Yayy! It’s time for some sweets! Yep, it is the season of sweets! (Oh sorry! ‘Season of festivals!’ :p) So, to complete this year navrathri season, I have a special recipe for y’all – Balushahi (or badhusha as it is commonly called in the south India).
First of all, I am really sorry! If you are following me on Instagram, you would have known that I had posted a picture of balushahi a week back, when navrathri started. I know that this is a delayed post, but I have been busy all week that I was not able to upload it on time.
But, as it is always said – It is never too late, right?! Festivals and celebrations are incomplete without sweets. So, with all festivals piled up for the next few weeks, I think this is the best time to try and devour on many different sweets.
Oh! Don’t worry about your diets! This is a cheat day or rather, a cheat season! You already have the perfect reason to enjoy sweets! So, it is just about time for you to prepare these delicious balushahi or badhusha.
Anyways, you might all be wondering why I chose balushahi among all other sweets. As you all know, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth. But, this one attracted me a lot. Mainly because, I haven’t see my grandma or my mom make it at home for occasions. It is often bought from mithai shops only.
So, I had this notion that balushahi is quite difficult to be prepared at home. But, on the contrary, it was quite easy! And also, when I told my mom about it, I thought she would ask me for the recipe but, she started telling me the recipe. So, that is when I realized that everyone knew the recipe but just didn’t do it! (They are all lazy!:p) Poor me! I was fooled by my own notion. Lol!:p
Back to out balushahi recipe. As I already mentioned, it is very easy to prepare it. In fact, it is the easiest sweet I have prepared till now. You just have to prepare the dough, make sugar syrup. Rest all is simple – fry, dunk, serve and enjoy! See! It is as simple as that!
But seriously, you will know it when you make it. Ahhh! I forgot to ask about how navrathri went for y’all? I hope you had a great time with your family and friends! Share your navrathri experience with me in the comments below or trough instagram/facebook.
Sometimes, we compare balushahi with donuts too! Maybe because of its shape. But, maybe we can give them a new term saying, ‘Indian donuts’! Other than the shape, there is nothing common between these. From the way we prepare the dough to frying and serving them, everything is different. Also, we can bake donuts, not blushahi.
Badhusha generally has a crisp and flaky outer layer and is dunked in sugar syrup. Whereas, donuts are soft, even from the outside. And also, we use yeast while making the dough for donuts and for badhusha, we do not use anything like that. Anyways, wait for the donuts recipe because I have that coming up too!
With diwali coming up, I have some sweets and savory recipes in my bucket list to upload in the blog! If you have any ideas or requests to make a specific recipe, do share it with me! Meanwhile, enjoy having this balushahi with your kids and family! Stay safe; stay healthy! Happy cooking and eating!
While you are here, also, look through my other drool-worthy sweet recipe to prepare and enjoy for this festive season! A very Happy Navrathri to everyone!
Has meal planning been a little bit difficult during this lockdown? Look through my No Veggies, 21-Day Lockdown Series for ideas on what to cook during this lockdown.
If you have tried any of my recipes, then tag @the_busy_apron and share it on Instagram with the hashtag #thebusyapron. Also tag @TheBusyApron and share it on Twitter with the hashtag #thebusyapron.
Balushahi
Ingredients
For the dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour / maida
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup ghee
- 1/4 cup curd, chilled
- cold water, to knead the dough
- ghee / oil, for frying
For the sugar syrup
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
- a pinch of saffron
- some lemon juice, optional
- pistachios / almonds silvered, for garnishing
Instructions
To prepare the dough
- In a mixing bowl, add maida / all purpose flour, salt and baking soda. Mix well.
- Add ghee and incorporate it with the flour mixture well.
- Add yogurt to the flour mixture and mix well.
- Add cold water and knead to make a soft dough.
- Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes.
To make the sugar syrup
- In a kadai or pan on heat, add sugar and water and let the sugar melt.
- Add saffron strands to the sugar syrup.
- Add cardamom powder to the syrup. Boil the sugar syrup until it reaches a single thread consistency. Turn off the heat.
To prepare balushahi
- Divide the dough into 18-20 equal sized balls.
- Press each dough ball in the middle with your thumb.
- Heat ghee/oil in a kadai on low heat.
- When the oil is hot, add each dough ball and fry them on low heat until golden-brown on all sides.
- Dip each fried ball in the warm sugar syrup and remove onto a plate.
- Let it rest for sometime and serve with some silvered pistachios or almonds.
Notes
- Add ghee which is at room temperature to the flour mixture.
- Add chilled yogurt to make the dough.
- While kneading, add ice cold water to form a smooth dough.
- Boil the sugar syrup until it reaches a single thread consistency. (To check for single thread consistency, take some syrup onto the spoon and press some between your index and thumb finger. It should form a thread when the fingers are released apart.)
- While making the sugar syrup, add some lemon juice to avoid crystallization of sugar when cooled down.
- Divide the dough into uniform balls.
- You can also flatten each dough ball if you want to.
- While frying the dough balls, make sure that the ghee or oil is not too hot. Fry them on low heat.
- Do not overcrowd the pan. Fry the balls in batches.
- Keep in mind that each dough ball will expand when fried. So fry them accordingly.
- You can also flatten each dough ball to a very thick disc before frying.
- Each batch will take around 25-30 minutes to fry.
- Always ensure that the ghee is on low heat to make sure that both the inside and the outside is cooked well.
- Dip the fried balls in warm sugar syrup and let it rest for sometime before serving.
