Hobby’s coworker bought these back every time he visits India. One night, after dining out at a local Indian restaurant, he wanted to order it, only found out that it is not available widely here. So we went to the Indian grocery store next door, and after long explanation, they told us they don’t have the exact thing, but they have something similar. So we got our sugar fix, however, we were told the real thing we’d have to go to Vancouver BC to get it.
Here is a recipe that I found online. I guess when I get bored one of those days, I would attempt it.
http://saffronhut.blogspot.com/2006/10/simple-sweet-kaju-kathli-cashew.html
Ingredients:
1 cup of cashews
3/4 cup (or slightly less if you prefer) of sugar
1/4 cup of water
Yields about 20 diamonds.
Method:
- Finely grind the cashews to a powder. A coffee grinder does a great job of this.
- Mix the sugar and water in a wide saucepan.
- Heat till small bubbles begin to appear on the surface.
- Stir gently and let it come to a rolling boil. No need to check for string consistency etc of the syrup.
- Pour in the cashew powder and stir well to avoid lumps.
- Keep stirring for a few minutes and you should notice the mixture getting a little thicker.
- Put a little drop on a chilled plate and test to see if it hardens slightly. You should be able to roll it into a loose ball.
- If it does, switch off the heat and move the pan away from the hot surface.
- Let it cool slightly and dump out the contents onto a board or a clean countertop.
- Knead well with your hands (much like you would knead bread dough) to make it smooth and glossy.
- Roll out with a rolling pin into 1/4 inch thick sheet and cut into diamond shaped pieces.
- Gather all the end bits and knead again and repeat the process. No wastage!!
- Let cool/dry and pack in tins between sheets of waxed paper.
- Store at room temperature for a week or in the fridge for longer.
Tips:
- If the mixture remains runny after it has cooled down, you can heat it up a bit more or microwave it to get it to thicken up.
- If you have over cooked it and the mixture becomes powdery, add a few drops of milk to knead it. This will reduce the shelf life a bit, but won’t make any difference in taste.