IndianChirote
Layered rose pastries
चिरोटे: rose-shaped layered pastries, each sheet spread with a ghee and rice-flour satha, fried pale and dusted with cardamom sugar
Chirote are what a Maharashtrian or Kannadiga family makes to show off at a wedding or Diwali. Thin sheets of maida dough are spread with satha, ghee whipped with rice flour, stacked, rolled into a log and sliced, so each piece opens in the hot fat like a many-petalled flower. Done well they shatter when you bite them, light and buttery, with sweetness only from the dusting of cardamom sugar on top. In Pune they appear on the faral platter beside karanji and anarse; in Karnataka the chiroti is often served at weddings drenched in warm saffron-almond milk. This takes patience and a cool kitchen, so set aside an unhurried morning. Chef's tip: whip the satha until it is white and fluffy like whipped cream; a dense, oily paste won't keep the layers apart and they fuse into a single chewy disc.
- Prep
- 45 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- Hard
- Serves
- 6
- Per serving
- 330 kcal
Ingredients
For the dough
- 7 oz plain flour (maida)
- 2 tbsp fine semolina
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tbsp gheehot, for the moyan
- ½ cup cold milkabout
For the satha
- 3 tbsp gheesoft, at room temperature
- 3 tbsp rice flour
For frying and dusting
- 2 ⅛ oz icing sugar
- ½ tsp ground green cardamom
Tick what you have; the rest goes in the basket.
Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Mix 7 oz plain flour (maida), 2 tbsp fine semolina and 1 pinch salt, pour over the hot 2 tbsp ghee and rub it in. Knead with ½ cup cold milk into a stiff, smooth dough, then cover and rest for 30 minutes.
35 minStep 2: Beat 3 tbsp ghee and 3 tbsp rice flour with a spoon for 3–4 minutes until white, light and fluffy.
4 minStep 3: Mix 2 ⅛ oz icing sugar and ½ tsp ground green cardamom in a bowl for dusting.
Step 4: Divide the dough into 6 equal balls and roll each into a very thin round about 20 cm across, all the same size.
Step 5: Lay one round on the board and spread a thin layer of satha over it. Place a second round on top, spread with satha, then a third and spread again. Make a second stack with the other three rounds.
Step 6: Roll each stack tightly into a log, like a Swiss roll, pressing out air as you go. Cut each log into 2 cm pieces.
Step 7: Stand each piece cut side up and press gently with your palm, then roll very lightly into a 6–7 cm round, so the spiral layers show on top. Don't press hard or the layers seal.
Step 8: Heat 2 ½ cups ghee or groundnut oil, for deep-frying in a kadhai over a low heat to about 300°F. Fry 3–4 chirote at a time, layered side up, spooning hot fat over them, for 5–6 minutes until the petals open and they turn crisp and very pale gold. Common mistake: hot fat; they brown outside before the layers open.
20 minStep 9: Drain on kitchen paper, cool for a minute, then sift the cardamom sugar generously over the top. Eat the same day or store airtight for 4–5 days.
KrazyBadal
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Perfect for:Diwali