Published: October 23, 2018 Last Modified: March 19, 2021 Freda Dias

Kaju Katli Recipe | Kaju Barfi (Easy, No-Cook Recipe)

Kaju Katli recipe | Kaju Katari | Kaju barfi recipe with step-by-step pictures. Kaju Katli is one of the most popular and loved exotic Indian sweets. Here’s an easy, fuss-free, no-cook recipe to help you make your very own homemade Kaju katli!

Kaju katli is that one Indian mithai (sweet) that is gifted to friends and family on most joyous occasions and festivals. Sometimes it is just a box of this sweet, or else a mix of a variety of burfis, pedas, dry fruits etc.

The festival of lights- Diwali is approaching pretty soon which makes me miss Mumbai even more, especially during these festivities. I’m sure you are busy preparing for Diwali, with all the housework and of course planning about the various snacks and sweets that need to be prepared.

I’m super excited to share this really simple recipe for one of the best Indian sweets. So keep reading to learn how to make a no-cook kaju katli, yes it is for real!

Table of Contents

What is kaju katli?

Kaju is the Hindi name for cashew nut and katli means a thin slice. Kaju katli is a diamond-shaped Indian sweet, sort of an Indian cashew candy or cashew fudge.

It is one of my favorite Indian sweets. If you ask me to pick one favorite Indian sweet, I’d really have a tough time choosing. I love all these Indian desserts, and if I have a kaju katli box in front of me, I can tell you for sure that it is not going to last another day 😀 It is really addictive!

Ingredients needed

For this easy homemade kaju katli recipe, you will require 3 ingredients and zero cooking.

Cashew nut powder.
Powdered or confectioner’s sugar.
Rosewater, rose essence, or cardamom, for flavoring which is completely optional.

Wondering how to make cashew powder? It is super easy, simply transfer some cashew nuts into a blender or food processor and grind it into a fine powder. The only important thing you have to remember is-

Grind it in batches.
This is done so that you do not over grind it, which will result in a paste rather than powder. The longer you grind the cashew nuts, it will ooze out the natural oils present in it, which in turn will make the entire thing pasty.

How is this sweet prepared traditionally?

So traditionally, cashew katli recipe is made by making a thick sugar syrup, to which the powdered cashews are added. The mixture is cooked to a stage where it forms a dough. It is then kneaded while it is still warm, rolled out, and cut into diamond shapes.

Quite a tedious task, no? Plus for a beginner, there is no guarantee that you will nail it in the first go. I mean it seems easy, 3 ingredients, but the method is pretty tricky as it depends on the consistency of the sugar syrup, if the syrup is too thick, the fudge will turn hard. And a good kaju katli is supposed to be soft, melt-in-the-mouth, and yet hold that shape. Tricky, eh?

The recipe that I’m sharing is completely different, as it is a no-cook one. It is basically my Mom’s marzipan recipe. We used to make marzipan using the cooking method, quite similar to the traditional kaju katli. Dealing with that hot cashew dough was a nightmare, as we needed to work quickly on the marzipan shapes, or else the dough would turn hard. But once my Mom got this no-cook recipe from her friend, we never looked back on that old method.

In this no-cook recipe, you simply make a dough of the cashew nut powder and powdered sugar with the help of some water or sugar solution, then roll it out between two parchment paper or on a greased board. Decorate with edible silver leaf paper. Cut it into diamond shapes.

How easy was that right? No headache of any sugar syrup consistency, nor any cooking, nor any fear of burning your fingers while dealing with that hot dough.

The recipe is pretty easy to memorize too, remember it is 1:1 :: cashew nuts: powdered sugar by weight and not volume.

Kaju katli vs kaju barfi

Kaju katli is sometimes also known as kaju barfi. A barfi is usually quite a thick piece, around 1-2 inches thick, katli, on the other hand, is thin, like a quarter of an inch thick.

Indian sweet barfi is also made with mawa or khoya and sugar, katli on the hand is almost vegan, except for the little ghee that may be used for greasing to help roll out the dough.

Other than these two minor differences, they are practically the same. And who cares really? Simply enjoy the soft, melt-in-the-mouth cashew goodness.

This Diwali, don’t buy kaju katli, rather make it at home along with your other regular goodies. This pure, unadulterated, and delicious, sweet cashew fudge will surely impress your friends and family 🙂

How to make Kaju katli – Step by step process

Grind the cashews to a fine powder, in batches. I ground 1 cup of cashew nuts in 4 batches, by pulsing it 8-10 times. Sieve it using a sifter by pressing the powder with the back of a spoon. If you are left with larger cashew nut pieces, collect them all, and grind again further to a fine powder. {Do no skip sifting the powder, as it is essential for that smooth finish}.

Now mix the powdered sugar with the ground cashew nut powder along with few drops of rose essence and make a dough using water, adding little at a time. I used a total of 2 tablespoons. It is ok if you see some oil releasing whilst kneading the dough. It depends on the quality of cashew nuts. The katlis will be air-dried later.

Transfer the dough between two parchment papers or on a greased board, roll out to a thickness of about 1/4-inch.

Place the silver varak if using over the rolled out dough, then cut into diagonal shapes.

Transfer to a tray, let it air dry for 6-8 hours. Once it has dried up completely, transfer to an airtight container.

Notes

If you don’t have rose essence, you can use a mix of rose water + regular water to knead the dough.
Or you don’t like the rose flavor in kaju katli, add about 1/8 tsp of cardamom powder in step 2.
If you do not like any flavor in your kaju katlis, simply skip adding any.

Storage instructions

This particular recipe for kaju katli has a pretty good shelf life, as there is no milk nor ghee used here. Store kaju ki katli in an airtight container. It will last for about 2 weeks at room temperature and up to a month or even two months in the refrigerator. Only if it lasts that long 😀 If it is too hot and humid where you live, store it in the refrigerator after 3-4 days, if you have leftovers.

Try a variation

Chocolate kaju katli recipe– Add some cocoa powder, along with the sifted powdered sugar and follow the same recipe.
Kesar kaju katli– Dry roast some saffron (kesar) strands, then powder it in the mortar pestle, and add to the cashew nut powder and sugar mixture, proceed with the recipe as mentioned below.
Kaju badam katli recipe– Use half of cashew nut powder and blanched almond powder.
Badam katli– Swap the cashew powder entirely with blanched almond powder.
Kaju pista roll– Prepare the cashew dough, and use the same procedure to make a pistachio dough, shape it into a thin cylindrical roll. Roll out the cashew dough to a rectangular shape, similar to the way shown in the instructions below, but slightly thinner. Pace this cylindrical pista roll on one end, then start rolling the cashew dough, until you reached the other end. Cut out about 1 inch thick slices.