Balushahi is one of the traditional Indian sweets made using all-purpose flour, ghee, and yogurt. This sweet is crispy from outside and has a soft and flaky texture from inside. It is usually made for weddings and festivals in India.
Moreover, this popular Indian cuisine dessert can be stored for a few weeks without getting spoiled. Here is how to make it.
What do you love about festivals? When it comes to festivals, I am always excited about the sweets I will devour which I am resisting for long.
After all, festivals are the perfect reason to cheat on your meals, right?
So whenever there is a family get together at home, especially during festivals such as Diwali, Holi etc, I prefer making sweets at home.
I do get sweets from my favourite Halwai, but there are some of them that I like to prepare at home. One of them is this Balushahi.
Very popular in North India, it has many names depending on the state.
Some call it Balushahi, some Badhusha and it is even called Makhan Bada.
Crispy from outside and moist, tender and flaky from inside, it is one of my favourite sweets.
Not only during festivals, I like to indulge in this sweet time to time too, may be after my weekend meals.
Even my family enjoys this sweet as much as I do, and therefore Balushahi is always on the Diwali menu.
Here are some more popular sweets, that I like to make at home – Bread Malai Roll, Gulab Jamun, Malpua, Rajasthani Mawa Kachori, Kaju Ki Barfi and Kalakand.
What is Balushahi?
Balushahi also is known as Badusha or Badhusha is a traditional Indian sweet that is soft and flaky from inside and crispy from outside.
It is sweet from the state of Uttar Pradesh but is now made in other regions as well.
In Rajasthan, it is known as Makhan Vada.
It is mostly made for Indian festivals or weddings.
How long can you store Badusha?
It keeps well at room temperature in an airtight container for about 8-10 days.
How it is different from a doughnut?
Balushahi is very different from doughnut! Balushahi is crispy from outside and moist and flaky from inside, whereas on the other hand Doughnut is soft and spongy.
Also yeast is used to make Doughnuts, whereas Balushahi uses baking soda, baking powder and yogurt mixture.
Both have holes in the centre, but It usually disappears in Balushahi while deep frying them.
How to prepare it at home
Making Halwai style Balushahi at home is not as difficult as you would have imagined.
Follow my tried and tested recipe and get it just like your favorite Mithai shop.
- Take all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda, ghee and yogurt in a bowl.
- Add ice-cold water and make a soft dough from this mix. Do not over knead the dough.
- Now cover the dough and let it rest for good 30 minutes.
- Divide the dough into equal pieces. Make small size balls as it will increase in size after frying.
- Finally, in a heavy bottom pan add ghee and fry the dough but not on high heat. This is the most important step while making balushahi. They must be fried on very low heat so that they are cooked until inside.
- Dunk the fried Badusha in sugar syrup and let it cool.
- Follow my recipe for further instructions.
It is darn easy to make it at home.
Therefore I really think you should try it out and serve it as an offbeat dessert during house parties or festivals like Diwali, Rakshabandhan, et al.
Take note of my recipe and try it out whenever you feel like:
Pro Tips by Neha
Making Balushahi at home is very easy. Also, by keeping a few tips and tricks in mind, you can make this delicious sweet in your kitchen.
The first thing to keep in mind for this recipe is to fry it on a very low heat so that it gets cooked nicely from inside.
If the heat is high, it gets browned from outside but is still raw from inside.
Each batch takes approximately 25-30 minutes to fry and please do not overload your pan while frying.
Fry them in batches. Keep the remaining ones covered with a cloth until they are ready to be fried.
Another thing to keep in mind is the consistency of sugar syrup. It should be of 1 string consistency otherwise it will not set.
You can fry the Balushahi in oil as well but the real taste comes when it is fried in ghee.
Do not over-knead the dough and even while making the rounds, they should be a little asymmetrical.
Use the chilled water to knead the dough. You can add a few ice cubes in water if chilled water is not available.
If sugar syrup is getting cooled and set while dipping the badusha, reheat it once again until it is liquid.
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Step by Step Recipe
Sieve maida, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a bowl.
Add ghee and mix nicely with your fingertips.
Add yogurt and mix well.
Now add water and knead to make a soft dough.
Cover the dough and keep aside for 30 minutes.
Make 20-22 equal sized balls from the dough. Do not smoothen them much. Press in the center of the dough ball with your thumb.
Heat ghee in a heavy bottom pan.
When the ghee is slightly hot, drop the Balushahis in the ghee very gently. Do not heat the ghee too much otherwise, these will fry from outside but will remain raw from inside. Fry on very low heat till golden brown.
Remove from heat once done on a plate and let cool completely.
For sugar syrup, heat sugar, water, cardamom powder and saffron in a pan.
Cook till the syrup reaches a 2 string consistency. Dip the balushahi in the sugar syrup and remove it on a plate.
Let them dry for 2-3 hours.
Balushahi Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups Maida/ All purpose flour
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Baking soda
- ¼ tsp Baking Powder
- ¼ cup Ghee/ Clarified butter (At room temperature)
- ¼ cup Yogurt (Chilled)
- Ice Cold water (To knead teh dough)
- Ghee for frying
For the sugar syrup
- 2 cups Granulated sugar
- 1 cup Water
- ½ tsp Cardamom powder
- 1 pinch Saffron (crushed)
Instructions
- Sieve maida, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a bowl.
- Add ghee and mix nicely with your finger tips.
- Add yogurt and mix well.
- Now add cold water and knead to make a soft dough.
- Cover the dough and keep aside for 30 minutes.
- Make 20-22 equal sized balls from the dough.
- Do not smoothen them much.
- Press in the centre of the dough ball with your thumb.
- Heat ghee in a heavy bottom pan.
- When the ghee is slightly hot, drop the Balushahi in the ghee very gently.
- Do not heat the ghee too much otherwise the Balushahi will fry from outside but will remain raw from inside.
- Fry on very low heat till golden brown.
- Keep changing the sides while frying, but be very gentle.
- Do not overload the pan.
- Fry the Balushahi in batches.
- Each batch will take around 25-30 minutes for frying.
- Remove from heat once done in a plate and let cool completely.
For sugar syrup
- Heat sugar, water, cardamom powder and saffron in a pan.
- Do not stir much.
- Cook till the syrup reaches a 1 string consistency.
- To check the syrup consistency, take a little syrup in a spoon and let it cool slightly.
- Touch the syrup with your forefinger.
- Now touch your forefinger and thumb and pull apart.
- It should make 1 string.
- Remove the pan from heat once the syrup reaches the desired consistency.
- Dip the balushahi in the warm sugar syrup and remove on a plate.
- Let them dry for 2-3 hours.
- Garnish with silver foil and pistachio slivers.
- You can store balushahi in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
