Kaju Katli / Cashew Fudge!!!!

Hi guys!!!

It started off a couple of months back when I prepared a quick dessert for Friday lunch to mark the start of our weekend. Ever since, Ganesh has started asking me 'what is this weekend's dessert?' as soon as he wakes up on Friday!!! He is a big fan of Kaju katli and was asking me for over a month to prepare them and I was pushing it further telling him that I forget to pick up cashews everytime we went grocery shopping. Not that I do not have cashews at home, but, I wanted to delay it for no reason. Finally, he picked up cashews himself and said firmly 'This weekend I want Kaju katli.. No more excuses!!'... And so, I did prepare them :-)

All you need to make these delicious little treats are cashews, sugar and very little ghee. The only trick part is getting the consistency of the sugar syrup right. You need to arrive at the Single Thread Consistency for the fudge to be slice-able and super-soft. Please see my Note below on how to check the consistency of the sugar syrup.

Now lets see the recipe.

Ingredients:
Makes around 20

Cashews - 1 cup (powdered)
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Ghee - 1 tsp (for greasing your palms)
Water - around 4 tbsp ( just enough to immerse the sugar on the pan)

Procedure:

1. Powder the cashews and measure and keep aside. To make kaju katlis with correct level of sweetness make sure that the ratio of powdered cashew to sugar is 2:1.
2. Take the sugar in a wide pan and add water just enough to immerse it. Heat this on low flame. The heat needs to be low throughout.
3. Let the sugar syrup reach the single thread consistency and add the powdered cashews. Keep mixing to avoid sticking to the bottom.
4. Turn off heat when the mixture starts to leave the sides. After you have switched off heat just mix in circular motion for a minute and set aside to cool.
5. After around 15 minutes, when the mixture is warm enough to handle, knead it well with greased palms.
6. When you have kneaded it like a dough roll it into half an inch thick disc.
7. Slice into cubes or diamond shapes and enjoy!!!!

Note:
Checking the sugar consistency:
Heat the sugar and water in a wide pan and let it boil. Do not stir often after the sugar has dissolved 'coz this causes crystallization and this might cause the katlis to break.When it starts boiling check that the syrup is sticky. This is the first stage. The next stage to check would arrive in less than a couple of minutes. Keep a small plate nearby. Take a drop of the syrup on the plate and tilt it and the syrup should flow. This is stage two. Now in less than a minute you will reach the single thread consistency. SO keep an eye. When you take the syrup in between your thumb and index finger and rub it and spread, you should see a single thread. Thats it!!!