Badusha - Fried flour dumplings in syrup

Here is an Indian sweet that I absolutely love. It is a flaky round dumpling that is deep fried and then dumped into warm sugar and saffron syrup. It is practically fool proof to make. Just remember to not to knead the rested dough, and to fry them well on low to medium heat just to a golden brown, until they cook through.

What you need: Yields about 6 small badushas
1 cup maida/all purpose flour
1/4 cup regular yogurt/curds
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup warm melted butter
1 tsp sugar
pinch of salt
About 2 cups of oil to deep fry

For the sugar syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
A few saffron strands

In a medium bowl, whisk together yogurt, sugar, salt and baking soda for a couple of minutes five minutes.

Add the flour and melted butter to it. Knead the mixture very gently to form a soft dough. Place it in a bowl; cover it with a damp cloth and let it rest in a warm place for about an hour.

After the dough has rested, do not knead at all. Divide the dough into 6 to 8 littl balls. Flatten them in your hand and make a depression in the middle. This keeps the dough from fluffing up when it is deep fried.

Heat the oil in a pan, when it begins to smoke, lower the temperature to a real low, let it stay that way for a minute, then toss in the flour dumplings. Deep fry them in low  flame or the inside will not get cooked.

Prep the sugar syrup by adding sugar, water and saffron in a bowl and boiling it until it reaches a single string consistency. Turn off the heat and let it cool down to a warm temperature. 

Put the fried dumplings into the sugar syrup. Let them get soaked for about 7 to 10 minutes. They should be crisp to touch and yet soaked just enough. Remove and serve warm, or cold as desired. Enjoy!