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Indian

Khari biscuit

Vegetarian

खारी · khari

Crisp, salty, shatteringly flaky puff-pastry fingers from Indian bakeries, made here with a quick rough-puff dough and baked long and low so they snap. Made for dunking in chai.

Khari biscuit is an Indian pastry, ready in about 2 hours 40 minutes and made with all-purpose flour and unsalted butter. It serves 24 and is rated advanced to cook.

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Prep
40 min
Cook
30 min
Rest
1 h 30 min
Total
2 h 40 min
Serves
24
Level
Advanced
Calories
78

Ingredients

24 kharis

For rolling

Topping

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Toss the flour, salt, sugar (opens in a new tab) and butter cubes in a bowl. Mix the ice water and lemon juice (opens in a new tab) and add it gradually, folding with a scraper until a ragged dough holds together with visible lumps of butter. Shape into a rectangle, wrap and chill 30 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    On a floured surface roll into a 40 × 15 cm strip, fold in three like a letter, turn 90° and repeat. Wrap and chill 20 minutes. Do two more pairs of single turns (roll, letter-fold, turn 90°, roll, letter-fold), chilling 20 minutes after each pair, for 6 single turns in all. These are three-layer letter folds throughout, not four-layer book folds.

    If butter breaks through, dust the spot with flour and chill longer.

  3. Step 3

    Preheat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 200 °C. Roll the pastry to 4 mm, brush lightly with milk (opens in a new tab), scatter with cumin (or sugar (opens in a new tab)) and press it in. Trim the edges with a sharp knife and cut 8 × 3 cm fingers; place on a lined tray and chill 10 minutes.

    Cut straight down — dragging the knife seals the layers.

    Fresh herbs scattered over a finished dish
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Bake at 200 °C for 15 minutes until well risen, then lower to 160 °C for 12–15 minutes more until deep golden and dry right through; the long second bake makes them crisp rather than soft.

  5. Step 5

    Cool completely on a rack before storing.

About this dish

Origin
Mumbai and Indian bakeries, India · Commonly attributedA staple of Irani cafés and bakeries in Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad and of Iyengar bakeries in Karnataka.More food from India
Dish
Snack · Breakfast · Pastries · Finger food
Cooking method
Oven-baked
Taste
buttery, salty, savoury
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients · Keto-style · Low-carb
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Keto-style · Low-carb
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Make-ahead · Portable / lunchbox
Cook more with
All-purpose flour · Unsalted butter · Sugar · Lemon juice · Milk
Techniques
Baking

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom unsalted butter, milk
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

78 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 18 g · recipe makes 24

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 5%
  • Carbohydrate 35%
  • Fat 60%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
Energy78 kcal434 kcal
Protein1 g5.5 g
Carbohydrate6.9 g38.5 g
Net carbohydrate6.7 g37.2 g
Sugars0.2 g1.3 g
Added sugars0.2 g1 g
Fibre0.2 g1.3 g
Fat5.2 g28.9 g
Saturated fat3.2 g17.8 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol14 mg75 mg
Sodium74 mg413 mg
Salt equivalent0.2 g1 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
12 mg
Calcium
4 mg
Iron
0.4 mg
Magnesium
2 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
43 µg
Vitamin C
0 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
26 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: cumin seeds, sugar.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Shortcut: use 320 g shop-bought all-butter puff pastry, cut and bake the same way.

Common mistakes

  • Warm butter merges into the dough and the khari won't puff into layers.

Serve with

  • Dunk in masala chai or Irani chai.

Storage

  • Keeps 2 weeks in an airtight tin.

Reheating

  • Re-crisp at 150 °C for 5 minutes if they soften.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 40 min

    Keep the butter and dough at the same cool, pliable temperature; chill between folds.

  2. Rest · about 1 h 30 min

    Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

  3. Bake · about 30 min at 200 °C

    Deep golden; bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 93–96 °C inside (enriched breads 88–90 °C).

  4. Cool · about 20 min

    Cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting; cutting hot bread makes it gummy.

  5. Start to finish: about 3 h. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

If something goes wrong

  • Pale crust

    Likely causes

    • Oven too cool
    • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
    • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

    What to do

    • Check the oven with a thermometer
    • Brush with egg wash or milk
    • Shorten the fermentation
  • Burnt bottom

    Likely causes

    • Tray too close to the heat
    • Dark tray absorbs more heat
    • Too much sugar in the dough

    What to do

    • Bake on the middle shelf
    • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
    • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
  • Pastry didn't puff or layers leaked butter

    Likely causes

    • Butter too warm and melted into the dough
    • Layers sealed when cutting
    • Oven not hot enough

    What to do

    • Chill between folds; keep everything cold
    • Cut straight down with a sharp knife — don't drag
    • Bake hot (200–220 °C) so the water in the butter steams the layers apart

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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