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Tsochvoru
Sesame bread rings
Kashmir's small sesame bread rings for noon chai
Long before office hours, Srinagar's kandur bakers pull trays of tsochvoru from their clay ovens, and by seven a paper bag of them is on most breakfast cloths in the Valley. They are small, bagel-like rings, a little crisp outside and close-textured inside, covered in toasted sesame and faintly rich from milk and ghee. Kashmiris break them into pink, salty noon chai, or eat them with butter alongside kahwa in the afternoon. Unlike bagels they are not boiled, so they stay lighter and crunchier. Sesame sliding off in the oven is the usual disappointment; the dough must be brushed with milk and pressed into the seeds, not just sprinkled. Chef's tip: press each ring top-down into a plate of sesame, then poke the hole a second time just before baking, because it shrinks as the dough proves.
- Total time
- 138 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
For the dough
- 14 oz plain flour
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ cup lukewarm milk
- ½ cup lukewarm water
- 1 oz gheemelted
To finish
- 2 tbsp milk
- 4 tbsp white sesame seeds
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Mix 14 oz plain flour, ⅛ oz fast-action dried yeast, 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp salt. Add ½ cup lukewarm milk, ½ cup lukewarm water and 1 oz ghee and knead for 8–10 minutes into a smooth, fairly firm dough.
10 minStep 2: Cover and leave to rise for about 1 hour, until doubled.
60 minStep 3: Divide into 10 pieces and roll each into a tight ball. Flatten to a 9 cm disc about 1.5 cm thick.
Step 4: Push a floured finger through the centre of each disc and widen the hole to about 2 cm, keeping the ring even all round.
Step 5: Brush the tops with 2 tbsp milk and press them firmly into 4 tbsp white sesame seeds on a plate. Set sesame-side up on a lined tray, cover loosely and prove for 30 minutes, until puffy.
30 minStep 6: Heat the oven to 425°F (400°F fan). Re-open the holes with your finger if they have closed.
15 minStep 7: Bake for 15–18 minutes, until deep golden and the sesame is toasted. They should feel light, sound hollow when tapped underneath and read about 194°F inside.
18 minStep 8: Cool on a rack. They keep for 2 days in a tin; warm briefly before serving.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 200 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 31 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does tsochvoru take?
- About 138 minutes in total: 120 minutes to prepare and 18 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 fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
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