Hi dearies, what’s exciting is waiting for you this week🤩? As, you all know well, the theme for this month is Diwali sweets and snacks recipes. For the last 2 weeks, you must have enjoyed my Bottle gourd Halwa, Instant, No Cooking Chocolate Halwa Roll, Sago/Javvarisi Mixture, and Sabudana Chakli/Murukku. I keep up my promise of giving unique, easy, novel recipes to make your festival more memorable.
Now for this week too, my assurance for you continues…❤. Last week Sago/Sabudana/Javvarisi was 1 common ingredient with which I prepared 2 delicacies. The same goes for this week, it’s gonna be a bit Royal, because of the ingredients..😍🥰. It’s Cashew/Kaju/Mundhiri.
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Cashew is so versatile, it can be used in sweets, savouries, main course, curries, almost everything in Indian cuisine. Especially when it comes to desserts, Cashew holds a significant role. Top in the sweet list would be Kaju Katli, Cashew Barfi, it’s highly celebrated and relished sweet across India. Diwali gift without Kaju Katli is incomplete. Similarly, Peda is another delight that is basically made with khoya and sugar along with flavouring agents like cardamom powder, saffron, etc. Wait, why am I ranting about Katli and Peda…ohh, yeah, you guessed right, it’s Kaju Katli and Kaju Peda, this week. What’s so novel about it…🙃?
Yes, I tweaked a little to make this extravagant sweet more enthralling. For Peda, I made your life easier by converting it into a No cooking, Instant Kaju Peda. And for Katli, I added veggies and turned it into a Healthy Purple Kaju Katli. Thrilled?…😋😋.
Instant Kaju Peda, requires minimal things and involves just mixing and rolling into Pedas with absolutely no cooking. Each and every bite affirm the presence of cashew, while milk powder and other ingredients compete to register their presence…🥰.
Healthy Kaju Katli is a caramelized veggie beauty in a nutshell. Yeah, it was irresistible as my daughters claimed it to be so. I sautéed grated beetroot and carrot in ghee and cooked with cashew powder and sugar till it becomes a purple beauty. The caramelized flavour is imparted when beetroot is sautéed with sugar till it solidifies as a mass. It’s a must-try recipe, and even a newbie can master it as it’s that simple and breezy.
If you are that tempted and allured, we shall start the recipe.
For Healthy Purple Kaju Katli
Finely grate beetroot and carrot. Also, finely powder cashew (refer notes). Heat a thick-bottomed pan or kadai with ¼ cup ghee. Add the finely grated beetroot and carrot.
Sauté it for 10 minutes in medium flame. After 10 minutes, it would have been reduced to half.
Then lower the flame, add finely powdered cashew, sugar, and cardamom powder.
Mix well and raise the flame to medium and cook for 5 minutes, sugar melts and combines everything together as a solid mass. Now add the remaining 2 tbsp ghee and let it sauté for another 5 minutes.
Switch off the flame once it forms as a single mass and stops sticking to the base.
Transfer immediately to a greased plate.
Level it a knife or spatula, and mark them as lozenge-shaped pieces.
Let it cool down completely and then garnish with 24K edible gold leaves to give a contrasting touch to these purple beauty delights (refer notes).
After garnishing, with a sharp knife, cut deeply on the outlines made. Carefully, carve out the pieces.
Store these purple beauties in an airtight container and has a shelf life of 1 week at room temperature and for some more days if kept in the refrigerator (refer notes).
Relish these unique, healthy, eye-catching royal purple beauties. The sweetness from the veggies, richness from the cashew with a slight hint of caramel flavour in each bite is a divine experience..🥰😍🤩.
For Instant, No cooking Kaju Peda
Finely powder cashew nuts, don’t grind, just whip/pulse to get fine powder (refer notes to get better results).
If you cannot buy or get icing sugar, alternatively, you can grind granulated sugar. In a wide bowl, add milk powder, powdered cashew, powdered sugar and cardamom powder.
Mix a pinch of saffron in 1 tbsp hot milk, rub it thoroughly to get the colour. Then add the saffron milk, Combine well.
Now add 2 tsp milk gradually, tsp by tsp.
Combine everything till it gathers as a mass.
Add a tsp ghee, grease your hand with ghee as well.
Scrape from the bottom using a spatula to gather everything.
Now knead it into a soft dough. If it becomes sticky, adjust it by adding powdered cashew (refer notes).
Pinch small balls out of it. Flatten it slightly to get the shape of the Peda.
You can also roll the dough into a flat disc with the desired thickness.
Then using a cookie cutter, carve different shapes with it.
Garnish with sliced pistachios or nuts of your choice. You can also garnish with edible silver leaves.
Instant, no cooking Kaju Pedas are ready to relish. Minimal ingredients and minimal efforts, still its royalty is nowhere compromised. It’s so handy for the working class who can prepare this sweet at home with no regrets and excuses. An amazing treat with completely no cooking and minimal effort is bliss.
Recipe card
For Healthy Purple Kaju Katli
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Festive Sweets and Snacks
Yields: 25 medium cubes
Author: Manimala
Ingredients:
Finely grated Beetroot – 1 cup
Finely grated carrot – ½ cup
Powdered Cashew – 1 cup
Sugar – 1 cup
Ghee – ¼ cup+2 tbsp
Cardamom powder – ¼ tsp
Gold/Siver Edible Leaves/Nuts – for garnish
Instructions:
- Finely grate beetroot and carrot. Also, finely powder cashew (refer notes).
