Kac kac (Somali fried dough cubes in cardamom sugar)
Kac kac: crunchy little cubes of fried dough glazed in a crackly cardamom-sugar coat
Jars of kac kac sit on the table at Somali weddings, Eid gatherings and afternoon tea across the country and in the diaspora, ready to be handed round by the fistful. The dough is enriched with egg and butter, cut into small cubes, fried until hard and golden, then tossed in hot cardamom syrup that dries to a frosty white crust. Each piece cracks loudly when bitten, which is how it got its name. Undercooking the syrup is the usual problem: it stays sticky instead of turning to a dry, sugary coat, so boil it until it forms a thread and keep stirring the cubes as it cools. Chef's tip: cut the cubes no bigger than 1.5 cm; small pieces fry right through and stay crunchy for weeks in an airtight jar.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
For the dough
- 14 oz plain flour
- 1 ¾ oz sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 2 ⅛ oz buttermelted
- 1 egg
- ½ cup milkplus a splash if needed
- 4 ¼ cups vegetable oilfor deep-frying
For the cardamom sugar
- 7 oz sugar
- ¼ cup water
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
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What you'll need
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Mix the 14 oz plain flour, 1 ¾ oz sugar, 1 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp ground cardamom in a bowl. Add the 2 ⅛ oz butter, 1 egg and ½ cup milk and knead for 5 minutes into a firm, smooth dough that does not stick. Cover and rest for 15 minutes.
20 minStep 2: Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1 cm thick. Cut into strips, then into 1–1.5 cm cubes, and separate them so they do not stick together.
Step 3: Heat the 4 ¼ cups vegetable oil in a deep pan to 350°F. Fry the cubes in batches for 5–6 minutes, stirring, until evenly deep golden and they sound hollow when tapped. Lift out onto kitchen paper.
20 minStep 4: Put the 7 oz sugar, ¼ cup water and ½ tsp ground cardamom in a wide pan and boil over a medium heat for 5–6 minutes, until a drop pressed between two spoons pulls into a thread.
6 minStep 5: Take the pan off the heat, tip in all the fried cubes and stir constantly for 3–4 minutes as the syrup cools. It will turn cloudy, then dry to a white, sandy coating. Keep stirring until every cube is separate.
4 minStep 6: Spread out to cool completely, then store in an airtight jar for up to 3 weeks.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 360 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 58 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kac kac (Somali fried dough cubes in cardamom sugar) take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- 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 plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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