Balushahi Recipe | Badusha Sweet

Creaming ghee

1. Take ¼ cup ghee in a bowl.
2. With a spoon or spatula or a small wired whisk, beat the ghee till it is smooth, light and fluffy. Its color will also lighten.
3. Add ¼ cup chilled fresh curd (dahi).
4. Again with a spoon or spatula or a small wired whisk, mix and whip the curd with the creamed ghee.
5. Cream till light and smooth.

Making badusha dough

1. Now using a sieve, take the all-purpose flour in it. Place it on the bowl itself. You can also sift the flour separately in a plate or tray.
2. Add 1 pinch salt, 1 pinch baking soda and ½ teaspoon baking powder.
3. Sift directly in the creamed ghee and curd.
4. Mix the flour lightly with the creamed ghee and curd using a spoon or spatula.
5. Sprinkle some cold water in parts and begin to mix it. Overall you can use 8 to 9 tablespoons cold water. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons water at a time and mix.
6. Mix and combine everything to form a soft dough. Do not knead. Just mix and bring everything together to a dough. In case the dough becomes sticky, then add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour. Use light pressure from hands and form a dough. At this point, do not knead heavily or if required then knead very lightly.
7. Cover the dough and keep aside for 15 minutes.

Making sugar syrup

1. Meanwhile make sugar syrup. While frying balushahi also you can make sugar syrup. Take 200 grams sugar or 1 heaped cup of sugar in a pan or bowl. Use a bowl or pan with more surface area so that the balushahi can get enough space for soaking.
2. Add ½ cup water and mix.
3. Place the pan on a low heat.
4. Using a spoon stir the sugar so that it dissolves. If there are impurities in the sugar syrup, then add 1 tablespoon milk. Remove the scum that forms at the top.
5. When all the sugar has dissolved, add ½ to 1 teaspoon green cardamom powder. Then add 10 to 12 saffron strands. Stir and mix again.
6. Simmer the sugar solution on a low to medium-low heat. Do stir occasionally. To avoid crystallization of sugar, you can add some drops of lemon juice.
7. Simmer till the syrup becomes sticky or you get ½ string consistency in the syrup. You can even cook it to 1 string consistency.
8. The sugar syrup should be sticky. So cool syrup in a spoon and touch it and it should feels sticky. When the syrup becomes sticky, then switch off heat.

Frying balushahi

1. Before frying balushahi you can begin to heat oil in a kadai or pan on a medium heat. You can also use ghee instead of oil to fry balushahi.Do use a kadai with handles at the sides.
2. Pinch small to medium-sized balls from the dough. Roll them gently and lightly between your palms.
3. Then make an indent or depression in them. You can flatten them slightly if you want. Make 5 to 6 badhusha depending on the size of kadai.Cover the remaining dough and keep aside.
4. Check a tiny piece of the badhusha dough in the medium hot oil. It should come up gradually and steadily.
5. Now lift the kadai from stove top and keep it on the kitchen table top. Gently begin to place balushahi in the hot oil.
6. Be careful when you are keeping the balushahi in hot oil. Add 5 to 6 or 7 balushahi depending on the size of kadai. The badushah will expand in oil while frying, so make sure not to over crowd the kadai or pan.
7. Now lift the kadai and place it again on a low heat.
8. Begin to fry badusha on a low heat.
9. When one side firms up and is light golden, turn over each badusha.
10. Keep on turning them over at intervals and frying them on a low heat.
11. Frying balushahi on a low flame takes about 12 to 15 minutes. This will depend on the size, thickness of kadai and the intensity of flame. It took me 14 minutes to fry each batch of 6 balushahi.
12. Fry till golden and crisp.
13. Using a slotted spoon remove them draining the extra oil.
14. Place them on kitchen paper towels. When the first batch is getting fried, you can make balushahi from the dough and keep them ready to fry in the second round. Keep the shaped and prepared balushahi covered with a kitchen napkin. Then fry the second batch of balushahi in the same way.

Making balushahi

1. After a couple of minutes, when fried balushahi are still hot, place them in the hot or warm sugar syrup.
2. With spoon or tongs turn over each badusha, so that both sides are coated with sugar syrup. Let these badusha soak in the sugar syrup for about 14 to 15 minutes.
3. After 14 to 15 minutes, using tongs or spoon, lift each balushahi and place it in a serving tray or bowl. In the same sugar syrup, now add the second batch of balushahi.
4. Sprinkle 1 to 2 tablespoons of pistachios all over. You can even sprinkle some saffron strand, rose petals and cardamom powder if you want. Press the pistachios, so that they stick to the sugar syrup on the badusha.
5. Fry the remaining badusha and then soak them in the sugar syrup. In case if sugar syrup crystallizes then add 2 to 3 tablespoons water and warm or heat the syrup again on a low flame.
6. Serve Balushahi as a sweet. Leftovers can be easily stored in an air-tight jar or container at room temperature for about 5 to 6 days.