Kaju Pista Roll

Ingredients:

Yields: 1 dozen

3 cups- Cashew nuts (kaju)
½ cup- Pistachio kernels, sliced
1 ½ cup- Milk
1 ¼ cup- Sugar, powdered
1 ½ tbsp. Light corn syrup
3 tbsp. Ghee
¼ tsp.  Cardamom powder
¼ tsp. Saffron threads, soaked in 1 tsp. of milk

Silver warq, as required

Method:

1. In a bowl soak the cashew nuts in warm water. Let the nuts sit in a warm area for about 2-3 hours. During this period of time, change the water about 3 to 4 times with new warm water. Drain the nuts and set aside.

2. Coat a silicone baking mat with a thin layer of ghee. Set aside.

3. Blend the cashew nuts into a fine paste. If the cashews don't blend easily, add as little milk as possible to get it to blend.

4. In a medium nonstick saucepan, add corn syrup, sugar and milk. Bring to a boil, and then lower the heat of the stove immediately to a medium low. The liquid should be syrup-y.

5. Add the cashew paste. Stir the paste constantly to prevent the mixture from burning.

6. Cook the cashew paste for about 7 to 9 minutes. The mixture should be much thicker and form a single solid mass. It will still be very soft and pliable.

7. Add cardamom powder and ghee. Mix well. Transfer it to greased silicone baking mat. Let the paste cool a bit (about 15-20 minutes).

8. Grease your palms and fingers with ghee/oil. Divide the cashew dough into two parts.
9. Add saffron milk and pistachio kernels to one portion of the cashe dough. Knead the dough well, to make sure the color spreads evenly.

10. Divide the plain dough into 2 or 3 balls, then roll it with a rolling pin to about a 1/8-inch thick layer and cut the layer into 4-inch wide rectangles.

11. Divide the colored dough into 2 or 3 balls, roll it with your both palms to get a 2 or 3 1/4-inch diameter cylinder shape.

12. Insert a colored cylinder into each plain rectangle. Roll the dough tightly so that the plain dough completely wraps the colored pistachio filling entirely. Repeat with other balls of nut paste.

13. Decorate with silver warq and cut the rolls into 1-inch cylinder using a paring knife and serve.