Kaju katli recipe or kaju barfi with video & photos. Easy & quick recipe to make perfect kaju katli like the ones we get in sweet shops. These kaju katli have a smooth & melt-in-the mouth texture with mild flavors of cardamom powder or rose water. Kaju translates to cashews & katli refers to thin slices.
This classic sweet, kaju katli is one of the most bought sweets from the halwai & Indian sweet shops during festivals & occasions. Most Indians usually gift these to friends & relatives to spread the joy of festive or special occasions.
Often people are intimated to make kaju katli at home as most recipes require checking the string consistency. But this recipe is very simple, quick to make & does not involve checking string consistency.
Moreover kaju katli needs only a few ingredients that are always available in Indian kitchens.
This Kaju katli is
- gluten free
- can be made vegan by using coconut oil
- is low fat
- simple & quick to make
I always make sweets at home and avoid buying from shops or frozen sections as the store bought ones contain preservatives. We also do not know the quality of sugar and other ingredients used.
With homemade kaju katli, you know what goes into it. We always have the option to use organic sugar and avoid artificial flavors.
How is kaju katli made?
Traditionally kaju katli was made by boiling the sugar syrup to a 1 string consistency and then the powdered cashews are added to it. This method yields great results as the mixture doesn’t get overcooked and the burfi turns right.
The method I have shown in this post is without making a string consistency which I adapted from my Badam burfi recipe. I have just brought the sugar syrup to a rolling boil and then added the cashew powder. Cooked further until it reaches a thick consistency.
This method also gives very nice kaju katli just like the ones in the sweet shops. However if you are an experienced cook then you can also boil the syrup to a one string consistency and then add the cashew powder.
If you love burfi recipes, then you may love these coconut burfi & 7 cups burfi & Badam burfi.
Tips to make good kaju katli
1. Choosing cashews correctly & using it the right way is very important to make a good kaju katli. Here are my tips to choose
Buy unsalted premium quality cashews. Taste test them first before using in the recipe. Ensure they are fresh in taste and flavor. Avoid using cashews that smell or taste stale or rancid.
You can use whole or split cashews. I prefer to split them first to ensure they are good enough & free from bugs/worms & larvae. You may use them whole if you prefer.
2. Use cashews at room temperature: It is very important to use cashews at room temperature. If you store your cashews in the refrigerator like me, then lightly roast them on a low flame for a few minutes until they turn slightly hot to touch. Do not over roast them. We don’t want the kaju katli to discolor. The idea is to use moist free cashews. Cool them completely and then use them to grind.
3. Grinding cashews is the main step in the recipe. Use a small grinder jar or a spice jar to powder. Only pulse and blend for short time of about 25 to 30 seconds. Scrape the sides and pulse. Over blending the cashews or blending for too long will release oils from cashews. This will not give the right texture to the kaju katli. The mixture will begin to release oil if such powder is cooked.
4. Texture of cashew powder has to be fine but do not aim to make it as fine as flour. It will be slightly grainy or coarse. Make sure cashews are powdered as fine as possible without making the powder lumpy. Pulse the cashews in intervals and avoid running the grinder for long time.
5. Sieve the cashew powder without fail. This makes the cashew powder light, lump-free and also uniform so you have a kaju katli that is of uniform smooth texture. This step also helps to remove coarse chunks of kaju from the powder. Pulse the coarse chunks again in the grinder. Use a sieve that is not too fine. I use one that can sieve fine semolina.
6. Sugar syrup has to rapidly boil before the cashew powder is added to it otherwise the mixture may turn sticky. Since there is no sugar syrup consistency required for this recipe. This step is very important. The idea is that by the time the syrup comes to a rolling boil, it will be almost around 1 string consistency.
7. Do not overcook the mixture as it dries out the kaju katli.
8. Kneading the mixture well is the key to get smooth and mouth melting kaju katli.
More Sweets Recipes
Diwali Sweets
Besan ladoo
Rasmalai
Gulab jamun
Step-by-step photos
Preparation
1. Add 200 grams cashews to a blender jar. I had used cashews from fridge. I split open the cashews and then dry roasted on a low flame until crunchy. Cooled completely. I used 1 & 1/2 cups split cashews which weighed 200 grams.
2. Pulse or blend to make a powder. Do not blend at a stretch for long time as they begin to release oil and turn lumpy. I usually blend the cashews in intervals. Also make sure the kaju powder doesn’t turn hot or even warmas it changes the flavor.
3. To make sure the cashew powder is not too coarse I sieved it. You will need to use a spoon to pass it through the sieve.
4. I added back the coarse grains and blended again.
5. The cashew powder will be slightly grainy but not fine like flour. You can also split this kaju katli recipe and make the powder one day ahead. Store it in a air tight jar and use within the next 2 days.
