Surti Butter or Batasa or Jeera butter biscuit are a popular tea time snack sold in most bakeries or Irani tea houses in India. These are small, crisp,dried bread buns (or savoury cookies) with a light texture. The rich cookies are a great accompaniment to Indian masala Chai or go well with soups. Re-hydrated with water they are also a great substitute for Dahi vada.
This month it was my turn to choose a recipe for our Bread baking group-We Knead to Bake. I chose Surti butter recipe from the book Crumbs! Bread Stories and Recipes for the Indian Kitchen by Saee Koranne-Khandekar. I have been thinking of making these cookies from the book ever since I got it. It’s a simple but fantastic recipe. Don’t be put off by the amount of fat required for the recipe, it is worth the indulgence!
For best results, it is best to measure the ingredients in grams as suggested in the recipe. I have given approximate conversions for those who wish to use alternate measurements.
My cookies (as you see in the above photograph) turned out jumbo size. You can make them smaller (about the size of a lime)
Surti Butter recipe From-Crumbs! Bread Stories and Recipes for the Indian Kitchen by Saee Koranne-Khandekar
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Surti Butter or Batasa or Jeera butter biscuit are a popular tea time snack sold in most bakeries or Irani tea houses in India. These are small, crisp,dried bread buns (or savoury cookies) with a light texture. The rich cookies are a great accompaniment to Indian masala Chai or go well with soups.
Surti Butter recipe From-Crumbs! Bread Stories and Recipes for the Indian Kitchen by Saee Koranne-Khandekar
Print Recipe
Surti Butter or Batasa or Jeera butter biscuit are a popular tea time snack sold in most bakeries or Irani tea houses in India. These are small, crisp,dried bread buns (or savoury cookies) with a light texture. The rich cookies are a great accompaniment to Indian masala Chai or go well with soups.
Give it a quick stir and leave in a warm spot to froth for 5-8 mins.
Place the flour, salt, cumin seeds, margarine/butter in a mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer)
Mix and rub the fat into the flour using finger tips (or the dough hook).
Add the yeast ferment to the flour mixture and knead to a soft dough. Add more water if required. You may either not require all the water or you may need to add even more than the recipe specifies depending on the flouru2019s gluten content.
Knead for 3-4 minutes, until the dough feels light and soft. Cover with plastic wrap or damp muslin and leave to rise for an hour.
Knock back the dough to degas it and knead briefly. Pinch off small portions of dough about the size of a small lime and roll them to smooth balls. Place slightly apart on a greased baking sheet.
Mist the tops lightly with a little water to prevent premature crusting. Allow the balls to rise for an hour, until they are almost double in size.
Preheat the oven to 200 deg C. When the balls have risen sufficiently, place them in the hot oven and bake for initial 20 mins. Then reduce the temperature to 120 deg C and continue to bake for another 30-40 minutes or until crisp.(This time may change depending on your oven or the size of the cookies)
Cool completely on a wire rack and store in an airtight jar for up to 3 weeks.
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Comments
Beckysays
My family and me absolutely love this recipe ..so good. i had a query about the dough .. while adding water to make the dough soft what should be the texture of dough..is it a sticky or loose dough with good amount of hydration or like a soft but firm dough..? while kneading this dough does the windowpane test of dough work or is this dough not meant to be stretchy. please do help as i am really confused.
My family and me absolutely love this recipe ..so good. i had a query about the dough .. while adding water to make the dough soft what should be the texture of dough..is it a sticky or loose dough with good amount of hydration or like a soft but firm dough..? while kneading this dough does the windowpane test of dough work or is this dough not meant to be stretchy. please do help as i am really confused.
Hi the dough is soft but firm. The dough is not meant to be stretchy so I did not try the windowpane test.