Sticky, citrusy, and deep fried. What’s not to like?

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Total: 30 mins
Yield: 24

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups cashews
• 6 tbsp water
• ¾ cups sugar
• 1 tsp rose water
• ¼ tsp ground cardamom
• 1-2 tsp ghee
• Silver vark (optional)

Preparation

1. Pulse the cashews in a food processor or blender until it turns into a powder. Don’t pulse for too long, or you’ll get cashew butter! If the powder is too grainy, you can pass it through a sieve and reprocess the large pieces.
2. Heat the sugar and water in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Cook until the sugar dissolves.
3. Once the liquid begins to rapidly boil, add the cashew powder, then turn the heat to low.
4. Mix well until the sugar syrup and cashew powder are incorporated. The mixture should be smooth.
5. Stir constantly over medium heat until the mixture thickens slightly.
6. Add the rose water, cardamom, and 1 tsp of the ghee. Continue to cook on medium heat until the dough begins to release from the sides of the pan. If the mixture isn’t coming together, you can add more ghee, a few drops at a time. The dough should be moist and sticky. Remove from heat.
7. Check if it’s ready by taking a bit of the cooled dough and rolling it into a ball with greased fingers. The ball should not be sticky. If you can’t form a smooth ball, cook a bit longer until done. 
8. Transfer to a greased tray or parchment paper, then allow to cool slightly. It should be hot, but not too hot to handle.
9. Grease your hands and knead the dough for 2-3 minutes until smooth. If the dough is too dry and cracks, sprinkle a bit of water onto it and continue to knead.
10. Place the dough onto a nonstick surface and cover with foil or parchment paper. Roll out with a rolling pin until the dough is an even ¼ inch thickness. Decorate with silver vark, if using.
11. Allow to cool completely and then cut into the desired shape. You can use a knife to cut into the traditional diamond shape or use cookie cutters.