Lakhamari (Newari ceremonial sweet bread)

Ingredients

1. 1 and 1/2 cup of wheat flour
2. 1 tsp sesame seeds
3. 1 tsp baking powder
4. 1/2 cup water for the dough
5. 40 ml ghee(clarified butter)/oil
6. 1 cup sugar for sugar syrup
7. 1 cup of water for sugar syrup
8. 3 cups oil for cooking
9. Pinch of salt

Steps

1. In a bowl, add wheat flour, baking powder and sesame seeds and mix well. (see carousel image 2)
2. Add water little by kneading well and knead it for 5-6 mins to make a dough.
3. Cover it with a lid and let the dough rest for 15-20 mins. (see carousel image 3)
4. Add water and sugar in a saucepan to make a sugar syrup.
5. Heat the syrup and stir it frequently with a spoon for 10-15 mins. Once it is sticky and runny at the same time, keep it aside on very low heat. (see carousel image 4)
6. Take the dough and knead it for a few mins.
7. Take a small round dough. (see carousel image 5)
8. Roll the dough and turn it into an elongated shape. (see carousel image 6)
9. Cut the dough into smaller size with a knife. Try to keep the dough in a cylindrical shape. (see carousel image 7)
10. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan on medium heat. Once it gets hot, bring the flame to medium-low.
11. Drop the doughs slowly into the pan and fry them until they are golden brown on both sides. (see carousel image 8)
12. Once removed, dip the fried-dough into the sugar syrup we made earlier (step 5). (see carousel image 9)
13. Place it on the plate and leave it for half an hour to dry.
14. It is ready to serve with the sides of your choice. (see carousel image 10)

Utensils

• Bowl
• Saucepan
• knife
• Deep frying pan
• Tongs

Where to buy?

You can easily find sesame seeds at the department store, grocery and Asian shops. Ghee (clarified butter) can be found in an Indian shop, Amazon or eBay.

Recipe Notes

• You can store Lakhamari in an airtight container for a month.
• You can make ghee from unsalted butter by heating it until it turns into liquid.
•  Do not soak a Lakhamari for more than 1 min in sugar syrup.
• You can either polish the sugar syrup in the fried Lakhamari or dip it into the sugar syrup.
• If the sugar syrup looks like brown, add little milk on the top of sugar syrup so that it is white in colour.
• You can also use rice flour or plain flour instead of wheat flour.