The word ‘Kuswar’ instantly brings to mind the Kulkuls that are loved by the people of all ages. Kulkuls can be eaten plain (made with slightly sweetened dough) or rolled in (mael) sugar icing (preferred by kids especially). Kuswar is almost synonymous with the twin terms Kidyo-Gulio. Gulio refers to Rice Marbles which are often hard to bite and most people I know skip even making them. I haven’t made them yet, but did make the Kulkuls several times in the past couple of years.
Kidyo/Kulkuls
Yield: 1 small batch
You Need
- 250gm maida /all purpose flour
- 1 egg (optional) * see notes
- approx 1/4 cup freshly extracted coconut milk or lukewarm water
- 1 tbsp sugar * see notes
- 1 tbsp warm oil
- a sprinkling of salt to taste
- oil for deep frying
For the sugar glaze/icing
- 75-100gm sugar (depends on how thick an icing you prefer)
- 1/4 cup water (approx)
- a unused/clean comb or fork
- a small bowl with a few drops of oil to grease the fork/comb
- a large & wide mouthed heavy bottomed wok/kadhai for deep frying
- slotted spoon
- large flat dish to place the curls
Method:
Preparing the dough
In a large bowl (used to knead dough for chapathis) mix the maida, salt, sugar and egg until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. To this add the coconut milk in parts – using only as much as required to help knead the flour into a smooth pliable dough. For best results knead the dough well for at least 5-7 minutes wetting your fingers with coconut milk every now & then to help achieve a smooth dough. (see notes). Keep the dough aside – cover with a damp cloth so that the dough doesn’t dry up during the process of making the dough curls
Curling the kulkuls
Depending on the kind of design you wish – choose the thin or thicker bristle side of the comb or a fork. Slightly grease it with a dab of oil (let it not drip). Make small marble size balls of the dough and flatten each ball over the bristles/fork to form a thin rectangular patch. Start rolling it from one side using a little pressure on your finger tips so that the dough has the impression of the bristles/fork. Seal the edges gently – ensure that the impression is not lost. Place the curl on a large lightly greased plate. Continue the process to make more curls until all the dough is used up
Deep Frying the kulkuls
Heat oil in the kadhai on a medium high flame (see notes). When the oil is ready for frying, drop as many kulkuls as the kadhai will hold. Be careful not to let the oil splatter on your face! Reduce the heat a bit if necessary and fry until the kulkuls are golden pink. Do not let them brown too much. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain excess oil against the side of the kadhai & transfer onto an absorbent kitchen tissue. Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Kulkuls keep fresh for upto 2 weeks
Glazing the kulkuls
The next day, make the syrup by heating the sugar and the water to make a syrup. When the syrup thickens and coats the back of the spoon, toss in the kulkuls and hold the pan on both sides and gently toss the kulkuls so that all of them are uniformly coated with the syrup. Transfer the kulkuls on a large plate or clean banana leaf and quickly separate them with a fork so that they don’t stick to each other. Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Notes:
1. I have tried making kulkuls with different measurements at least 4 times. The trick in getting the perfect kulkuls – the Mangalorean way (a bit hard yet crispy to the bite) is to knead the dough well and to use a bit oil while kneading. Adding the egg is optional as I have noticed that it makes the kulkuls softer.
Some people add baking powder to the dough – this never worked for me as I got fat and fully bloomed kulkuls – not my type. I prefer the thinner Mangalorean variety of Kulkuls that snap at every bite.
2. You can even add butter instead of oil, however, the shelf life reduces as butter can smell rancid after a while.
3. Some recipes call for semolina/rawa to be added to the flour. This apparently makes the kulkuls more crisp with an almost biscuit-like crunch (again, not something I prefer). Do make sure however to lightly roast the rawa if you intend adding it as it helps the dough to cook faster
4. If you don’t intend glazing the kulkuls you may add an extra tbsp of sugar to the dough to sweeten it. Plain kulkuls taste great too.
