Kulcha-e-khatayee are the crumbly biscuits of Eid: flour, milk powder and icing sugar brought together with warm oil, rolled into balls, pressed with a thumb and baked pale, each dimple filled with a pinch of ground pistachio. In Afghanistan they were bought from the kulcha froshee, the biscuit bakeries with their own ovens and their own long-kept methods. They should barely colour in the oven and fall apart on the tongue.
Zone: Silk Road Table
INGREDIENTS
- 300 g plain flour
- 110 g full-cream milk powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 125 g icing sugar
- 310 ml sunflower oil (warmed)
- 35 g ground pistachios
METHOD
- Heat the oven to 150°C (130°C fan) and line a baking tray.
- Mix the flour, milk powder, baking powder and icing sugar in a bowl.
- Add the warm oil slowly, mixing by hand, until you have a soft but firm dough.
- Divide into 12 pieces and roll each into a smooth ball. Set them on the tray, flatten slightly and press a thumb-sized dimple into the centre of each.
- Bake on the middle shelf for about 20 minutes, until only just golden.
- Cool briefly on the tray, then move to a rack. Put a small pinch of ground pistachio in each dimple and serve once cold. They keep for 3 to 4 days in an airtight tin.
NOTES
UK adaptation: Full-cream milk powder from South Asian or Middle Eastern grocers, or Nido. Sunflower oil, gently warmed. Unsalted pistachios, finely ground. Fan ovens: 130°C. Everything else widely available.
US adaptation: Whole milk powder such as Nido. Confectioners’ sugar. Oven at 300°F. Everything else widely available.
Cook’s note: Bake low and take them out while they are still pale. Any real colour means they have gone too far and lost the melting texture.
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