piece of parchment. Let stand about 6-7 minutes.
    kaju katli on parchment
  • Use the sides of the parchment to knead the kaju katli mix to smooth out the dough
  • Take a few drops of ghee and spread across the top. Fold over the parchment over the kaju katli. Use a rolling pin to roll out.
    kaju katli process
  • Add gold or silver foil
    gold foild or silver warq on kaju katli
  • Let cool and atleast 3-4 hours. Cut to make diamond shapes. Using a ruler helps!
    cut kaju barji

Notes

The key to kaju katli is really paying attention to the sugar mixture and not over cooking it at the beginning.
Also, do not overcook and dry out the mix once you add the cashew blend.
It will look a bit wet, but give it time to set and it will have a nice soft texture.
Ideally, I like to let it set overnight.
More tips in blog post

Nutrition

Calories: 63kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 14mg | Potassium: 47mg | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 33IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 32mg