Ingredients
Cashew base
- 2 cups (280g) raw cashews, unsalted and un-roasted
Sugar syrup
- ¾ cup (150g) sugar
- ¼ cup water
Flavoring and finishing
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
- 1 tsp ghee, for greasing the work surface
- Edible silver leaf (varak), for garnish — optional
Instructions
Grind the cashews
- If the cashews feel at all damp or have been stored in a humid place, spread them on a baking sheet and dry in a 200°F oven for 5 minutes. Cool completely before grinding — grinding warm cashews releases oil.
- Working in a food processor or dry blender, pulse the cashews in short bursts until they form a fine, dry powder. Stop frequently and check — you want powder, not paste. The moment the cashews start to clump and look shiny, fat is releasing and the texture of the finished katli will be greasy and won't roll properly. Short pulses and cool nuts prevent this.
- Sift through a fine sieve. Any coarse pieces that don't pass through will feel gritty in the final sweet. Return them to the blender for another pulse.
Make the syrup
- Combine sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves completely. Once dissolved, stop stirring — agitation encourages crystallization.
- Continue cooking until the syrup reaches one-thread consistency. To test: dip a spoon, let a single drop fall onto your fingertip and cool for 5 seconds, then press your thumb against it and pull apart slowly. A single continuous thread should form and hold without breaking immediately. This is approximately 112°C / 234°F on a thermometer, reached about 3–4 minutes after the syrup comes to a full boil.
- Remove from heat the moment the thread holds.
Combine and knead
- Working quickly, add the cashew powder to the syrup off the heat. Stir vigorously to combine — it will look crumbly and uneven at first.
- Return to the lowest possible heat and stir continuously for 2–3 minutes. The mixture should come together as a single soft dough that leaves the sides of the pan. It will still be quite soft — this is correct. Overcooking at this stage produces a dry, cracking dough that won't roll.
- Stir in cardamom. Remove from heat immediately.
- Transfer to a lightly ghee-greased work surface. Let cool for 3–4 minutes — just enough to handle without burning, but still warm enough to be pliable.
- Knead briefly, 30–60 seconds, until smooth and uniform. Work quickly — as it cools it becomes stiffer and will crack when rolled.
Roll and cut
- Place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll to approximately 3mm thickness — thinner than you might expect. Traditional kaju katli is thin and almost translucent at the edges. Thicker katli is heavier and less elegant.
- If applying silver leaf: peel a sheet onto the surface of the rolled dough and press lightly through the top parchment to adhere. Work gently — varak tears easily.
- While the dough is still warm and pliable, cut into diamond shapes: make a series of parallel diagonal cuts one way, then a second series of parallel cuts crossing at roughly 60°. The diamonds should be roughly 4–5cm long. Don't wait until fully cool to cut — cold dough cracks along the cuts rather than slicing cleanly.
- Leave to cool completely in the cut pattern before separating. As they cool they firm up and become easier to handle without breaking.
Storage
- Room temperature: Airtight container for up to 1 week.
- Fridge: Up to 2–3 weeks. Bring to room temperature before eating — cold kaju katli is firmer and the fragrance is muted.
- Freeze: Not recommended. The texture turns grainy on thawing.
Variations
- Pista katli: Replace all cashews with blanched, skin-off pistachios. Grind exactly the same way. The result is pale green and more floral in flavor — every bit as refined.
- Saffron katli: Stir a pinch of saffron soaked in 1 tsp warm milk into the syrup just before combining with the cashew powder. Deep golden color, fragrant.
Notes
- One-thread is the critical stage. Below it and the katli will be sticky and won't hold its shape at room temperature. Above it (two-thread, hard-ball) and the finished sweet is grainy, dry, and hard — sugar has crystallized too aggressively.
- Cashew powder must be completely dry and fine. Even a small amount of oil released during grinding produces katli that is greasy and tears when rolled. Cool nuts, short pulses, immediate stop.
- Roll while the dough is warm. Once it drops below a comfortable handling temperature it will crack under the rolling pin. If this happens, return the dough briefly to low heat for 30 seconds.
- 3mm is the target thickness. Many recipes say 5mm — ignore them. Thin katli eats better, looks more professional, and is what any good mithai shop produces.
Added Oct 6, 2026 · Updated Oct 6, 2026