Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Diwali 2014 ~ Kaju Katli

This post is a tad bit late but hoping that all the readers had a very Happy Diwali. This Diwali was indeed special as my parents are here with us. After long time I and mom caught up on long afternoon chats. We end up churning a lot of delicacies together, not that any one is complaining. This Diwali,we made a lot of delicacies. We made Phenori(Chirote), Rava Laddoo, Kodbale (South Indian rice flour snack), Spicy tukdi(Spicy namak pare) and Kaju Katli.

Kaju Katli is one of our family favourite. I got inspired by a group on FB called Epicurean Delights and decided to give this sweet a try. I noted a lot of recipes and googled few recipes and finally decided on a step by step recipe from Rak's Kitchen. The result was perfect and loved by everyone in family. Thank you Rak's Anand for this wonderful recipe. I am noting it here for my future reference. Please click this link for a step by step recipe.
Here is what's needed:
1 cup Cashew nut (at room temperature)
1/2 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Water
1 tbsp Milk
Ghee for greasing
Procedure:
1) Powder cashewnuts in a mixer grinder until fine. I did it in two parts to avoid over crowding.
2) In a non stick pan, heat water and add sugar to it. Let the sugar dissolve completely and when it forms almost a single thread consistency add in the cashew powder. Turn the heat to low and keep stirring continuously. When  the mixture starts to get dry and starts to leave the sides or if a small piece is taken and rolled between your palms it should form a small smooth ball. Take it out on a clean counter or wide plate.
3) When the dough is still warm start kneading.Apply little ghee to make the kneading easy. Knead gently so that the grainy texture turns to smooth. If you feel the mixture is very dry add milk and knead gently to avoid cashew releasing oils. When it is smooth enough with the help of rolling pin roll it out into desired thickness and when slightly cool cut in to diamond shapes shapes.