Easy Fox nut Kaju Katli

Shubh Deepavali everyone! Hope all is well in your world. For us, Fall break ended and kiddo went back to school. While my kiddo is at school, I made her favorite Indian Mithai - Kaju Katli with a twist. This version is easier, since no sugar syrup or stove top cooking is required. All you need is a microwave and a blender.

Ingredients:

Phool Makhana / Fox nuts - 3 cups

Cashews / Kaju - 1/2 cup (raw or roasted)

Milk Powder - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1/4 cup

Green Cardamom / Elaichi - 4 pods (seeds only)

Saffron / Kesar - few strands

Whole Milk - about 1/2 cup

How to make Easy Fox-nut Milk Powder Kaju Katli:

Boil milk in a microwave safe cup. Let it cool. Soak saffron strands in 1/4 cup milk and set it aside.
In a microwave safe bowl or plate, add fox nuts. Microwave for a minute and stir with a spoon. Microwave for another minute. Crush one fox-nut and check if its turned crisp. For me, 2 minutes was enough. Microwave for more if required. Let the fox nuts cool down completely.
In a blender, add half of the fox-nuts and pulse it to a powder. Add the other half and pulse again. Next, add cashews and green cardamom seeds. Pulse/Blend into a fine powder.
Generally, raw cashews are used for Kaju Katli. I used Unsalted Roasted Cashews, since I didn't have raw cashews.
Lastly, add sugar to the blender and blend again. I used 1/4 cup, use more or less to suit your taste.
In a mixing bowl, sieve the powdered nuts, sugar, cardamom mix. Add milk powder and mix well. Taste for sugar. To reduce the sweetness, you can add more powdered cashews. Or more powdered sugar for more sweetness.
Save the sieved coarse mix for making North Indian curries.
Now add saffron soaked milk to the bowl. Mix to form a dough. Add a little more milk if required.
Grease parchment paper with butter or ghee/clarified Butter. I used a round airfryer liner. With a rolling pin, flatten the dough ball as thin or thick you would like the Kaju Katli. Cut it into desired shape and enjoy.
Since milk is used, store Kaju Katli in the refrigerator. If you want to store it at room temperature, use melted Ghee/Clarified Butter instead of milk.
No hard and fast rules about the proportion of ingredients. Keep in mind that milk powder has a natural sweetness.

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