Making sugar syrup for kaju katli
6. Add sugar to a non stick pan. I used 3/4 cup + 2 tbsps. The sweetness was right for us. If you prefer less sweetness then you can reduce 2 tbsp.
7. I poured 6 tbsp water. Pouring too much water is not right for this method as the mixture will have to be cooked for longer. So measure the water correctly.
8. Stir gently and dissolve the sugar completely on a medium heat. Sugar can scratch up the nonstick pan so be gentle. Bring the sugar syrup to a rapid boil.
How to make kaju katli
9. Next lower the flame completely and add cashew powder. I added in 2 batches. You may end up with lumps if the entire powder is added at one time.
10. Next mix very well to ensure there are no lumps. Scrape the sides and the spoon if the powder is stuck.
11. Keep stirring the kaju katli mixture consistently and cook on a low to medium heat until the mixture begins to thicken.
12. Next add 2 tsps ghee and 1 tsp rose water or cardamom powder.
13. Next continue to cook stirring well. As the mixture thickens it will leave the sides if not then add a few drops of ghee again.
14. With in few mins the mixture will come together and leaves the pan. It took about 9 minutes for me to reach this stage. This is just a guideline and may vary depending on the kind of pan and intensity of heat from your stove.
Check if the mixture is done
When the kaju katli mixture is done, set the pan aside. Take 1/4 tsp of the mixture and cool down a bit. Grease your fingers and make a ball out of it. You must get a non sticky dry ball. This means the mixture is ready.
If you do not get a dry ball it means the kaju katli mixture is under done and needs cooking further. Cook for a few more minutes.
15. Next quickly pour the prepared mixture to a greased plate or butter paper. If using unbleached parchment paper then grease it first and use.
16. When the temperature comes down to slightly hot or warm, then grease your hands and knead it well.
17. With in 2 to 3 mins the mixture will turn smooth and begin to look slightly dry meaning it is good to set.
18. Next cover the kaju barfi mixture.
19. Roll it to a oval shape of 1/4 inch thickness applying pressure evenly all over.
20. Lastly cool completely and cut to square or diamond shapes. I cut them to the size of Haldiram’s Kaju katli. You can cut them slightly bigger if you like.
How to cut kaju katli? First cut diagonally, spacing 1 ½ inches between each line. Then cut straight, spacing 1 ½ inches between each line. You will get diamond shaped kaju katli.
Most often vark or edible silver foil is placed over the kaju katli. If you prefer you can do it after slicing it.
Store kaju katli in a air tight jar. They keep good at room temperature for 5 to 7 days.
Related Recipes
Recipe
Kaju katli recipe
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
Instructions
Preparation
- Add 1½ cups cashews to a blender jar and pulse a few times until it turns to a powder.
- Do not run the blender for long time as the cashews begin to release oil and turn lumpy.
- To ensure the powder is not very grainy sieve it and blend the coarse particles again.
- The cashew powder will be slightly grainy.
How to make kaju katli
- Add ¾ cup sugar and 90 ml water to a non stick pan. Heat & dissolve it well.
- When the sugar melts off completely and begins to boil rapidly, add the cashew powder. Lower the heat.
- Mix well to blend the sugar syrup and cashew powder.
- The mixture must be smooth without any lumps.
- Keep stirring and cook on a medium heat until slightly thick.
- Then pour 1 teaspoon rosewater and one teaspoon ghee.
- You can also add 1/8 teaspoon cardamom powder.
- Cook till the kaju katli mixture turns thick and begins to leave the sides of the pan.
- If it doesn't then drizzle few drops of ghee again and mix.
- At this stage the mixture should not look dry but has to be moist and sticky.
Check if mixture is ready
- To check if the mixture is ready. Turn off the stove and set the pan aside.
- Take ¼ teaspoon of this kaju katli mixture and cool down a bit.
- Roll it to a ball with greased fingers. You must get a ball that isn't sticky.
- Upon cooling completely this has to get the texture of the katli or fudge.
- Next transfer the cooked kaju katli mixture immediately to a greased plate or parchment paper (butter paper).
- Let the temperature come down to warm or slightly hot.
- While the mixture is still slightly hot or warm, grease your palms and knead it for 2 to 3 minutes to a smooth crack free dough. (refer video or picture below)
- Another method is to place the mixture on parchment paper and cover it. Then knead it well with the paper over the mixture. Covering the mixture with parchment paper protects your palm from extreme heat.
- ( To fix ) If your kaju katli mixture tends to stick a lot, it means it is still underdone. So continue to cook the mixture for a little longer. If your mixture looks dry, sprinkle some boiled and cooled water and knead.
- Place the ball on a greased aluminum foil or a butter paper and cover it.
- With the help of a rolling pin, roll it evenly to ¼ inch thickness.
- Cool completely and cut to desired shapes. Store kaju katli in an airtight box.
