Lakhamari

Ingredients

Dough

• 600 gplain flour
• 100 gghee
• 2 tbspsugar
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspajwain or cumin seed
• about 250 ml warm water

To fry

• oil or ghee, for deep frying

Optional

• 1 tspground cardamom
• sesame seeds

Directions

1. Rub the ghee into the flour thoroughly, until the mixture holds together when squeezed in your fist. If a squeezed handful holds its shape, there is enough fat; if it crumbles, add more.
2. Add the sugar, salt and ajwain, then add the warm water very gradually to a stiff dough. Keep it stiff, stiffer than any bread dough. Lakhamari is meant to be hard enough to crack apart, and a soft dough puffs into something else entirely.
3. Knead it hard for 10 minutes and rest it 30 minutes. Divide it and roll each piece into a thick disc, about 1.5 cm. Now the lattice, if you are making the decorated version.
4. Cut slits across the disc in two directions with a knife, then gently stretch it so the cuts open into a mesh. The lattice is not only decoration; it opens the surface so the thick dough can fry through to the centre instead of staying raw.
5. Heat the oil to about 150°C (300°F), which is much cooler than for most frying. These are thick and dense, and at normal frying heat the outside darkens long before the middle has cooked.
6. Fry each one for 15 to 20 minutes, turning often, until deep golden and hard right through. There should be no soft or pale dough at the centre at all.
7. Drain on a rack and cool completely, when they harden further. They are cracked apart by hand and shared rather than cut, and they keep for weeks.

Technique

• It is genuinely hard, and softness means it was fried too hot or too briefly.
• It is eaten with tea, or with meat and alcohol at Newar feasts.
• The plain small ones are everyday food; the huge latticed ones are ceremonial.

Substitutions

• Oil in place of ghee, at some cost to the flavour and the shortness.
• Cumin or fennel seed in place of ajwain.

Variations

• Made small and plain, as an everyday snack.
• With cardamom and sesame, as a sweeter version.
• The very large latticed ceremonial form.

History

A Newar ceremonial pastry of the Kathmandu valley; large decorated rounds are exchanged at betrothals and weddings.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lakhamari?

Lakhamari is a bread & pastry from Nepal: hard, deep-fried wheat cake, sometimes latticed, cracked apart and shared. A Newar ceremonial pastry of the Kathmandu valley; large decorated rounds are exchanged at betrothals and weddings.

How long does Lakhamari take to make?

Lakhamari takes 40 min plus 30 min resting of preparation and 40 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 8. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Lakhamari?

Yes, within limits. Oil in place of ghee, at some cost to the flavour and the shortness. Cumin or fennel seed in place of ajwain.

What is the most important thing to get right in Lakhamari?

Cut slits across the disc in two directions with a knife, then gently stretch it so the cuts open into a mesh. The lattice is not only decoration; it opens the surface so the thick dough can fry through to the centre instead of staying raw.