Chai masala churros

For an Indian spin on a classic Spanish sweet, these churros are doused in a 'chai masala sugar' – an easy-to-make blend of sugar, ground cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger and black pepper.

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

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Ingredients

• 75 g ghee, plus 50 g for deep frying
• ½ tsp salt
• 35 ml rosewater
• 150 g (1 cup) plain flour, sifted
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 litre vegetable oil, for frying
• edible gold leaf, to serve

Chai masala sugar

• 110 g (½ cup) caster sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp finely ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Place the ghee, salt, rosewater and 115 ml water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer and remove from the heat. Add the flour and mix well with a spatula. Return to low heat and mix until the batter is smooth and glossy, pulling away from the sides of the pan but forming a film on the base of the pan.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool for around 3 minutes. Add the beaten egg, about a quarter at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stop when the batter is liquid enough to form a firm 'V' hanging off the end of the spatula as you lift it out of the batter. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle.
3. Heat the oil in a wide, heavy-based saucepan to 170˚C and add the 50 g of ghee for flavour. Making sure not to crowd the pan, pipe churros around 15 cm in length into the oil and use kitchen scissors to snip the batter off from the piping bag. Fry for about 4 minutes or until golden brown, then drain on a wire rack.
4. For the chai masala sugar, mix the ingredients together.
5. Dust the churros with the chai masala sugar, then top with a little edible gold leaf and serve immediately.

 

Photography by Adam Liaw.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Stream free On Demand

Modern Indian

Watch The Full Episode Here

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Watch The Full Episode Here

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