Hello friends !! This Diwali

celebration ended with sweet Strawberry Kaju followed by my husband’s birthday party. My daughter is very fond of cashews’ sweet and on her demand I surprised my husband with this sweet and a small cake .

My daughter was amazed to see such cute strawberries and helped me out in cutting the dough and shaping it. It’s fun to make something creative together, so she voluntarily involves in such activities.

Also you will be surprised to know that its recipe is quite simple to follow. I haven’t used any kadhai(wok) to make this sweet. All I have done is used the cashews to make the pink berry part and the pistachios to make the leaves part of the strawberries. I have used the same recipe of Kaju-pista roll with the exception of condensed milk. So lets proceed to the recipe now ..

INGREDIENTS:
1. Cashews (tukda kaju) Broken – 1.5 cups
2. Pistachios (pista) – 1 cup
3. White Granulated or powdered sugar – 4 + 2 tbsp (or to taste)
4. Red color – 5 to 6 drops
5. Strawberry essence – ¹⁄₄ tsp
6. Green color – 3-4 drops
7. Clarified butter(ghee) – 4 tbsp
8. Condensed milk – ¹⁄₂ + ¹⁄₄ cup
9. Milk or water – 2 tbsp or as required
10. A medium fine colander or sieve( Chhalni)

METHOD:
| Preparation time : 45 mins | Cooking time : 2 mins | Shaping time : 45 mins | Makes about 25 medium size strawberries |

For Cashews dough:
1. For making the cashew and pistachios dough , all you need is warm condensed milk or sugar , powdered nuts and some ghee to mix them well. I started with the cashews dough. Gather the ingredients on the counter.

1. Add 1.5 cups of kaju tukda to a mixer or food -processor. I used broken cashews since it is easier to powder them, but you may use whole pieces too. Make sure they are at room temperature and dry. Run the processor in pulses and check in between , scrape the sides and continue grinding till you see an even powder. Don’t overrun the processor or else these nuts release their oil and make the process complicated. Its fine to get some grit small pieces. Stop when you see 75-80% has powdered.
   

2. Sieve this mixture in another bowl through a medium fine sieve, and collect the grits in another bowl/plate. I had some cashew grit from my previous batch, so I combined both and pulsed them together again to get the powdered cashews.
   

3. Now warm the condensed milk (¹⁄₂ cup) in a microwave for 30 seconds. Add this warm milk to the cashews powder. If you feel the sugar is less, you may add 2-4 tbsp of powdered sugar with 2 tbsp of warm water in the mixture to form a dough.
   

4. Add few drops of color and flavor (essence) to the dough and mix them well. Grease your hands with ghee well and try to shape the mixture in a dough form. Cover it with a plate and grease the dough well with ghee too.
   

5. Pinch small nearly equal size portions and shape them in a cone like shape with hands. Likewise make all the cones for strawberries and keep aside. Now take a toothpick or a fork or with the side blade of peeler. Make multiple holes in a line all over the berries.
   Don’t they look cute like witches’ hat ? 😛

For Pistachio dough:
1. Same process has to be followed with the pistachios too. Make sure they are dry and at room temperature before starting with the process. Comparatively pistachios take less time to form a powder. Take 1 cup pista or as adjusted in your grinder and pulse them at intervals to form a coarse powder.

1. Sieve it and collect the grits and try to powder them again , if possible.

2. Warm condensed milk or milkmaid (¹⁄₄ cup or 6 tbsp) in a glass bowl and add to the powdered pistachios.
   

3. Add some sugar (powdered or granulated) if desired with some water or milk to form a binding dough.
   

4. This dough has a clay or fondant like consistency but they are quite sticky. So either wear gloves or grease your hands well while making this dough. Add some ghee in the dough to give it a shiny texture. Add some color if needed to give it a beautiful hue.
   

5. Now take a parchment or wax paper , grease it with little ghee or oil. Keep the dough in between its two layers and roll the dough either by tapping on all sides or with a rolling pin. I rolled it in a semi-circle , you may roll it in any irregular shape too in ¹⁄₂ -1 cm thickness.
   

6. Take a circular cookie cutter or a cap of the bottle and cut out circles from it.
   

7. Using a pizza cutter or a knife cut the circle in 6-8 sections which could be used as leaves.
   

Assembling both parts:
1. Stick these leaves on the wider part of pink cones in a group of 4-5 leaves. Cover the center pink portion with some more green dough to form a small stem at the top.

1. Similarly make all the leaves from the dough and stick them to the berry part to complete the shape and structure. It is a good family together time(team-work) and each strawberry looks unique prepared by each member. 😀
   

Have them as and when you feel like !! Store them in air-tight container on the counter for up-to 2 weeks and enjoy! In refrigerator they get moistened or hardened , so you will not get the same soft texture and taste in mouth.

Till then, Keep cooking and sharing your ideas!!
😀