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
Notes
- Water: Please stick on to the quantity of water mentioned in the recipe. If you add even little more water than mentioned in the recipe, you will have to cook the mixture for longer. This may alter the taste of kaju katli making it chewy.
- You can also boil the sugar syrup until it reaches 1 string consistency. Then add the cashew powder. Mix well and add ghee. Cook until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. When it cools down a bit. Knead it well and follow as mentioned above.
- Before adding the cashew powder, make sure sugar has dissolved completely and has begun to boil well.
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.
© Swasthi’s Recipes
Darshana Sheth says
Yum yum.. I am going to try this today. But is it ok if i skip rosewater step because i dont have it. Damn lockdown!!
If rose water is optional then i m going to make it now nd comment again.
swasthi says
Thank you Darshana
Yes skip the rose water. You can use cardamom powder.
Monika Raj says
I think your site is the best I have found on Indian cooking so far. Amazed by your recipes, approach and explanation on why things work and don’t sometimes!
I live in US and always use your site when I need to learn a brand new thing like Kaju Katli or Kalakand.
Publish a book, Swathi. These are too amazing to not be in a ready to reference format!
Good luck and thanks!
swasthi says
Hi Monika,
Glad to know you! Thank you so much! So happy reading your comment.
Yes may be in future.
Thanks again
François says
Hi Swasthi, thank you so much for the recipe! I have tried a couple of times but must be missing something, in the last step when I grease my hands to knead the paste it sorts of turns into sand (it is very grainy and falls apart). I wonder if it might be because the cajun powder is not thin enough? Or that I may not have added enough butter?
Thanks for your excellent site!
swasthi says
Hi Francois,
You are welcome. If the mixture is overcooked it can fall apart. But if you knead it well it will come together again. But if the kaju powder is coarse then it will not. This recipe does not require more fats like butter. Whatever we have used is enough for the mixture to leave the pan. I suggest you try to make the powder finer. Hope this helps.
François says
Thank you very much!
Christine says
This looks delicious – can’t wait to try! Are there any close substitutes for ghee you would recommend in making this, or would it impact the flavor / consistency too much? I was thinking maybe coconut oil, walnut oil, or canola oil but wasn’t sure…. Thank you!
swasthi says
Hi Christine,
You are welcome. I have made it a few times with coconut oil and it turned out just good as it has no flavor. Not sure about walnut oil. I wouldn’t suggest canola. You can cut down the recipe to half and try with coconut oil. Hope this helps
Prasanna says
Hi swasthi,
Can I please know if it is possible to replace sugar with dates in this recipe, if yes can you please let me know the quantity of dates and how to go forward with it. Thanks for your healthy recipes, loved them.
swasthi says
Hi Prasanna,
You are welcome. I haven’t tried this one with dates. You can check this recipe for dates burfi. During Diwali I made it with 150 grams of almond flour/ meal. So it will work with kaju as well. Cook it on a very low flame. Hope this helps.
Vinu Vivek says
This turned out amazingly well 🙂 Thank you very much for an easy to follow, step by step doable recipe. My very picky husband loved it and didn’t want to share lol. You made our Deepavali very special.
swasthi says
Hi Vinu,
You are welcome. Glad to know! Thank you so much for the comment.
🙂
Lakshmi says
Looks so yummy. Can I try this with light brown sugar ? Please let me know , so eager to make it today 😊
swasthi says
Hi Lakshmi,
Thank you! Yes it should work but I haven’t tried it.
surekha kishnah says
thanks Swasthi for the recipe.
swasthi says
Welcome Surekha
Pranita says
The Kaju katli came out amazing! I even put edible gold on it!
swasthi says
Thanks for trying Pranita
Subbu Ganapathy says
I tried your recipe and it came out perfect….thank you soooo much.
swasthi says
Welcome Subbu
p shri says
Hi Swasthi,
Wonderful receipe!! I had tried earlier and it was perfect!! But this time the dough has become very oily and sticky.. I kept mixing for long till it started to leave the pan.. but it has become like sugar mixture. I kept dough in fridge for sometime and then made balls but it’s still very sticky chewy and very oily. May be I added ghee more than required. Can anything be done now so it doesn’t gets wasted? Its disheartening specially during diwali.
P shri says
Hi Swasthi,
Wonderful receipe!! I had tried earlier and it came out perfectly.. but this time its all sticky like sugar mixture and is having a lot of oil.. may be I added ghee more than it was required.. I tried putting the dough in fridge for sometime and then made small balls.. its still very oily ,sticky and chewy. Can anything be done so it doesn’t gets wasted?
