Cashew Aluwa: A Step-by-Step Sri Lankan Sweet for Special Occasions

Cashew aluwa is a traditional Sri Lankan sweet, and a favourite on New Year tables and at celebrations. It is made from just a few ingredients: cashew powder, sugar and cardamom. The result is a soft, rich, fudge-like sweet with the sweetness of caramelised sugar and the gentle taste of cashew. It is cut into diamonds and shared with guests, or packed into boxes as a gift.

This recipe follows the one in our post on easy cashew recipes, with more detail on each step. Quantities are a guide, so adjust to your kitchen.

250g cashew powder, 200g sugar, 100ml water, half a teaspoon of cardamom powder, and a tablespoon of ghee, which is optional. You will also need a little oil or ghee to grease a tray, a heavy-bottomed pan, a wooden spoon, and a greased spatula or the back of a spoon. A banana leaf can be used instead of a tray.

Our Cashew Powder is finely ground cashew made for sweets like this, and it saves you grinding the nuts. If you prefer to grind your own, use plain whole cashews such as our Cooking Cashew, and grind in short pulses so the nuts do not turn into butter.

Put the sugar and water in the pan and boil over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until it thickens into a syrup. This is the most important step, because the syrup decides the texture of the sweet. To test it, drop a little syrup into a glass of cold water. It should hold together as a soft ball between your fingers. If it dissolves, boil it a little longer. If it forms a hard lump, it has gone too far.

Turn the heat down low, and add the cashew powder and cardamom, together with the ghee if you are using it. Stir continuously for 5 to 8 minutes, until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan in one soft mass. Keep stirring, since the mixture can catch on the bottom of the pan and burn. The mixture will look crumbly at first, then come together as it heats.

Turn the mixture onto a greased tray or a banana leaf and spread it about 1.5cm thick. Flatten the top with a greased spatula. Leave it to cool for 15 to 20 minutes, then cut it into diamonds while it is still slightly warm, because it hardens as it cools and is harder to cut cleanly.

Let the pieces cool completely before you move them. Stored in an airtight container, the aluwa keeps for about a week.

If the aluwa is too soft and sticky, the syrup was not cooked long enough. Return the mixture to the pan over low heat for a few more minutes, stirring, and then spread it again. If it is hard and crumbly, the syrup was cooked too long, or you used too much powder. Add a spoonful of warm water or ghee and warm gently while stirring.

If the sweet tastes bland, a pinch of salt or a little more cardamom brings out the flavour. If it tastes bitter or burnt, the heat was too high, and that batch cannot be rescued, so make the next one over a lower heat and stir the whole time.

Add a few drops of rose water or a pinch of ground cinnamon along with the cardamom for a different aroma. You can press a whole roasted cashew into the top of each diamond, or scatter a few chopped cashews over the surface before it sets. Some cooks add a spoonful of desiccated coconut. Taste a small piece first, because cashews and sugar are both strong flavours and a little goes a long way.

Aluwa is a good homemade gift. Pack the diamonds in a clean airtight box between layers of baking paper, and add a note card. If you would like to give cashews as well, our gift boxes include a note card, and our guide to cashew gift ideas has more ideas. Allergies matter: aluwa contains cashews, so label it clearly, as we explain in tree nut allergy and cashews.

Aluwa is rich and sweet, so a small piece goes a long way. As with any sweet, it is best enjoyed in small portions. Keep it in an airtight container away from heat and humidity, which makes it sticky. For more on keeping cashew products fresh, see how to store roasted cashews.