Khara Biscuit/Indian Spiced Savory Cookies

Khara Biscuits are savory Indian style spicy whole wheat flour biscuits or shortbread like cookies tinged with the spicy flavors of ginger, cilantro, jalapenos and hing/asafetida powder. They come out so flaky and buttery, you would love to munch on it with a cup of your evening coffee or tea or even as a mid morning snack.

Step 1: INGREDIENTS NEEDED:

½ cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour

2 tablespoons cornflour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon hing/asafetida powder

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

¾ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

½ cup butter, softened to room temperature

3 to 4 green chilis/jalapenos

3 tablespoons coriander leaves/cilantro

2 tablespoons curry leaves

1 inch piece ginger

1 to 2 teaspoons yogurt

Extra flour for dusting

Step 2: HOW TO MAKE SPICY KHARA SAVORY BISCUITS/COOKIES:

In a small blender jar, add green chilies, coriander leaves, curry leaves and ginger.

Step 3:

Blend to a paste. You can choose to make a fine paste or leave it coarse; I love to see the bits of green herbs in my cookies, so I made a coarse paste.

Step 4:

In a large bowl, sift all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, corn flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, turmeric powder and hing or mix with a wire whisk.

Step 5:

Add softened butter along with the blended paste (not more than 2 tablespoons of the paste).

Step 6:

Mix with your hands to a coarse breadcrumb like mixture.

Step 7:

Add yogurt a teaspoon at a time till you get a smooth dough; just gather to form a ball.

I added about 1 ½ teaspoons of yogurt.

Step 8:

Cover and keep aside for about 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees Centigrade.
Grease a baking pan lightly and keep aside.
Make 2 portions of the dough.
Roll one portion to a thin disc about ¼ inches in thickness.
Using a cookie cutter, cut the dough into desired shapes, prick them with a fork (this prevents the cookie from puffing up while baking).