Balushahi, called badusha in the south, is one of those sweets that most people only ever buy. It looks deceptively simple: a round, glazed sweet with a dimple in the middle. Inside, it should be flaky and layered, crisp at the edges and soaked with syrup in the centre. Its texture comes from two things that go against normal cooking instincts: hardly kneading the dough, and frying it very slowly in barely warm ghee.

For the dough

For the syrup

For frying and garnish

Method

  1. Rub ghee into flour. Mix maida, soda and salt. Add the soft ghee and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs and holds together when pressed in a fist.
  2. Add curd and water. Add curd and mix lightly. Add cold water a spoon at a time and bring the dough together by folding and pressing, not kneading.
  3. Layer it. Press the dough flat, fold it in half, and press again. Repeat this four or five times. This creates layers. Do not knead or stretch the dough.
  4. Rest. Cover and rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
  5. Shape. Divide into 12 portions. Roll each gently into a ball, flatten slightly into a thick disc, and press your thumb into the centre to make a dimple. The edges will look slightly cracked; that is correct.
  6. Make the syrup. Boil sugar and water until it reaches a one-string consistency. Add cardamom, saffron and lemon juice. Keep it warm.
  7. Fry very slowly. Heat ghee in a kadai until just warm, not hot. Slide in the balushahi. They should sink and sit there, with only a few tiny bubbles. After 3 to 4 minutes, they slowly rise. Turn the heat to low and fry for 15 to 20 minutes in total, turning occasionally, until evenly golden and crisp, with the bubbling nearly stopped. If they brown quickly, turn off the heat for a minute.
  8. Soak in syrup. Drain for a minute and put the warm balushahi into warm syrup. Soak for 3 to 5 minutes, turning once.
  9. Set. Lift out, place on a plate, garnish with pistachios and let them set for an hour. The syrup forms a glaze as it cools.

Why balushahi goes wrong

Hard and chewy: the dough was kneaded, developing gluten. Fold and press only.

Raw inside, brown outside: the ghee was too hot. Balushahi needs very low heat and a long fry.

Broke apart in the ghee: too much ghee or soda in the dough, or the ghee was stirred too vigorously.

Soggy: soaked too long, or the syrup was too thin.

Why fry in ghee

Balushahi is traditionally fried in ghee, and its flavour is part of the sweet: rich, clean and slightly nutty under the syrup. The long, gentle fry also means the ghee never gets very hot, so it stays in good condition to strain and reuse. See deep frying in ghee without waste.

Storage

Balushahi keep for about a week in an airtight box at room temperature.

Balushahi rewards the patient cook more than the skilled one. Keep the heat low, the ghee barely warm and the kitchen door closed on anyone asking if they are ready yet. A frying batch of Desi Cow A2 Ghee keeps the cost down.