Three Nuts Katlis- being nutty for Holi

Today was hectic for me, as I was dropping dear daughter to school in the morning, I also reminded her to wish her friends happy Holi (two of them actually, as they are also from India) which I do hope she must have happily. I had couple of outside jobs that were urgent and needed to be done today only, but then when I came back home it was almost noon. I found out that I hadn’t prepared anything for Holi as such.

Actually I did make Mysore pak in microwave yesterday evening, and as it was done in microwave- I don’t think it matched up to the amount of work/cooking my Ma and Ma-in-law, does during festivals, I felt very disappointed, a sudden guilt , a sense that I didn’t do what was supposed to be coming out from me, perhaps.
But then those Mysore pak turned out nice, like barfi type- oh! Not Ranbir Kapoor seriously- a pointer- I guess most of you are familiar with or must have seen “Gupi-Gayen Bagha Byen”- it had a character, that old magician –“barfi” played by Harindranath Chattopadhyay . So, just compare some of the antics both these characters played in some of the scenes. Such similarity, isn’t!

Oh! Again going tangent here, coming to the topic itself, where was I, “Barfi” – no, Mysore pak yes! It was not melt in mouth type but still very favorable-sweet of course yes. Next time perhaps I will do the long way- over stove-top- stirring and mixing and with exercise of my muscles, and with less sugar and more ghee, so that they turn out just like – melt in mouth..I also happened to pack some of them and sent it along with dear husband to be shared with office friends.

Nimki/namkin, Oats -aloo tikki, gulab jamun, mysore pak and dudh badam shake

Once I was back home, made a cup of tea  for me ,and as I started recalling what exactly I had made last year, and then previous year, I knew I had plenty of recipes to start with. I started with soaking some yellow peas in warm water, as to us Ghughni with keema is must on Holi.And then made some namkins/nimki and other sweets. It’s almost evening now, and I am here now typing this post.
Well, evenings, especially holi evenings, reminded me about those growing up years, when Holi evenings were spent visiting family and relatives and then gorging on the food platters served individually to us. Then, once we came back from our evening get-togethers, we were so full of eating up food-stuff, that on many occasions we didn’t bother to have dinner and would straight retire to bed, tired and sleepy, with tons of memories cherished in our hearts.

But this post is about three-nut katlis, a nutty affair. Almonds, sesame and cashews were slightly toasted, and then dry grinded to a powder type consistency, although sesame seeds are not exactly nuts.Sugar syrup is made and then the three nuts mixture powder was slowly added , mixing well to form katlis.I have kept the almond skin as well, but if you do not wish to include it then , peel off the skin once you blanched them. But let them dry out properly before you dry –grind them. Please be careful if you have nut allergies regarding this sweet recipe preparation.

Now to the recipe ( Measurements are approx)
Three nuts Katlis- Almonds Sesame and Cashews
Almonds, Sesame, Cashews- in the ratio of 2:1:1 – and we will need 3 cups of this nut mixture.
¾ cup of sugar
¼ cup of water
Few saffron strands
2 -3 tbs of ghee

Method
Dry roast almonds, sesame and cashews till the raw smell is gone, say about 4-5 mints at medium flame, stirring frequently. Do not burn them.
Now once they are cooled a little bit, make a dry powder by dry grinding in a heavy-duty mixer. We will require 3 cups of this, three –nuts mixture powder, so use the ingredients accordingly.
Now make the sugar syrup. We require two-thread consistency of the sugar syrup and should be thick. Add in saffron strands and let it simmer slowly till the sugar syrup is bubbling and is thick in consistency.
Add in powdered almonds+sesame+cashews and mix well. Add in ghee so that they start to collect well. Do this mixing and stirring over medium flame.
Now when it all starts to collect well and turn out more like sticky dough, switch off the flame.
Now you have to do the rolling and cutting the mixture hurriedly, otherwise if they cool out, it’s really difficult to roll them up.
Grease a plate with ghee, now take out, three nuts mixture in to the plate, with the help of rolling pins, and roll over with gently hands, once you start to roll over, the mixture becomes smooth and greasy enough, but carefully roll the mixture dough.
Cut into diamond shapes or whatever way you prefer. Enjoy three nuts Katlis and go nutty about it.


Happy Holi ....