Rava vadi - faux kaju katli

I made this recipe based on my memory of our neighbor in Pune, from decades ago. She had come over to our house during Diwali. She had brought sweets to share and was most excited for us to try out this sweet and guess what it was made of. All of us guessed that it was kaju katli and her grin just grew bigger. Finally she revealed to us that she had made this using rava and there were no nuts. These were very similar to these pink square vadis that used to be available at the kirana stores (local grocer) in a small transparent plastic cover. 

I had a very faint memory of the recipe and decided to try it based on my cooking experience. The end result was delicious. It looks like kaju katli and the texture is similar, so you can even serve this as a faux kaju katli for those who have nut allergies.

Ingredients
1 cup fine rava
1 cup milk
1/4  to 1/2 cup ghee

1 cup sugar (can increase by 1/4 cup, adjust to taste)

Method

Mix the rava and milk and let it soak for 5-6 hours at the minimum or overnight. Then add the sugar and ghee to the mixture. Put this mixture into it in a broad saucepan and cook this mixture on low heat, stirring frequently. Cook till it comes together as a dough. Once it starts getting dough like, take 1/4 tsp onto a plate, let it cool till you can touch it and try to roll it into a ball. If it is not sticky and you can roll it easily, then the mixture is ready. 

While it is warm, knead this dough well so that it comes together. Then roll it out into a 1/4 inch thickness and then cut into diamonds. To ensure it doesn't stick, apply ghee to the rolling pin as well as the surface you are rolling it onto. Or you can sandwich it between two parchment paper sheets and roll it out. Let it dry and it is ready to eat. It can take a day to dry it out so that it is firm. Store in the fridge.

Tips

If there are any lumps, press on them and as it thickens, they will dissolve. If you increase the heat, the color of the mixture will change as it will brown. It will still be delicious, so you can do that as well. It just won't look like kaju katli.