Kaju Katli (Indian Cashew Fudge)

Kaju katli is a decadent, melt-in-your-mouth, diamond-shaped Indian dessert adorned with edible silver foil.

Kaju katlis with etched pattern on them — Kaju katli dough with etched pattern from rolling pin on it

Kaju katli is the perfect dessert to share with friends for festive holidays like Diwali/Deepavali. Not only is this cashew fudge dessert so delicious and buttery, but its diamond shape adorned with silver foil makes it a beautiful addition to holiday dessert boxes for friends and family. Checkout this article on how to create a homemade Deepavali/Diwali gift box filled with other delicious Indian sweets.

Kaju Decorations

Although the name Kaju katli literally translates to cashew diamonds, you can decorate and shape the fudge however your heart desires.

Some ways that you can shape and decorate your kaju katli besides the diamond shape are as follows:

Flowers - Use cookie cutters to cut out flowers and other shapes.
Apples - Roll kaju dough into small balls or apples. Use food coloring to paint the exterior red and place a clove in the center to represent the stem.
Rolls - One the kaju dough is flat, you can fill the center with pistachios and roll into a log.
Etched Designs - Another option is to use a cookie stamp or engraved rolling pins to roll out designs onto your dough.

How to make cashew flour

Kaju katli requires blitzing cashews into a flour. You can go down the route of buying cashew flour at the store or make it at home. Making cashew flour for kaju katli is pretty straightforward and often it is easier to find whole cashews at the store than cashew flour.

Cashew flour held in hands — Coarse cashew flour that looks like couscous in texture

The key to making cashew flour is to blitz or pulse the cashews until they are a coarse texture. Over-blitzing the cashews will cause the cashews to release their oils and cause the cashews to clump into cashew butter rather than flour. The cashew flour for kaju katli should be coarse in texture similar to couscous. You aren't looking for a really fine flour. If you are making a large batch of cashew flour, it helps to divide the cashews and blitz them in batches to ensure that all the cashews get equal time along the blade of the food processor.

Tips for getting the perfect kaju katli

Make sure the cashews are blitzed into a coarse flour - Any big cashew chunks will produce kaju katli dough that is lumpy rather than smooth.
Heat the sugar syrup until its silky - When cooking the sugar, we are looking for all of the sugar water to start boiling and it to be a syrup-y consistency with no sugar granules remaining. The syrup should be able to form a loose thread in between fingers.

Silky sugar syrup in between two fingers — Sugar syrup should be silky and smooth between fingers and thick enough to form a small thread between fingers

Turn heat to low before adding cashew flour - It is important to lower the temperature of the stove before adding the cashew flour. This ensures that when the cashew flour is added, it does not burn in the pan.
Kaju katli should be a wet dough consistency that pulls away from the sides of the pan - Look for the kaju katli dough to pull away from the sides of the pan to form a wet dough as a visual indicator that is it close to being done.

Kaju katli dough when it is undercooked and still runny

Thick kaju katli dough when finished cooking in a pan — This is how kaju katli dough should look when it has thickened and cooked

Take a small sample to test if the dough is ready - Take a sample and place it on a plate. If the sample dough forms a non-sticky dough ball, the dough can be removed from the pan. If the dough is still sticky, that means it is not cooked enough and needs more time on the stove.

Two kaju katli doughs. The one on the left is cooked and the one on the right is undercooked. — Two kaju katli doughs. The one on the left is properly cooked and the one on the right is undercooked and sticky.

The kaju katli should be warm while working with it. Once the kaju katli is cool enough to touch but still quite warm, you should work with it to form an even rectangle. You can wait for it to cool and harden a bit more before cutting it into its diamond shape.

How do I know my kaju katli dough is done?

The visual indicator that kaju katli dough is done is when the dough starts pulling away from the sides of the pan and clumps towards the center. A better test is to take a small sample of the dough, allow it to cool for 1-2 minutes, and see if the dough can form a non-sticky ball. Check out this photo to see cooked vs. uncooked dough.

What should I do if my kaju katli dough is sticky?

You can either transfer the kaju katli dough back to the pan and cook it on low heat until it forms a non-sticky dough or you can add milk powder to the dough until it is easy enough to work with. The last fix is to place the kaju katli dough in the fridge overnight and allow the dough to naturally lose moisture so it is easier to work with.

What should I do if my kaju katli dough is too dry and cracking?

If the kaju katli dough is slightly dry and cracking, you can slowly add warm milk and knead it into the dough to hydrate it to help roll it out. In the future, this can be prevented by shaping the dough while it's still warm and the shape has not set in.

How can I decorate kaju katli without silver foil?

You can roll the kaju katli and either use a cookie stamp or a etched rolling pin to add a pattern to the kaju katli. You can use food coloring to dye the kaju katli into different colors and use cookie cutters to cut them into different shapes.

What texture should cashew flour be for kaju katli?

Homemade cashew flour will never get ultra fine. It is sufficient to blend the flour into a couscous like texture as pictured here. The goal is to blitz big pieces of cashews out but not blend the cashews into a cashew butter.

What consistency should sugar syrup be for kaju katli?

It is important to get the sugar granules to completely dissolve for kaju katli. The sugar syrup should feel thick and sticky between the fingers and form a brittle string between your fingers as pictured here. If you have a candy thermometer, just wait for the sugar syrup to get between 215 F and 235 F (sugar string stage) before adding the cashew flour. But more importantly, don't allow the sugar to get too hot or else the kaju katli will crystalize into a hard ball.