Balu Shahi

Balu Shahi also called as Badushah in South India , is one of my favorite sweet. I love this recipe as it renders amazing Balu Shahis which are soft, delicious, and soaked with sugar-syrup to perfection. I perfected this recipe after much trial and error. In the past adding a little too much baking soda made dissolve-in-the-oil Balu Shahis and a little less ghee made hard Balu Shahis that did not soak the syrup all the way through. The combination below, however, is a winning one.

You can also substitute butter for ghee, that is assuming you do not have any ghee. Use the same amount of butter.

I also do apologise for not posting anything new for such a long time as our family was a little under the weather, health wise. Now hopefully I will be able to make some exciting new dishes and share it with you guys. Thank you all for your lovely comments that you leave and also for visiting my blog.

Makes about 30 pieces

Ingredients
For the Balu Shahi

500 g / 4 cups / 17.64 oz  all purpose flour / maida
1/2 tsp  baking soda / soda bicarbonate
100g / 7 tbsp / 3.4 oz  ghee
3 tbsp  yogurt
a pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
sliced almonds or cashew pieces for decoration
cold water for kneading


For the Sugar Syrup
500 g / about 2 1/4 cup / 17.64 oz sugar
2 cups water

oil or ghee for deep frying


Method

• In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and salt together.
• Add the ghee and rub it in well with the flour mixture.
• Next goes in the yogurt. Mix it well into the flour.
• Now using cold water knead the dough till it is a soft pliable dough. Do not over-knead, as this will not yield soft melt-in-your mouth Balu Shahis.
• Cover the dough with a damp cloth and set aside for half and hour.
• Now to make the sugar syrup - In a medium saucepan add the water and sugar and bring it to a boil. Let it boil till the sugar syrup thickens to a one-string consistency ( a single string should form when tested between the thumb and forefinger ). Once you reach that consistency, take it of the heat source and keep it warm. 
• Simultaneously, heat some oil in a wok / kadai / deep fryer to medium heat. On my electric coil stove, I set it a mark 5.
• Divide the dough into 30 balls. Round them into balls and using your forefinger make a depression in the center of each round ball. The depression should go at least halfway through.
• Deep fry them in medium to medium low heat till they are a rich golden brown in color. Please make sure that the oil is not too hot or else the center will not cook and thus will not soak the syrup all the way through. The Balu Shahi will puff up a little in the oil.
• Once they are done, remove from the oil, drain on an absorbent paper and immediately drop them in the warm sugar syrup. Make sure that all the sides are immersed in the syrup. If your pan is a little shallow, it it soak on one side and then make sure to switch sides so that the other side can soak the syrup too. Let it sit in the syrup for about 1- 2 minutes, when done remove with a slotted spoon, drain and place it on a plate.
• Sprinkle some cardamom powder in the depression of the Balu Shahi and place a slice of almond or cashew on it.
• Repeat the same with all the other Balu Shahi. 
• Once cooled, store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.