As diwali is around the corner and we all are busy preparing sweet and savoury items to welcome our guests, I am sharing today a delicious sweet – Kaju Gulkand Ladoo.
These ladoos are made with cashew powder and sugar and then a mixture of nuts, gulkand (rose petal preserve) and fennel etc is stuffed inside the ball.
These balls are garnished with silver leaf to give a festive look. if gulkand is not available then you can stuff crushed pistachio inside the kaju balls.
Ingredients2 cup Cashew Nuts / Kaju chopped
2 tbsp Milk Powder / Doodh Ka Powder
1/3 tsp Cardamom Powder / Elaichi Powder
1 cup Sugar / Chini
4 Silvar leaf/ Chaandi ka vark
1/4 tsp Saffron / Kesar
3 tbsp Oats powder
2 tbsp Gulkand/Rose petal preserve
1.5 tbsp Mixed Dry fruits/mewa crushed
1/4 tsp Fennel powder/ Pisi Saunf
1/4 tsp Cardamom Powder / Elaichi Powder
Method* Grind the cashew pieces and make a powder (do this by gently pulsing it in the mixer, avoid over doing it, else the cashews start releasing their oil, and the mixture becomes sticky).
* If using oats then dry roast them in a pan or in microwave for a minute and grind to make a fine powder and add in the cashew powder.
* In a heavy bottom pan add sugar and 3/4 cup water and cook to make a sugar syrup of 1.5 thread consistency. Keep stirring the syrup while cooking.
* Bubbles will start appearing all over the sugar syrup when its done. Check and switch off the flame and then add cardamom powder to it.
* Now add cashew powder and milk powder to the sugar syrup and mix well
* When this mixture cools down to room temperature – knead and mash the dough to make it smooth, and then make small balls from the cashew dough.
* In a bowl take gulkand (rose jam), crushed mixed nuts, fennel powder, cardamom powder and mix well. Then make small balls of the stuffing (smaller then the cashew dough balls).
* Take a cashew ball and flatten it on your palm and stuff the gulkand ball in it and close it from all the sides and make a smooth and neat ball.