Pani kadju (පැණි කජු) is the Sri Lankan name for a nut brittle: crushed roasted cashews set in a thin sheet of hard amber caramel and broken or cut into squares. The name joins pani, the Sinhala word for honey, treacle or syrup, with kadju, cashew. Packaged pani kadju is sold in shops across the island, and many of the commercial packs are made with peanuts rather than cashews, so the name is used for peanut brittle too.
It is eaten as a crunchy sweet with tea, and crushed over vanilla ice cream, a pairing so familiar that "pani cadju" is also a standard flavour in Sri Lankan ice-cream ranges, sold as a mix of treacle-flavoured caramel and cashew pieces. The home-made version needs only nuts, sugar and water, and takes about an hour including cooling.
How to make pani kadju
- Makes about 24 pieces
- Prep: 10 minutes
- Cook: 20 minutes (+ 30 minutes cooling)
- Difficulty: Moderate
Ingredients
- 200 g raw, unsalted cashews (or skinned peanuts), roughly crushed
- 200 g white sugar
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp coconut oil or vegetable oil, for greasing
Method
- Prepare the tray. Line a baking tray with baking paper, or grease a flat steel plate or tray and a metal spoon with the oil. Have everything ready before you start, as the caramel sets fast.
- Roast the nuts. Dry-roast the crushed cashews in a heavy pan over a medium-low heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring, until lightly golden and fragrant. Tip them into a bowl and keep them warm.
- Dissolve the sugar. Put the sugar and water in a clean, heavy stainless-steel pan over a low heat and stir only until the sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes.
- Cook the caramel. Turn the heat to medium and let it boil without stirring, swirling the pan now and then, for 6 to 8 minutes, until the syrup turns an even, deep golden amber. Do not let it go dark brown, or it will taste bitter.
- Add the nuts. Take the pan off the heat, add the salt and warm cashews and stir quickly with a wooden spoon until every piece is coated, about 30 seconds.
- Spread thin. At once pour the mixture onto the tray and press it out with the oiled spoon to an even layer about 5 mm thick.
- Score and cool. After 3 to 4 minutes, while it is still warm and slightly soft, score it into small squares with an oiled knife. Leave to cool for about 30 minutes until hard.
- Break and store. Snap the brittle along the scored lines and pack it straight into an airtight jar.
Why does the caramel turn grainy or sticky?
- Grainy or cloudy: the syrup was stirred after it started to boil, or sugar crystals on the side of the pan fell back in. Swirl the pan instead of stirring, and brush the sides down with a wet pastry brush if crystals form.
- Chewy or sticky when cold: the caramel was taken off too early. It must pass the hard-crack stage (about 150°C on a sugar thermometer) to set glassy; once the syrup is evenly golden amber it is safely past that point.
- Bitter: it went too far. Take the pan off the heat the moment it is evenly amber, as it keeps darkening from the heat of the pan.
Cashews or peanuts?
Cashews give the classic, rich pani kadju. Peanuts are cheaper and are what many shop packets contain; use skinned roasted peanuts in the same quantity and the method is identical. Crushing the nuts, rather than leaving them whole, gives a thinner, more even sheet that snaps cleanly and is easier to break over ice cream.
Is pani kadju made with treacle?
Despite the name, the home recipes and the shop packets are built on caramelised white sugar, which is what sets hard and glassy. The treacle idea lives on in the ice-cream flavour, which is sold as treacle and cashew. Kithul treacle, the syrup boiled down from sap gathered by kitul tapping, is lovely drizzled over the ice cream alongside the crushed brittle if you want that flavour.
How do you serve and store pani kadju?
Break it into pieces and serve it with a cup of black tea or Ceylon green tea, or crush it with a rolling pin and scatter it over vanilla ice cream. Kept in an airtight jar at room temperature, it stays crisp for about 2 weeks. Humid air makes the caramel sticky, so close the jar well and do not store it in the fridge uncovered.
How is it different from other Sri Lankan sweets?
Most traditional Sri Lankan sweets, such as kokis and kavum, are rice-flour batters or doughs fried in oil. Pani kadju has no flour at all: it is a sugar confection, closer in method to coconut toffee than to the fried festival sweets. Cashews are also often added to aluwa, the rice-flour fudge cut into diamonds for the New Year. For more, see Sri Lankan sweets.
