Kaju Pista Roll Recipe – Kaju Roll Recipe – Cashew Pista Roll

• Cashew nuts/Kaju – 1 cup
• Sugar – 1/2 cup
• Water – 1/4 cup
• Ghee – for greasing the hands
• Milk or water – 1 -2 tsp ( for troubleshooting)

For pista dough

• Pista – 1/2 cup
• Powdered sugar – 1/4 cup
• Cardamom essence or rose water – few drops
• Water – as needed ( Use few drops)

• If you have kept the cashews in refrigerator, take it out and let it dry completely. Powder the dry cashews in a suitable mixer. For this, grind the cashews continuously for a minute till it becomes smooth powder. Do not grind for long time because cashews release oil and it becomes a paste. You can also grind it by using pulse option. i.e grind for few seconds, wipe the sides and repeat until it becomes a powder. Both the method works well. After grinding the powder, sieve with a wire mesh if needed. Keep the powder aside.

  

• In a kadai, heat sugar + water and melt it. Boil till it reaches one string consistency. String should be thin. To this, add the powdered cashews and mix well. It will become watery at first. Keep mixing in medium flame by staying nearby.
  

• The mixture will thicken and start to leave the sides of pan. At that time, simmer the flame completely. Take a pinch of cashew dough by greasing your fingers. Try to make a soft, smooth ball. If you are able to do it, cashew dough is done. Immediately transfer it to a greased plate.

  

• Using a spoon, just mix the cashew dough to turn thick and warm. Once its heat is enough to handle,  grease your hands with ghee and keep kneading for few minutes. It will turn soft, smooth like  a dough ball.
• For Making kaju katli : Place a  butter paper and keep the kneaded cashew dough over the butter paper. Cover it with another butter sheet and start rolling it with a rolling pin. Roll the thickness you desire. Now make diamond shapes and remove after its cool down.
  
• For making Kaju Pista roll : Cover the kneaded cashew dough with a dry cloth and set aside.
• Powder the pista to a smooth powder. Follow the method of making cashew powder. Do not grind for long time . To the pista powder, add powdered sugar, green food color, cardamom essence and mix it.
  

• Add few drops of water and make a smooth dough.Grease your hands with ghee and make a dough. Do not add more water, pista dough would become very sticky. If its too sticky, add a tbsp of maida and mix it in a kadai in very low flame to make it non-sticky and thick.
  

• Grease your hands with ghee and knead it soft. Divide the dough into 2 parts and make two logs/ cylinder shaped by rolling with your palm on a plate or counter top. Keep it aside.
• Now take the cashew dough and place it in between the butter paper. Roll it thin with a  rolling pin/chapati roller. Cut the circle into 2 parts as shown in the pic.
  
  

• Take one half of the circle, place one of the pista log in the center.The size of pista log and the cashew dough circle should be the same. Fold it once from above and below the log. It will resemble a log. Now roll the log gently. The more you roll, it will elongate and becomes a perfect log.It will stretch double, triple in size. Cut both the ends and taste it ; ))
  
  

• Cut the log into small cylinders by keeping your finger as reference size.Then take one roll and press both the ends gently on a plate or counter top to get perfect round shape.Refer the pictures for clear understanding. Repeat the same with the other half of cashew dough and pista dough. Arrange the kaju pista roll in a plate and let it set for an hour. Enjoy it !
  

Enjoy !

In case, You missed the right consistency and if the dough becomes crumbly and hard, just break them into pieces. Grind in a big mixie jar adding little water or milk and make a smooth paste. Transfer the mixture to the kadai and again cook it till you attain the correct stage. You can easily identify the right stage as you know where you went wrong. So do it patiently and remove it at the right stage.


Note

• Cashews should be completely dry before grinding. While powdering the cashews please be careful in running the mixie. Over doing it makes the cashews sticky & wet. U wont get the perfect smooth powder.
• One string consistency is very important. If sugar reaches more than one string consistency, katli will become hard. U have to add more milk to make it soft. Adding more than the required milk makes the dough wet & sticky. It reduces the shelf life of the sweet.
• U can check the consistency of dough by making a small ball out of it. The ball should be non-sticky. Suppose if u over mix the dough and if it becomes hard, no worries. Just keep the dough in a plate and let it warm. Add few tsp of little milk to it and knead it well by greasing your hands with ghee. It will become soft. Then you can roll it and make pieces as mentioned above.