Kaju Katli Recipe – Cashew burfi – Munthiri Cake With Video

• Cashew nuts – 1 cup
• Sugar – 1/2 cup
• Water – 1/4 cup
• Ghee – 1 tsp ( to grease the tray)
• Milk – 1-2 tsp (optional, only if needed)

• Cashews should be dry. If u have kept in the refrigerator, bring it to room temperature by spreading them in a towel or paper to absorb all the water. OR Dry roast the cashews in a broad hot kadai in low flame without changing the color.Switch off the stove and put the cashews in the hot kadai for 10-15 mins till it becomes crisp & dry. I have followed both the methods & it works.
• Grind cashews to a fine powder. U can do this by two methods.One is :Run the mixie at low speed for short intervals , stir in between to get a fine powder. Repeat the same for 2-3 times till u get a nice powder. Make sure u do not over grind them . If over ground , cashews will leave oil & becomes a sticky paste..
• Second method is : Run the mixie continuously for one minute till u get a fine powder. U should be careful . Do not grind for more time. Cashew will release oil and becomes a sticky paste.

I have tried both the methods .. They work very well. U can try any.

When u grind 1 cup of cashews u’ll get  2-3 tbsp more than 1 cup of powder. U can use the same quantity and proceed further. No need to measure 1 cup of powder. 1/2 cup of sugar would be enough. After grinding, sieve the cashew powder through a wire mesh. You will get very fine cashew powder. Grind the leftover coarse ones and mix with cashew powder. This is the basic method of making cashewnuts powder. Once you have this powder in hand, making kaju sweets is a breeze 🙂

• After grinding the cashews,set aside.Grease a plate with ghee & keep it ready.
• In a kadai , take 1/2 cup of sugar & add 1/4 cup of water just to cover the sugar. Allow it to boil till frothy. Switch off the flame. Check if it reaches one string consistency.ie.take a drop of syrup from the back of ladle and test it between your thumb & fore finger. When u release it , u’ll get a thin,uncut single string.( oru kambi padham)

• Now switch on the flame to low. Add the ground cashew powder & mix well till u get a whole mass.ie, Keep stirring until the mixture starts to leave the sides of the pan and becomes thick.  It takes maximum of 4-5 minutes in low to medium flame.Do not wait for the dough to become too thick like chapathi dough. It should be soft and sticky. Test the consistency by making a small ball from the dough using ghee greased fingers. U should be able to roll a soft, non sticky ball out of it.

• Transfer the mixture to the greased plate, spread the dough with a spoon, add a tsp of  ghee ( optional)  and leave it for 5  – 10 minutes. It will be hot but good enough to handle it. Grease your hands with little ghee & Knead well like chapathi dough. 
• Initially u’ll feel dry & hard but as u knead well, cashews release oil and becomes soft, smooth. ( If u have missed the right consistency, the mixture will become very hard & crumbly. In that case add 1 -2 tsp milk and start kneading. U’ll get a soft ball like this at the end. But adding milk reduces the shelf life of the sweet.Add milk only if u feel the dough is too hard to handle. Else add a tsp of ghee for kneading. )
• In a plastic sheet or butter paper,grease it with ghee, roll the kneaded dough using a rolling pin. Trim the corners and cut them into the desired shapes. Please note color of cashew burfi may vary based on the purity of sugar. If the sugar is with more impurities, katli comes out in pale white like u see in the picture below. But its color improves the next day !  So try to use pure, white colored refined sugar 🙂

It just melts in ur mouth. Enjoy !! Stays good for 2-3 days  if store in an air tight box without refrigeration.. Enjoy !

• Cashews should be completely dry before grinding.While powdering the cashews please be careful in running the mixie. Over doing it makes the cashews sticky & wet.U wont get the perfect smooth powder.
• One string consistency is very important. If sugar reaches more than one string consistency , katli will become hard. So as soon as the sugar syrup becomes slightly thick and frothy, switch off the flame.Check for one string and then continue.
• If the dough become hard, you have to add more milk to make it soft. Adding more than the required milk makes it wet & sticky.It reduces the shelf life of the sweet. So remove the dough at the right time. 
• U can check the consistency of dough by making a small ball out of it.The ball should be non-sticky.Suppose if u over mix the dough and if it becomes hard,no worries.Just keep the dough in a plate and let it warm.Add little milk to it and knead it well.It will become soft.Then u can roll it and make pieces as mentioned above.