Let me start by saying I dont even have a sweet tooth(although my appearance would make one question that)…but hey for the love of all things namkeen, I belong to the salt gang!But then there are exceptions and here goes mine!
Kaju katli as the name goes is a sweet dish made primarily of cashew(kaju) , sugar, ghee and some flavouring agent like cardamom. In some north indian states they use condensed milk to make it even more richer. Katli means thin slices which denotes the thin diamond shape of this sweet. It is often served with edible silver foil on top which makes it all the more attractive.
The other day I came upon an article of the origin of the sweet. It seemed to have originated in the Mughal era when Jahangir was the emperor.So storytime!!The emperor had captivated many Sikhs gurus/Hindu kings in Gwalior fort and their living conditions were bad. Guru Hargobind was one among them, he was a very helpful and caring guru who catered to the needs of others. So the emperor declared that Guru Hargobind was free to go and he gave a condition that all those who could hold onto Guru Hargobind’s robes while he was getting released could also walk out with him. So Guru Hargobind struck a brilliant plan and asked the kings in secret for a robe long enough to be created for him on the day of release and thus he was able to walk out free with all the fellow prisoners who were exiled as they all were able to hold on to his lengthy robes/hems. On this day of liberation (known as Bandi Chhor Diwas), emperor Jahangir’s chef prepared the kaju katli/barfi for the first time as a gesture for appreciating Guru Hargobind!
This sweet is not extremely sweet like ladoo or jalebis, which is maybe why I like it so much. It has a very rich taste and usually is smooth enough to melt in your mouth. You even get the sugarfree variety of it these days in sweet shops.
My personal favourite are the ones from Chitale Bandhu here in Pune, but you can even get them at the comfort of your home from our very own Haldirams – Buy kaju katli here!
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