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Khurmi
Chhattisgarh's jaggery and wheat festival biscuits (खुरमी), crunchy with sesame and fried slowly
Khurmi are the sweet half of Chhattisgarh's Teeja-Pola festival snacks, made in big batches alongside the salty thethri. The dough is wheat flour and a little semolina bound with melted jaggery, studded with sesame and coconut, then cut into diamonds or pressed into small patterned shapes and fried until dark gold. They have a hard, crunchy bite and a deep caramel flavour, and they last for weeks in a steel dabba, ready for visitors and children back from school. Chef's tip: cool the jaggery water to lukewarm before kneading; hot jaggery makes a slack dough that spreads and soaks up oil.
- Total time
- 55 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Warm 5 ½ oz jaggery with ½ cup water on low heat, stirring, for 3–4 minutes until fully melted. Strain out any grit and let it cool until just lukewarm.
15 minStep 2: Mix 9 oz wholewheat flour (atta), 1 ¾ oz fine semolina, 2 tbsp white sesame seeds, 2 tbsp desiccated coconut and ½ tsp ground cardamom. Rub in 3 tbsp vegetable oil until crumbly, then knead in the jaggery water gradually to a stiff, smooth dough, firmer than chapati dough. Rest for 15 minutes, covered.
15 minStep 3: Roll the dough 5 mm thick and cut into 3 cm diamonds, or shape walnut-sized pieces and press them on the back of a fork or a grater for a pattern.
Step 4: Heat 3 cups vegetable oil in a kadai on medium, then turn down to medium-low (about 300°F). Fry a batch at a time for 8–10 minutes, turning, until deep golden-brown and the sizzling quietens. They burn quickly because of the jaggery, so keep the heat gentle.
25 minStep 5: Drain and cool completely on a rack; they harden as they cool. Store in an airtight tin for up to a month.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 280 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 42 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
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Good to know
- How long does khurmi take?
- About 55 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of jaggery?
- Dark brown or muscovado sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of white sesame seeds?
- Poppy seeds or finely chopped pumpkin seeds, same amount.
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