Balushahi is a deep-fried Indian festive sweet made with flour then dipped in sugar syrup. These sweet treats are crispy on the outside, moist, tender and flaky on the inside.
Balu refers to sand and shahi means royal. Since balushahi has a brown flaky texture that just crumbles, it’s referred to as balu. And because the outer layer is shiny, it has a royal look so it’s named as balushahi.
3 cups all-purpose flour (maida)
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup ghee (clarified butter)
¼ cup plain yoghurt (chilled)
ice-cold water (approximately ½ cup, to knead the dough)
ghee for frying
For sugar syrup
2½ cups sugar
1¼ cups water
½ teaspoon cardamom powder
Few strands of saffron
Mix all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a large bowl.
Add ghee and mix with your hands.
The ghee should be in a semi-solid state. (If it is too hot where you live and ghee is melted at room temperature, then refrigerate it for a few minutes.)
Add chilled plain yogurt (dahi) and mix well using your hands.
Now add ice-cold water little by little and knead to make a soft dough. Do not over-knead the dough. You just have to bring the ingredients together and not try to make the dough smooth.
Cover the dough with a dish towel and set aside for 30 minutes.
Roll 20-22 equal-sized balls from the dough. Do not try to make them smooth. Handle the dough as little as possible for the best result.
Press in the centre of each dough ball with your thumb. Shape all the balushahi in the same manner. Keep them covered with a dish cloth to avoid drying.
Heat ghee in a shallow non-stick pan over medium heat.
When the ghee is just hot, drop the balushahi in the ghee gently. Do not overload the pan. Fry in batches. Balushahi will expand while frying so make sure there is space between them.
Reduce the heat to low and fry until golden brown.
Keep flipping the balushahi while frying. Each batch will take around 25-30 minutes for frying.
Drain the balushahi on a plate lined with paper towels and let them cool completely.
Add sugar, water, cardamom powder and saffron to a pan and heat on medium heat for 10-12 minutes to make two-thread syrup.
The consistency of the sugar syrup is very important for it to crystallise properly over the balushahi.
To check if the sugar syrup has reached the two-thread consistency, take a spoonful of syrup and let it cool for a few seconds. Be careful because it is very hot at this stage. Now take a little syrup on one of your fingers and press it with the thumb. You should see two threads forming in between the finger and the thumb.
Remove the pan from heat once the syrup reaches the desired consistency and immediately dip the balushahi in the warm syrup one by one and soak them for a good 20 minutes. Take them out using a fork and arrange them on a plate in a single layer. The sugar will crystallise in five minutes.
Garnish with dry chopped nuts, rose petals, saffron strands and enjoy.
• Do not knead the dough as the flakiness of the balushahi will be lost.
• Do not overheat the ghee. If cooked in hot ghee, they will be cooked on the outside but will remain raw on the inside.
• Do not overcrowd the pan.
• Balushahi can be stored in an air-tight container or jar at room temperature for five to six days.