Lukhmi

Before you start

• Rest the dough at least 30 minutes under a damp cloth; unrested dough springs back and will not roll thin.
• Cook the mince filling ahead and cool it completely. Warm filling steams inside the pastry and bursts the seams in the fryer.
• The filling must be dry. Any liquid left in it will make the lukhmi split open in the oil.

Method

1. Rub the melted ghee into the maida with your fingertips for 3 minutes until the flour holds its shape when squeezed in a fist.This step is the flakiness. Skimp on it and you get a bread, not a pastry.
2. Add the salt and cold water a little at a time and bring together into a firm, tight dough. Firmer than a chapati dough. Knead 5 minutes, cover and rest 30 minutes.
3. For the filling, heat 2 tbsp oil and fry the chopped onion for 8 minutes until golden.
4. Add the ginger and garlic pastes and green chillies, cook 1 minute, then the mince. Break it up with the back of a spoon and fry on high for 5 minutes until it loses its pink.
5. Add the turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder and salt and cook on medium for 12 minutes, stirring, until the mince is dry and the fat has separated out.Keep going until the pan base stays clear when you drag a spoon through.
6. Stir in the garam masala, black pepper, lemon juice, mint and coriander. Spread on a plate and cool completely.
7. Divide the dough into 12. Roll each into a 12cm square about 2mm thick, keeping the rest covered.
8. Put 1.5 tbsp of filling on one half of each square, brush the edges with water, fold into a rectangle and press the edges firmly, then crimp with a fork.Press out every air pocket. Trapped air expands and splits the pastry in the oil.
9. Heat the frying oil to 160C. It should be moderate, not fierce: a scrap of dough should rise slowly over 4-5 seconds.
10. Fry 4 at a time for 6-7 minutes, turning once, until pale biscuit-gold and blistered. Drain on a rack.Low and slow is what makes them flaky; hot oil browns the outside while the layers inside stay doughy.
11. Serve hot with sliced onion and lemon.

Safe temperatures: Minced meat is done at 71°C / 160°F all the way through. Reheat leftovers to 74°C / 165°F. FoodSafety.gov

Storage

Best eaten within a couple of hours. They keep 2 days in an airtight tin and crisp up again in a 180C oven for 8 minutes. Uncooked assembled lukhmi freeze well for a month and fry from frozen at 150C.