Come festivals, it becomes a major source of stress for every house proud owner who wants to create some signature dish of her/his own that will be the envy of neighbors or at least something that every family member will delight in eating in.
There are ofcourse your standard Kheer/Payasam/Puddings or readymade sweets to be purchased from halwai’s. But the joy of making something from your own kitchen & serving it to family & friends is something different.
Sweet or dessert is mandatory during festivals. The usual Gulab Jamun’s, Kesari Baath’s, store bought Roshogullah’s have become quite common.
But what is we create a sweet that’s easy to make but also will be admired at for their sheer smoothness, the soft layers as you bite through & the ultimate taste.
Yes, I am talking about Badushah or Balushahi as it is known.
A sweet that can be called as a Indian doughnut with extra taste (imo)
Ideal for Deepawali, Easy to make & enjoyed by many!
Without further ado, let’s step into the making of Badushah
INGREDIENTS
Sugar Syrup
Sugar – 500 gms
Water- 250 ml ( half of sugar)
Cardamom (powdered) – 1 tsp
lemon – 3/6 drops
Saffron strands – soaked in hot water for1-2 hours ( soak in around 4-5 tblsp of water)
For Dough
All purpose flour (Maida) – 2 cups
Water – 1/2 cup
Ghee (Clarified Butter) – 1/2 cup
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Baking powder – 1 tsp
Directions
1. Light a stove on low heat, keep a pan filled with sugar & water on it.
2. Cook on a low flame, stirring constantly until sugar melts
3. Once sugar is fully melted & you get a liquidy syrup. Add Saffron immersed water
4. Continue to cook on low flame
5. Add Cardamom powder
6. Add 3-4 lemon juice
7. Let the syrup thicken from watery to slightly thick, sluggish liquid consistency ( When you drop 2-3 drops of sugar syrup on a plate n slide the liquid, the syrup should move slowly, heavily. They should not run like a water but should be slow moving)
8. Switch off the stove.
Now lets prepare the dough for Balushahi or Badushah
1. Take a mixing bowl. Add maida
2. To it add ghee, salt, baking powder & mix throughly
3. Add water bit by bit. Do not knead the dough.
4. mix the dough until well combined. If dough has become too soft, add more flour. The dough should be of ‘bread’ consistency.
5. Pull, stretch, break & mix back the dough repeatedly. This is needed for the dough to get that light, airy texture despite its density.
6. Once you are done with mixing. Head on to next step which is the most important step. Place the whole dough on a plain, smooth surface. Pat it stretching the dough (like for pastry or roti) using your hand. (don’t use rolling pin)
7. Once it is stretched but is still thick. Cut it into half using a sharp object. Place the cut layer on the top of first layer. Start the stretch, cut, layer process again.
8. Do this 7-8 times for your balushahi to get layers.
9. After completing the layering process, divide the dough into equal portions. Roll each portion until the outer surface becomes smooth.
10. Divide them into small round balls.
11. Round it using the palm of your hands. Indent or make a small whole in the center with your finger.
12. Heat oil. When the oil has become medium hot, start frying the Badushah in batches.
13. Fry until golden brown on both sides.
14. Remove from pan.
15. Immerse Balushahi directly into the sugar syrup. Keep it in the syrup for 4-5 minutes. Remove.
16. Repeat the same for next batch
Garnish with mixed nuts (optional)
Note:
Lemon drops are added to prevent crystallization of syrup. Once cool, the syrup will form a crunchy crust on top of Balushahi. Lemon prevents this.
The repeated patting & stretching is necessary for the layered texture of the sweet. Do not skip this step.
The center whole should not pierce through the dough.
If the syrup is hot, wait for it to be warm before adding the Balushahi
If the syrup has become cool. warm it up slightly. The warmness induces for proper absorption of the syrup inside of Balushahi.