We are in the mid of October and for me this month is always special for many reasons. Birthdays and festivals line up this month during which I really get intentional about meal planning, partying and hanging out for shopping. On top of all this, the weather God mercy upon us turning sweaty-SUN in to pleasant, feel-good season which is why this month is PRIME in terms of food and social life. To make things even better I prepared this kids-favorite kaju choco roll twice this month and it rocked like ever!!
Kaju choco roll is super fantastically lovable by anyone who has sweet teeth. It’s actually a descendant recipe of the plain kaju katli which has only cashews plus sugar. When you master the kaju katli like if you have made it 4 to 5 times successfully without any mess, then this is going to be cake-walk for you.
The prime ingredient cashew when powdered and mixed with sugar syrup takes the grainy dough form and this makes the exterior layer of kaju choco roll. In addition to cashews, coco powder combined with syrup gives an authentic chocolate layer look which is inner layer of this roll. When both dough perfectly get cooked, it’s easy to knead and flatten them over a flat surface. The use of parchment paper is very obvious in this recipe as it doesn’t let the cashew dough sticking and helps you roll like a swiss roll.
This simple, straight forward sweet can make your Diwali meal a happy affair. Lets do this.
Kaju Choco Roll | Cashew Choco Roll Recipe
Ingredients
- Cashew Kaju- 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup
- Sugar- 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup
- Cardamom powder- 1/2 tsp
- Coco powder- 3 tsp
- Water- 3 tsp + 2 tsp
Instructions
Method
- Ensure the mixer jar is completely dry and add cashews in to it. Grind them to fine powder. I usually keep cashews at room temperature. So the cashews were dry. Do not use refrigerated cashews. I ran the mixer for around 10 minutes at a stretch and obtained little grainy powder.
- Heat a wok or pan adding sugar, cardamom powder and 3 tsp of water. In low flame keep stirring it till the sugar dissolves in water. Ensure the sugar is dissolved completely and bring it to rapid boil. Switch off the flame. Immediately add cashew powder. Mix well breaking the lumps with ladle.
- Reheat the same wok in low flame and keep stirring the cashew-sugar mix till it thickens, comes together and forms smooth dough. Switch off the flame and transfer the dough on to a plate or flat surface.
- Next will move on to prepare the choco layer. Take the reserved 1/4 cup cashew in mixer and pulse it to fine powder.
- In the cleaned-up wok add 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tsp of water. In low flame keep stirring it till the sugar dissolves in water. Ensure the sugar is dissolved completely and bring it to rapid boil. Switch off the flame. Immediately add cashew and coco powder.
- Reheat the wok in low flame and keep stirring the cashew-coco-sugar mix till it thickens, comes together and forms smooth dough. Switch off the flame and transfer the dough on to a plate or flat surface.
- When both dough are hand bear-able warm, you can start kneading them. As you knead, the dough's grainy texture changes to smooth. You can add little ghee to the dough for nice smooth texture. Also you can apply some ghee to your hands while kneading to bear the heat.
- Now flatten plain cashew dough using rolling pin on a large parchment paper. Keep it aside and flatten the cashew-coco dough in a similar manner. Next place the flattened coco dough over plain cashew dough. From one end to other, carefully roll them together like a swiss roll. Then using a sharp knife or pizza cutter trim the edges and slice.
- Store the kaju choco rolls in an airtight container and enjoy for a week.
Notes
Notes
- Do not over-grind the cashews because they ooze out oil and becomes paste. We need cashew powder not cashew paste. It's Ok if the cashew powder is little grainy.
- If you add too much water to sugar, after adding cashew powder the mixture will not thicken and come together as dough.
- As you include the cashew powder in to sugar syrup, you can do mixing and breaking the lumps in low flame too. I was extra cautious, so did it off the stove.
- As the cashew dough thickens and ready to transfer, do not scrape the edges and include them in to dough.
- Properly kneading the dough when it is still warm is very important step to obtain smooth textured kaju katli.
- You can add a tsp of milk to help dough get smooth texture fast. But remember milk reduces shelf life.
- The dough should be warm while rolling otherwise it will harden and you cannot roll. You can roll it to desired thickness. I rolled to 3mm thickness.
- The whole process took around 25 to 30 minutes for me, which may vary according your pan, temperature etc.
