Chilli Biscuits - Khara Biscuits

Every time those hunger pangs hit, especially in the evening between 4:30 and 6pm, too early to have dinner and a good while after lunch; I miss the numerous snacks available at bakeries in India. Every bakery was so easily accessible that not more than a few days went by without eating delicious Egg Puffs, Veg Puffs, Khara Bun, Sweet Bun or yummy cakes. In the list was also these delicious spicy biscuits flavoured with herbs and absolutely divine. Aptly named 'Khara Biscuit' it was the tasty alternative to those who frowned upon the calories loaded Benne Biscuit (Butter cookies) I knew mom used to make these for her baking classes, and I got the recipe from her last week. It was a walk down memory lane with every single bite.


You will need: (Makes 15-16)

1 Cup All purpose Flour/Maida
¾ stick (75gms) Margarine (at room temp)
2 tsp Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Salt
¾ tsp Baking powder
6-8 Green Chillies chopped (alter to suit your taste)
2 tbsp Yoghurt (plain)
10 Curry Leaves chopped into small bits
½” pc Ginger, grated
6 Mint leaves finley chopped

Preheat oven to 400F.

Sieve the flour, baking powder and powdered sugar. Using a stand up mixer or a hand held one cream the margarine till smooth, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the cut chillies, curry leaves, mint and yoghurt. Slowly add in the flour mixture till the everything comes together. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead till it becomes a smooth ball. Roll out dough till it’s a ¼ of an inch thick. Use a 2 inch wide biscuit cutter to cut the dough into as many biscuits as possible. Bring remaining dough together and repeat kneading, rolling and cutting. Place biscuits on a baking sheet, and bake in the oven for 15 minutes till light brown on the edges.

I made this for a small tea party with friends, and it was gone in minutes! Can't wait to make these again :)

43 comments:

  1. These look and sound great, especially with all those yummy curry leaves :)

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  2. Hey thats really great recipe.I always make sweet biscuits but this sounds superb. I am going to try out soon.Thanks for sharing ur mum's recipe.

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  3. The biscuits r looking soooo hot Namratha.Nice to share ur moms recipe.I too miss the bakeries in India

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  4. Look nice ur presentation, thanks 4 sharing this spicy biscuit

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  5. Thanks Meeso, yup the curry leaves add a whole lot of flavour, when u bite into one, its amazing!!

    Thanks Pearls, do try it!

    Thanks Kamala, ohhh that makes two of us!!

    Thanks Cham! :)

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  6. There is a masala biscuit we get in bakeries in kerala and i love those.Is masala biscuit and khara biscuit same ? lovely pics.

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  7. love the idea of spicing up the biscuits..bookmarked this..thanks for sharing..

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  8. Spicy biscuits look lovely..love the curry leaf bits in them....

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  9. lovely biscuits. nice presentation.

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  10. Looks perfect...good one

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  11. yummers!! passing on this recipe to sis...she is always looking for nosh food for the kids..

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  12. ohh memories, memories... :) looks lovely!

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  13. Ooh Namratha, I so know what you mean by those hunger pangs and I get at the exact same time! Are we related by any chance :-)
    I loved those bakery stuff too, khara biscuit, palya buns, variety cakes etc. I was looking this recipe for a long time. Thanks for this.

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  14. Lovely biscuits..great recipe namratha !!! thanxx for sharing.

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  17. Yummy goodies Namratha!! luv it!
    It reminds me of the wiffs of warm aroma of the bakery round the corner of our house back home!!! It reminds me of the savoury treats! allo-gadde palya bun, puffs, Khara chips, man!(My mouth is watering now even as i sit at my work station @ 9 AM monday!!!! )How i long for home!
    Please keep posting goodies like this.. the very sight makes me happy!!

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  18. hi namrata lovely biscuts my mom used to make onion biscuts . 1 question can i use dalda instead of margrine, i have a whole dabba at home .

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  19. Looks wonderful, Namratha! I love the idea of spicy biscuits. :)

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  20. slurrp!
    i love these khara biscattu ;) (like how the oldies say in mysore)!

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  21. I can see why they vanished within minutes. Gorgeous, Namratha. I have seen parmesan-pepper shortbreads. Your Indian version sounds even better.

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  22. Hi! iam first time to your blog. I tried your khara biscuit and it came perfect. very delicious. thanks for sharing.

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  23. ayyo..khara biscuit nodi bakery nenapu bandu..bayalli neeru...yummy will try this soon coz we all love khara biscuit.

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  24. Will be making these shortly!:))

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  25. Your spicy biscuits look pretty yummy would love to try it sometime soon.

    Bye
    Usha
    http://veginspirations.blogspot.com/

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  26. i tried the biscuits and they came out crisp & yummy. thanks!

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  27. Hi Namratha,

    First let me say...wonderful blog.. I am so impressed with all the recipes :)

    I tried this recipe .. Its came out tasty but didnt look like the pic u posted.. I dont know what happened... did u fliped the cookie in between?? or should I keep them for less time??.. please help me out here..

    Thanks
    Sapana

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  28. Hi Sapana, thanks! :)

    These biscuits bake very very quickly, and baking times vary depending on your oven. So the moment you see it turning light brown, remove immediately. And remove from sheet to a cooling rack, bcoz cookies continue to bake on a hot sheet. In your oven 15 minutes maybe too long, try with lesser time. You don't have to flip. Hope this helps!

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  29. Can i use Butter instead of Margarine?

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  30. Hi Vinutha, I would suggest using Margarine, but if it is unavailable where you live, go ahead and use butter. The end result however will be different. Hope this helps!

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  31. Hi, Thanks for this recipe. I replaced margarine for butter - all else I followed exactly. It turned out very good!

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  32. hey first time here, as i was hunting for kara biscuits made with margarine/shortening.I am trying out them today, if turns out today will put on my blog.Thanks for the recipe.

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  33. Hi there

    I tried your recipe. I used self rising flour instead of the all purpose and baking powder. Used the 1 tsp salt as you suggested and the biscuits came out too salty. Should I have used less due to the self rising flour?

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  34. Hi Malini, yes, self-rising flour does have a small amount of salt added into it, so you need to adjust the quantity of salt accordingly.

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  35. Thanks! This is a wonderful recipe. I want to bake this and mail it to a friend. Do you think it would last the 3-4 days in transit?

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  36. Hi Dipika, sure, you can. Make sure you wrap them well in an air tight container to prevent any moisture from getting to them.

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  37. Hi Namratha,

    Khara Biscuits look very yummy. I thought of trying this biscuits. Shall I use Unsalted Butter instead of Margarine? and shall I bake this biscuits in Microwave Convection mode? I tried Cake, but never tried Cookies in my Oven. Please suggest me..

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  38. Hey, this biscuit reminded me of my childhood. Thanks for the recipe. Looks delicious, will give it a try.

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  39. Hi, Can i substitute butter to margarine?

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  40. Checked this recipe made by Divya @ her blog and wow, what an amazing recipe. Loving your blog and following it.

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  41. wow this is awesome Namrata :) came here from Divya's blog, and iam glad to say i found yours, following u :)

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  42. I made them today with butter(ICBINB) and Jalopenos instead of green chillies and they were out of this world!!! Thanks Namrata!

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