- Heat a thick-bottomed pan or kadai with ¼ cup ghee. Add the finely grated beetroot and carrot, sauté it for 10 minutes in medium flame.
- After 10 minutes, it would have been reduced to half.
- Then lower the flame, add finely powdered cashew, sugar, and cardamom powder.
- Mix well and raise the flame to medium and cook for 5 minutes, sugar melts and combines everything together as a solid mass.
- Now add the remaining 2 tbsp ghee and let it sauté for another 5 minutes.
- Switch off the flame once it forms as a single mass and stops sticking to the base.
- Transfer immediately to a greased plate.
- Level it a knife or spatula, and mark them as lozenge-shaped pieces.
- Let it cool down completely and then garnish with 24K edible gold leaves to give a contrasting touch to these purple beauty delights (refer notes).
- After garnishing, with a sharp knife, cut deeply on the outlines made. Carefully, carve out the pieces.
- Store these purple beauties in an airtight container and has a shelf life of 1 week at room temperature and for some more days if kept in the refrigerator (refer notes).
- Relish these unique, healthy, eye-catching royal purple beauties. The sweetness from the veggies, richness from the cashew with a slight hint of caramel flavour in each bite is a divine experience..🥰😍🤩.
Notes:
- Grating the veggies finely is very crucial. Use smaller holes to grate. If you use bigger ones, it’ll result in bigger sizes. The bigger the size, the more time it’ll take to cook and it’ll not easily get mashed up. Always prefer smaller holes in the grater, for better results.
- Similarly, while powdering the cashews, make sure you whip/pulse them. Do not grind it vigorously. Reason nut tends to leave oil when heated up while grinding. As I’d shown in the video, whip it in intervals, scrape the sides with a spoon, break the lumps if any, and pulse it again till you get a fine powder. If, by any chance, fat has been released and the texture is a bit oily and not powdery, do not panic, sieve it through a strainer and press it with the back of a spoon to get a fine powder texture.
- After adding ghee, sauté till everything gathers as a single mass and comes without sticking to the pan. It’ll take roughly 5 minutes, keep sautéing consistently to avoid getting burnt. This will give a caramelized flavour to the sweet. I’m sure kids will just fall for this caramelized flavour, as it was a big hit in my house and among their friends…❤❤.
- You can add nuts for garnishing. Or you can replace gold leaves with silver leaves (vark/varak).
- When it’s hot, just make outlines of your desired shape. Once cooled down, cut through the outlines and carve pieces from it.
- But warm it if you take it from the refrigerator or bring it to room temperature before you serve.
Recipe card
For Instant, No cooking Kaju Peda
Preparation time: 3 minutes
Cooking time: 0 minutes
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Festive Sweets and Snacks
Yields: 12 (medium-sized Pedas)
Author: Manimala
Ingredients:
Cashew powder- ½ cup
Milk powder – ½ cup
Icing sugar/Powdered sugar – 1 cup
Cardamom powder – ¼ tsp
Saffron – a pinch
Milk – 1 tbsp+2 tsp
Ghee – 1 tsp
Sliced pistachios – for garnish
Instructions:
- Finely powder cashew nuts, don’t grind, just whip/pulse to get fine powder (refer notes to get better results).
- If you cannot buy or get icing sugar, alternatively, you can grind granulated sugar.
- In a wide bowl, add milk powder, powdered cashew, powdered sugar and cardamom powder.
- Mix a pinch of saffron in 1 tbsp hot milk, rub it thoroughly to get the colour.
- Then add the saffron milk, Combine well.
- Now add 2 tsp milk gradually, tsp by tsp.
- Combine everything till it gathers as a single mass, then add a tsp ghee, grease your hand with ghee as well.
- Scrape from the bottom using a spatula to gather everything.
- Now knead it into a soft dough. If it becomes sticky, adjust it by adding powdered cashew (refer notes).
- Pinch small balls out of it. Flatten it slightly to get the shape of the Peda. You can also roll the dough into a flat disc with the desired thickness. Then using a cookie cutter, carve different shapes with it.
- Garnish with sliced pistachios or nuts of your choice. You can also garnish with edible silver leaves.
- Instant, no cooking Kaju Pedas are ready to relish. Minimal ingredients and minimal efforts, still its royalty is nowhere compromised. It’s so handy for the working class who can prepare this sweet at home with no regrets and excuses. An amazing treat with completely no cooking and minimal effort is bliss.
Notes:
- Powdered sugar can be substituted for icing sugar (if it’s unavailable).
- While powdering the cashews, make sure you whip/pulse them. Do not grind it vigorously. Reason nut tends to leave oil when heated up while grinding. As I have shown in the video, whip it in intervals, scrape the sides with a spoon, break the lumps if any, and pulse it again till you get a fine powder. If, by any chance, fat has been released and the texture is a bit oily and not powdery, do not panic, sieve it through a strainer and press it with the back of a spoon to get a fine powder texture.
- Firstly, crush the saffron and then add hot milk to it. Rub it and mix well to get the colour.
- While adding the remaining 2 tsp milk, be cautious. Add gradually tsp by tsp and stop if you feel the mixture is sticky. Then knead it into a soft dough.
- If you feel the dough has become too sticky, then add a little cashew powder. Also, after combining everything as a lump, wash your hands, dry it and grease your hands with ghee and then knead into a soft dough.
- Shelf life is good for a week and can be kept in the refrigerator to increase more life.
- You can increase more saffron to convert it into Kaju Kesar Peda, it also gets a deep yellow colour and flavour from saffron.
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