Kaju Katli

Ingredients:

Cashew Nuts – 2 cups
Sugar – 1 cup
Water – 1/2 cup
Rose Essence – 1/2 teaspoon
Ghee – 2 teaspoons
Milk – 2 tablespoons

Other Tools/Utensils Required:

A spoon/spatula
Wax Papers – 2 sheets (you can use thick clean plastic sheets instead)
A wide plate with edge (or use a wide vessel or bowl instead)
A Roti Rolling Board or Pin
A small bowl with 1/4 cup water

Method:

1. Take cashew nuts in a blender and blend them into fine powder in one go. If your blender has a transparent lid, you could see through the lid to check if it is finely powdered. Do not stop the blender and open the lid to check. Make sure you do not blend too much as the cashew nut powder will start becoming sticky like a paste. Note that once it is powdered fine, it might look a little coarse, which is OK. Keep it aside.
2. Grease a wide plate/vessel/bowl and the spoon or spatula with little ghee. Keep them aside.
3. In a pan, boil sugar an water.
4. Add rose essence.
5. Boil until  the sugar syrup reaches single thread consistency. To help check the consistency, take a drop of the liquid between your index finger and thumb and pull your fingers apart. There should be a thread like formation between the two fingers. Or, take 1/4 cup of water in a small bowl, pour 1-2 drops of syrup into the water. You should now be able to see thread like or web like formation in the cup. This formation will not dissolve immediately in water.
6. Add powdered cashew nuts and stir continuously on medium flame until the mixture starts leaving the sides of the pan.There might be some small lump like formations, which is OK as they will break down on kneading.
7. Pour into the greased plate. Do not scratch the pan to remove the left-over mixture.
8. Using a spoon/spatula mix it until it cools down until you can handle with your palm. Do not let it cool down too much as the mixture will start hardening. The hotter the mixture the better the result. To help you knead hotter mixture, grease your palm with little ghee and try kneading from the sides and then mix it all together into smooth and a soft dough. If the dough seems to dry at this stage and edges start cracking, add 1 tablespoon milk. Continue to knead until you get a smooth and soft dough. Add another tablespoon of milk if required.
   
9. Make a single large ball of this dough.
10. Place it in the centre of a wax paper.
11. Place another wax paper on top of the ball.
12. Press it using a roti rolling board evenly to get a nearly 1/2cm thick disc.
13. Remove the wax paper on top and allow it cool down little bit.
14. Now grease a knife with little ghee and cut the disc into diamond shapes.
15. Once cooled completely separate the pieces.
16. Serve or store in an air-tight container for 3-4 days.