MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
Title: Kaju Katli (Fudgy Cashew Thins)
Categories: Candy, Fudge, Indian
Yield: 20 Servings
1 1/2 c Raw cashew pieces; broken
3/4 c Granulated sugar
6 tb Water
1 dr Rose essence; up to 2 dr
1 tb Ghee
Use cashews at room temperature. If you store your nuts in the
fridge, take them out a night before and spread on the kitchen towel
to air dry. The cashews should be at room temperature and completely
dry before you start powdering them. Transfer the cashew pieces to a
dry blender jar and in one go powder them as fine as you can. We need
a loose, smooth powder. Take care that the cashews do not become
pasty or release their oils and clump up or become sticky. This is
very important. If you feel that there are few big pieces in the
cashew powder, pick them out or sift the powder using a sieve, but do
not overwork the blender to grind the cashews. Yields 1-3/4 c powder.
In a wide, heavy bottomed pan (I use my 10" skillet) or a kadhai, mix
up the sugar and water. Set the pan on low flame and let the sugar
dissolve. Stir (I use my rubber spatula) the solution once or twice
while the sugar dissolves so that the sugar does not stick to bottom
of the pan. While the sugar is dissolving, rub about 1/2 tb ghee on a
kitchen board (or the surface where you will knead) and set aside.
Once the sugar has dissolved, add the powdered cashews to the pan. Mix
everything and brace yourself for some hard work. Keep on stirring and
stirring as the mix cooks on low flame. The process will be slow in
the beginning and you will feel that it will take forever but do not
worry. Keep on stirring, scraping the mixture on low flame, do not
let the mixture stick to the sides of the skillet.
After about 18 minutes, you will see that the mixture starts
thickening and coming together. Add the rose essence (or any other
flavorings) now if using and incorporate. We will shortly be getting
there, once the mixture is thick, do not bother much about scraping
the sides as they will be really dry. Around 22 minutes, the mixture
will start resembling a soft, sticky dough and will clump up around
the spatula. If you try to bring the mixture together in one place on
the skillet, it will try to slowly spread, similar to how a glug of
cold honey spreads on a surface. It took me exactly 24 minutes to
reach that stage. Depending on the flame settings and water content
of the sugar, you can approximately look at 22 to 28 minutes to reach
that stage.
Immediately transfer to the greased surface and leave to cool a bit
until its safe to handle. Once the cashew dough has cooled slightly,
rub a teaspoon of ghee on your hands and very gently knead the dough
for 5 to 7 minutes to form a ball. Remember that the dough needs to
be warm when you knead so just wait until its safe to touch, do not
let it cool down completely, else it will not knead and remain
grainy. Do not press very hard as you knead else the cashews will
start oozing their oil but there should be enough pressure so that a
small ball is formed. You can grease you hands or the dough with ghee
in between if it starts feeling sticky.
One you get a smooth ball, flatten it out slightly. Place a large and
wide sheet of wax or butter paper on the dough and using a
rolling-pin, roll it out to a 1/3" thickness, or you can roll out as
thin or thick as you like. Using a sharp knife (or a ravioli cutter,
like I did), cut into diamonds or squares or any shape you like.
Serve or store in an air tight container at room temperature for 5 to
6 days.
Notes:
The time of cooking noted in this recipe will vary if you are using
any other kind of sugar than granulated, since the water content of
different varieties of sugar is different.
You can use any kind of flavorings: cardamom, saffron, or kewra
(screw pine water) instead of rose essence.
This recipe can be use for almond powder too.
Recipe by Sanjuro
Recipe FROM:
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gopher://sdf.org/0/users/sanjuro/indian-food/kaju-katli.txt>
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