Jumbo Soan Papdi

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1. 1Step 1: In a pan on medium heat, add 2 tbsp ghee. Add besan and flour and mix until there are no lumps. Then add the remaining 1 tbsp ghee and roast until it becomes aromatic and the rawness from the gram flour is gone completely.
2. 2Step 2: This may take anywhere between 8 to 10 minutes. Switch off the flame. Do this step correctly, and do not rush. Always on medium to medium-low flame.
3. 3Step 3: Now add cardamom powder and mix well. Transfer this mixture to a large plate/bowl by passing it through a sieve and keep this aside.
4. 4Step 4: In a pan, add sugar, water, and lemon juice and cook on low flame till the sugar has melted and turns into light golden (amber) color with a hard ball consistency. Do not add any spoon or spatula until sugar is melted initially. Keep a small bowl with water handy. Add a few drops of syrup at different stages to check for hard ball consistency.
5. 5Step 5: The flame should be medium-low at all times. The entire process of making sugar syrup may take 20 to 25 minutes. Again make sure you don't rush and make this only on medium-low flame.
6. 6Step 6: Once the sugar syrup is ready, transfer it to a silicone mat or any steel plate greased with ghee along with some saffron strands. Keep stirring this so that its temperature comes down.
7. 7Step 7: Grease your palms with ghee. Now stretch and fold the caramelized sugar into a log shape several times. I repeated this step 20 to 30 times.
8. 8Step 8: Now join the ends of the log to form a ring and place it in the plate containing the flour mixture. You will have to stretch the ring of sugar, dredge it generously with the flour mixture, make an 8 shape to form a ring again.
9. 9Step 9: Gently stretch this ring, making sure it never breaks, dredge with flour and keep repeating until almost all the flour is incorporated and thousands of sugar threads are formed. We start with one thick sugar thread. After the first loop (8 shape to ring), we will have two threads; after the second loop, we will have four threads.
10. 10Step 10: Similarly, after the tenth loop, we will have 1024 threads. After the 12th loop, we will have 4096 threads, and so on. Basically, pull - dredge with flour - loop - pull is what you have to do.
11. 11Step 11: In a glass bowl or ramekins, add chopped nuts and a small portion of the sugar threads prepared above and press gently with your finger. Flip it to the serving plate.
12. 12Step 12: Once you have finished flipping each portion to form soan papdi, I highly recommend wrapping each one in a thin food-grade plastic sheet or butter paper. Wrapping soan papdis in plastic/butter paper ensures they remain fresh for a longer time at room temperature. If you keep it open, it will absorb moisture present in the air and become soft and sticky.