Kaju Katli
Kaju Katli, also known as Kaju Barfi is a classic Indian sweet native to the sub continent itself. Kaju, meaning cashew and barfi being a thickened milk mixed with sugar and other ingredients, is a quite literal translation of what the sweet actually is. Kaju Katli is ranked as one of the most popular Indian sweets by travel magazine, The Culture Trip (https://theculturetrip.com/asia/india/articles/indias-15-most-popular-and-mouth-watering-desserts/). It is up there with sweets like Gulab Jamun and Laddu, which are other Indian classics, and it is not difficult to see why. It is an extremely simple dish at heart being a soft blend between cashews and a sweet thickened milk.
Making Kaju Katli, while in concept is not difficult as the ingredients are quite simple, requires a lot of technique. A very popular recipe from Hebbars Kitchen can be found here(https://hebbarskitchen.com/kaju-katli-recipe-kaju-barfi-recipe/). To summarize, you first need to blend the cashews into a fine powder. You then need to boil sugar and then stir in the cashews until it makes a paste. Finally, just wait until it reaches a somewhat thick but soft consistency and then pour into a baking sheet and cut. Obviously the recipe is very abridged and skips over a lot of the technique required to make the delectable sweet.
This amazing delicacy has not been without controversy however. In India there is a religion called Jainism that has had a lot of influence throughout all of India. The core tenant of Jainism is the principle of nonviolence against all living things(learn more here —> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jainism). While items like milk are allowed, eggs, meat and any ground root vegetable is not allowed. While this does not seem to be inherently problematic when it comes to kaju katlu but the error comes when you look at the silver substance on it(pictured below)
That substance is called varak, and it is a thin silver foil that is edible. While it does not seem inherently not Jain the issue comes from how varak is made. It is made by taking purified animal skins and putting edible silver insed. They then hammer the silver into this sheets which get it into the form you see above. While the practice has widely been abolished, many consider varak completely not vegetarian and thus will always get their kaju katli without it. The main controversy behind all of this comes because this was originally not common knowledge angering many people who were Jain or followed Jain diets.
Despite being so simple Kaju Katli is one of the most popular sweets from India and has seen its fair share of controversy.
Kaju Katli seem like a food that I would enjoy myself. It was really interesting to hear about the unexpected controversy surrounding it. I would definitely like to hear more about the cultural/society impacts of some of the foods that you cover (when its possible). The foil on top of the food has a very interesting look that, for me at least, makes it look more appealing. The process of the making of varak really surprised me. Great job!
This is super interesting! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a piece of food with a silver foil covering it. I’m curious to know how this started, was it for visual aesthetic? Or is there some other reason for the foil? Is it essential to the dish or is it easily removable? I’m curious to hear more about the background, as well as the other dishes you mentioned as part of Indian cuisine. Overall, good job!
As a girl who loves to try new foods, this blog is perfect for me. Kaju Katli sounds like something I definitely would love if i ever got the chance to try it. It is interesting how something as simple as this dessert can have so much controversy behind it. I would love to hear more about other controversial Indian foods I think that could be a really cool post. I will for sure be back to learn about more Indian cuisines I need to try. Great blog!