Balushahi : Indian Doughnuts

Balushahi is a traditional dessert originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is popular sweet from India. Balushahi is similar to a glazed doughnut in terms of ingredients, but differs in texture and taste. It is also called Indian doughnut.
This dessert is easy to make and does not require much ingredients and you can enjoy these scrumptious delights doing a little bit of work.

• Refined Flour (2.5 cups)

• Clarified Butter (1.5 cups)

• Baking Powder (1 tsp)

• Sugar (2.5 cups)

• Saffron Strands (10-20)

• Green Cardamom (6 to 7 pieces)

In a large bowl take the flour, add baking soda to it and mix it well. Add clarified butter to it and mix it well. Add water in small portions to make the dough. You just need to bind the flour here. You do not need to smoothen it. We just have to bind it and make a lump of it. Keep it aside for 15-20 minutes to set.

We have taken 2.5 cups of sugar for the sugar syrup. Put it into a wok or vessel and add 1.25 cups of water to it (i.e. half the quantity of sugar). Turn on the flame. Heat until the sugar dissolves in water. Stir it at regular intervals. While the sugar is cooking, we will peel the cardamom and grind it, make powder of the cardamom pods. Now add a little water to the saffron strands so that it gives off color. Check the sugar syrup now. Sugar is completely dissolved in water. You can check the sugar syrup by dropping a little bit of the syrup in a small bowl, stick it between your fingers and check, single thread should form. Turn off the heat and add cardamom powder and soaked saffron to it. Cover and keep it aside, so that it does not cool down quickly.

It's been 20 minutes now, dough is set and ready. Dough is very soft. To knead this quantity of dough, a little more than 1.5 cups of water is used. Mix the dough slightly. No need to squash it too much. Keep the dough layered. Let's prepare Balushahi now. Break the lump for making Balushahi as much as fits in your hand. make a log from it. Break it into small dough balls to make Balushahi. Place oil in a wok to heat. Lift a dough ball, give it round shape. Press it and make it hollow in the center from both sides, so that it is pressed well. Place it on a plate, make all the Balushahis likewise.

Oil is sufficiently hot, let us check it. Drop a small pea sized dough in the oil. You need less hot oil to fry the balushahis. There should be very less bubbles forming near the dough ball. The oil is ready to fry. Put the Balushahi to fry in the oil. Keep the flame low. Firstly put 2 Balushahis to fry. Fry them on low flame, when they float over the oil leaving the surface of the wok, then when they are a bit brown from below flip the over. Increase the flame a little as compared to earlier, when the Balushahi floats over the oil. Fry them until they turn golden brown on all side. Balushahis are fried and ready, take it out. Hold them over the ladle to drain out extra oil back to wok. Take out the Balushahis and dip them in the sugar syrup. Fry the other Balushahis likewise. Take out the Balushahis dipped in sugar syrup after some time till the syrup seeps into them. Keep them in a separate plate, and dip the others. All the Balushahis are fried dipped in syrup and ready. Balushahis are ready to be relished. They are very tempting and making them is also really easy.

• When you make the dough, do not knead it too much, just bind it.
• When you put them to fry, make sure the oil is only slightly hot. If you fry the Balushahis in very hot oil then they will not puff up.

Be a little cautious, and you will be able to make scrumptious Balushahis. It can be stored in refrigerator and eaten upto 15 days.