Saturday, October 26, 2013

BADUSHA | BADHUSHA | DIWALI SWEET RECIPE




Badusha is a classic South Indian delicacy which has a special place in festive preparations and weddings. I love its fine flaky texture and the soft and juicy taste which makes me crave for more. My amma is an expert in making perfect Badushas which not only shimmers in a mild sugary coat, but the sugar syrup that had penetrated inside makes it a real treat to the palate. She follows a technique to achieve this best 'Syrup-soaked' Badushas. Though Iam not fortunate enough to ask her the exact recipe now, my friend Mythili's recipe worked best with my amma's preparation technique. For the initial 2-3 times,I had to adjust the flour and butter measurements which I made note of and tried this time. As you can see, Badushas had turned out really well with an amazing taste. Simply follow the given measurements and procedure and see for yourself!
 
PREPARATION TIME - 20 MINUTES
WAITING TIME - 30 MINUTES

COOKING TIME - 30 MINUTES


INGREDIENTS

BUTTER
¼ CUP + 2 TABLESPOON | 85gm
CURD
3 TABLESPOON
BAKING SODA
½ TEASPOON
MAIDA | ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
1 and a ½ CUP | 190gm
OIL
300ml | AS NEEDED FOR FRYING

FOR THE SUGAR SYRUP

SUGAR
2 and a ½ CUPS
LEMON JUICE
¾ TEASPOON
ELACHI
5-6 PODS


                                

METHOD

1. In a wide shallow bowl, soften the butter to room temperature.

2. Once butter is soft, add in curd and baking soda and use your hand to whip it up in circular motion for a good 10 minutes. Do it in the same direction. This is done to incorporate air into the mixture to make it light and fluffy. At first, curd and butter would be separate, but as you beat, it blends together and looks creamy.

                    

3. Mix the flour to this. It looks crumbly.

4. Now, knead it for 5-7 minutes to form a soft and pliable dough. The above mentioned measurements does'nt require water to get the right consistency of dough. However, if required, very small amount of water can be added.

                     

5. Cover the dough with a wet muslin cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, bring sugar and JUST ENOUGH water to boil. In 4-5 minutes, the sugar syrup would be sticky (This is the syrup made for Gulab Jamun). At this stage, take out 1/3 of the syrup in another wide small bowl and keep aside.

                     

7. Boil the remaining syrup for another 3-5 minutes until you get a 'One-string' consistency. Do check my Mysorepa recipe for 'One-string' consistency. Switch off the flame and add the lemonof  juice to it. DO NOT add  more than the given amount of lemon juice as it spoils the taste.

8. Divide the dough into equal-sized balls and press slightly to flatten a little. Make a dent in the middle using your thumb. Instead of just pressing , give a few swirls which will create beautiful layers in the Badusha.

                       

9.  Heat oil in a wide pan, add the Badushas one by one and simmer the flame to extreme low. DO NOT keep even on a medium flame, as it will turn brown soon, but remains uncooked. You will notice that the pan is covered with lot oil bubbles initially. As it gets cooked, it rises to the surface of the oil and the bubbles would have subsided. Now, flip them and fry on a MEDIUM flame until golden brown. The total process of frying takes about 10-12mins.

                        

10.  Using a slotted ladle, remove the badushas from oil and add it to the THIN sugar syrup (just sticky consistency) and after 1 minute, transfer to the 'One-string' syrup. This is my amma's technique which ensures even soaking of the syrup from within. Otherwise, though the overall taste is good, you can feel the bland taste of the dough in some bites.
                         


11.  Let is rest until the next batch is ready. Then, transfer to a plate, preferably lined with a parchment / butter paper. After it dries, use a small flat spatula to remove from the plate, garnish with saffron or slivered almonds and store in an air-tight container. It stay good for 4-5 days.

12.  After watching Raji's wonderful video on making decorative pleats, I could'nt wait to try that. It came well, but Iam yet to master. Do refer to her video for to learn it easily.

                       

Delicious Badushas are ready to be devoured!                                  




NOTES:

1. The dough should not have cracks after being kneaded. If so, add very little water and knead it to a pliable consistency.

2. Oil for frying Badushas should be on right heat. To check, drop a pinch of dough into it. If it sinks to the bottom, oil is not hot enough. If it quickly rises to to surface, that is the required one. DO NOT heat oil until it smokes.

3. Making the depression in the middle is essential to prevent Badusha from turning fluffy while frying.

4. Make sure to cook Badushas on very low flame for some time and remember to increase to medium as mentioned in the step above. This is done to avoid badushas being too soft inside resulting in broken ones.

5. Adding lemon juice to the sugar syrup is to avoid crystallization. 




5 comments :

  1. They turned out very fantastic, till date i have not tried this badusha. Lovely

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Jeyashri. You have mastered so....many sweets, Badusha is nothing for you..pls do try for this Diwali.

      Delete
  2. Finally i tried and it turned out fantastic. Perfect recipe

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thats great dear! Very happy that the recipe worked well.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks a lot mam..
    I have tried it came well as shown...

    ReplyDelete