Its disheartening to see after putting so much of effort and time that too during diwali.
swasthi says
Hi Shri,
I guess the problem is due to over blending the cashews. A bit more of ghee shouldn’t matter much. But If the cashews are over blended they will release oil after adding to the pan. It turned chewy as you over cooked it. You should never put any burfi mixture in fridge to fix it. There are lot many easier ways. You can try adding some roasted gram flour(chutney dal) or desiccated coconut. I would suggest adding chutney dal to a processor/mixer and make a fine powder then mix with this. It should work well. Hope this works. Please let me know if you could do it.
P shri says
Thanks for your reply Swasthi!! A little doubt.. gram flour means besan right.. wouldn’t it change the taste from what kaju katli actually tastes?
swasthi says
No I mean chutney dal or roasted gram flour or fried gram dal flour. But you can also use besan but will have to dry roast for long time until it turns golden and roasted. The raw smell should go away. Yes any addition will alter the taste completely. But you can save it and it will taste good for sure. Chutney dal has the ability to absorb the excess grease and stickyness so it will work.Do not add a lot, just add 1 tbsp each time until you are able to fix it. Also the katli will taste less sweeter. Instead You can also add only some cocoa powder. This I have made it several times.
P Shri says
Thanks much Swasthi! I will try this out.
Swaleha Khaku says
My kali katli turned out perfect. Very well explained. If I want to add silver warq how do I do it.
swasthi says
Hi Swaleha,
Glad it turned out good.
You can just stick it after rolling.
Asha says
Hi,
I tried your Kaju katli recipe. It came out so well. It was so simple and easy to follow. Best recipe Diwali sweet ever…
Thanks
Asha
swasthi says
Hi Asha,
You are welcome! Glad it came out well. Thanks much for the comment.
Lathika says
I tried out but I think I took it out before it got more thick. What can be done?
swasthi says
You can put it back on the stove and cook a bit more
Archana says
Hi Swasthi,
I had earmarked a recipe to make chocolate kaju katli. I cannot find it here. Wanted to make for my kids birthday party. Please help me to find it.
swasthi says
Hi Archana,
Sorry for the late reply. Your comment was in spam. The recipe for chocolate kaju katli is no more on the blog. I can mail you the recipe if you need it.
Sanjita says
Thank you for the recipe. My kaju katli came out well. But my mixer is not very good so the kaju was like suji. Which one do you use? does it make a fine powder
swasthi says
Hi Sanjita
You are welcome. Thanks for trying. In this video I used preeti steel. It is not very good. If you can see mine too is like fine suji.I also use ultra mixer and national panasonic. Ultra is very good. It should be available online. Hope this helps
Rupali says
Hi Swasthi!
Thank you for the little tips, that is what make the recipes perfect. I always thought I can’t make something as good unless I watch someone do it. But this kaju katli recipe turned out perfect. My daughter has not stopped eating it. My husband relished it too. And the guests couldn’t believe it was homemade.
swasthi says
Hi Rupali,
You are welcome. Thank you so much! Glad your kaju katli turned out good.
🙂
Stuti Mishra says
Hi Swasthi,
I made this Kaju katli today, and it was awesome… My 8 yr old son loved it. I have been looking for a perfect recipe and finally, I got one. Its a no-fail recipe.
Thank you
Stuti
swasthi says
Hi Stuti,
You are welcome. Glad your kid loved the kaju katli. Thanks much for the comment!
Rita says
I had a epic failure 😭 . It turned out hard like a rock even before kneading. And grounded cashew powder couldn’t go through the seive, that’s the max I could grind in the mixie before the cashew started leaving oil.
swasthi says
Hi Rita,
I have done my best to show the right consistency of the mixture in the video. The flour couldn’t go through the sieve is not a problem. Your katli mixture turned hard because you overcooked it. You can add it back to the mixer and powder it again. Then sprinkle some water and slowly heat it to bring it down to the right consistency. Then slightly cool down and knead it. If you do not want to redo it. Just make ladoos out of the blended powder. They will turn out very good. Hope this helps!
Friendly says
I made kaju katli for the first time using this recipe and it turned out very well. It was a big hit and star of my tea party. Thank you ma’am for this recipe.
swasthi says
Welcome. Thanks for trying the recipe. Happy to know kaju katli came out good.
🙂
Rajni Andavarapu says
Helo mam, i done today for pongal,my son loves it,he says diamond is super yummy thanx a lot
swasthi says
Hi Rajni,
Happy pongal!
So glad to know your kid liked the kaju katli.
🙂
Jaiby Joshy says
Hi Swathi,
Thanks for your great recipes. I tried Gulab Jamuna and Tomato rice. Both came out good. I told to my friends also about your site.
Thanks and all the best
swasthi says
Welcome Jaiby Joshy
Glad to know the food turned out good. Thanks for sharing about the blog with your friends.
🙂
Gayu says
Hi swasthi.
Thank you so much for the kaju katli recipe. It really turned out well. Keep updating your skills.
swasthi says
Hi Gayu
You are welcome. Thank you so much for the comment. Glad to know it came out good.
🙂