Gosh-e-Fil (Elephant Ear-Shaped Fried Pastry)
A recipe for Gosh-e-Fil (Elephant Ear-Shaped Fried Pastry) from the cookbook, Mountain Berries & Desert Spice! These thin, cardamom-scented pastries are fried until crisp and golden.
Servings 20 Pastries
Ingredients
- 220 grams (7 3/4 ounces, 1 2/3 cups) all-purpose flour plus extra 30 grams (1 ounce) for dusting
- pinch salt
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- 3-4 green cardamom pods seeds removed and ground
- 2 eggs
- 40 grams (1 1/2 ounces, 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 4 tablespoons whole milk
- Vegetable oil for frying
To decorate:
- 1 tablespoon icing sugar (confectioners' sugar)
- 1 tablespoon ground pistachio
- 1 teaspoon pink dried rose petals
Instructions
- Sift the flour, salt, sugar and ground cardamom together in a large bowl.
- Whisk the eggs, butter and milk together in another bowl, then pour this slowly into the flour and start to bring it together into a dough. When it begins to combine and is sticky, place it on a floured surface.
- Using the extra 30 grams (1 ounce) of flour knead for about 10 minutes until you have a soft dough. Cover the dough with a damp tea towel and allow to rest for 1 hour at room temperature.
- When ready to cook, roll the dough out on a floured surface into a thin sheet no thicker than 5 millimeters (1/4 inch), then using a 5 centimeter (2 inch) round pastry cutter, cut out 15-20 circles. Using your finger, form the circles into an 'ear' shape with a little point at one end.
- Heat the oil in a wok-like pan to 180˚C (350˚F) or until a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds. Drop a few 'ears' into the hot oil over a medium heat, allow them to float to the top and deep-fry until light brown and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Repeat until all the 'ears' are cooked.
- Allow to cool, then dust with icing sugar and sprinkle with finely ground pistachios and rose petals. Store in an airtight jar for 1 week.