Indian cuisine · Desserts & Sweets

Balushahi

Flaky doughnuts made from flour, ghee and yogurt, fried very slowly and dipped in cardamom syrup.

Ingredients · for 6 servings

• 350 g flour
• 100 g ghee
• 3 tbsp yogurt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 80 ml water
• 300 g sugar
• 150 ml water for the syrup
• 4 cardamom pods
• 40 g pistachios
• 1 liter oil for frying

Instructions

1. Mix flour, baking powder and baking soda, work in the soft ghee with your fingertips until a crumbly mixture forms that holds together when pressed in your fist.
2. Add the yogurt and enough of the water to form a soft dough — just bring it together briefly, never knead it, or the pastry will turn hard instead of flaky; let rest for 20 minutes.
3. For the syrup, reduce the sugar, the water for the syrup and the crushed cardamom seeds for 6–8 minutes until the syrup forms a thread between two fingers, and keep lukewarm.
4. Shape the dough into 16 equal balls, press slightly flat and press a dimple into the center with your thumb; finely chop the pistachios.
5. Heat the oil to only 140°C and fry the balushahi very slowly for 12–15 minutes, turning only once they rise to the surface on their own, until pale golden and cracked.
6. Turn the still-hot doughnuts in the lukewarm syrup for 5 minutes, drain on a rack, sprinkle with pistachios, and let set for 2 hours before serving.