5. The oil for deep frying must be adequately heated and at the right temperature to ensure that the insides of the kulkuls are fried as well. Smoking hot oil will brown the kulkuls on the outside faster and leave the insides uncooked. Inadequate heating of the oil will result in kulkuls that will soften after they cool and won’t be crisp as desired. To test the readiness of the oil drop a small (mustard size) ball of dough into the hot oil, if it pops up to the surface within 2-3 seconds, your oil is ready for frying
6. If your dough is not soft & pliable you will find it difficult to curl them and the edges wont seal resulting in them opening up during the frying process, so ensure that your dough is kneaded well and is really soft – to test it, after kneading, poke your thumb into the dough ball, if it makes a smooth impression & the dough doesn’t stick to your fingers, then your dough is correct. Well kneaded dough ensures that your kulkuls seal off at the edges without applying too much pressure. If at any stage you find that the dough is rough, add a few drops of oil to knead instead of water or coconut milk. When you break off the marble size balls it should be elastic and not break in abrupt jerks
I remember making kulkuls at a friend's house every year when her family got together to make the Christmas goodies. What fun we had curling the kulkuls and comparing whose looked the worst or the best 🙂 These are fond memories of a childhood long ago…
Lovely post, Shireen 🙂
I luv kulkul..Thank you for sharing wonderful post on it..Merry Christmas
This looks fabulous dear…So crispy and cute looking….
Wow! That looks amazing, really tempting! Thanks for sharing an interesting recipe 🙂
lovely post shireen. saw those for the first time last year on good house keeping. you made them so so so perfectly.
This is awesome.. I love the cute designs and done in such an ingenious way..:)
Too good and very apt for this season..:))
Reva
aaaaaaaaaaaaaa I love kidiyo…so does my mom,she has been pestering me for long to make this…hadn't found the right recipe…..love u Shireen…I am most definitely making this one…amazing pictures…they look so cute
awesome rolls
stunning pics ,awesome photography..the kulkuls lool so endearing …would love to make some for my family.
Lovely crispy kulkuls..I too plan to make this christmas,slightly different version!
Ongoing Event -Christmas Delicacy (15 Nov-31 Dec 2011)
Erivum Puliyum
lovely recipe will try for sure 🙂
I came across kulkuls before some time when one of fellow UAE blogger wrote abt this and I was really amazed at the design.
You have made these perfect and with so much of patience..hats off to all of you..and this is a keeper recipe..love these tasty silk worms 🙂
those are such intricate and cute goodies. i have never had kulkuls before. they look so amazing! and absolutely gorgeous pictures and thanks for the intricate step by steps for the designs!
Kulkuls are such a cute little treats. love your clicks. BTW Shireen nice header image. :o)
A fantastic recipe….Looks super good…I remember eating this long back from our family friends house….
I drooled at the sight of these childhood treats I remember well. Our "Christian" friends , as we referred to them in Udupi, used to bring us some every Christmas, along with homemade plum cake. I haven't had these in 4-5 decades now!
I just discovered your blog. Thanks, Shireen.
Padmini Pai. Las Vegas, USA
never heard of this… looks delicious… will surely give it a try… thanks for sharing the recipe..
My Mom's neighbor is a christian from Hugli and I learned so much from her. I remember us kids sitting on the floor and patiently rolling out these listening to old Hindi golden melodies. I wish for those times to come back Shireen. I love these as it is a tamil savory version of Seepu (comb) pakoda. Isn't Indian cuisine amazing ?. Lovely clicks da.
Hi Shireen,. nice post. did u gradduate from St. Agnes.
Too good Shireen!!! Hats off to you for attempting the kulkuls & with such fab results!! Hardly anyone here in Mlore even make this at home..A trip to the local grocer is the max they all do!!!So well explained too…I just cant praise enough.. 😉
Btw I have a query.. for neer dosa which variety of rice do you use?
Prathima Rao
Prats Corner
Just love this, been ages i had them,kulkuls looks absolutely stunning and super crispy.
that looks so yummy shireen can eat it of the screen :).Got a surprise for you at
http://ticklemysenses.blogspot.com/2011/12/my-first-awards.html
come see….and enjoy!!
Awesome, Shireen! I like how you have noted the finer points separately. I used to have kulkuls in Hostel when my Konkani friends would return after the X'mas break and later from my friendly neighbour. She adds eggs so I don't have them anymore. Will try making your version this time. My son loves X'mas goodies!
utterly beautiful post shireen- thanks for sharing the wonderful wormy sweet ! yummmmmmmm
and hey loved the header with the x mas tree et al – festive spirits all the way !
Shireen, hats off to you. Despite having a kid around, you managed to prepare this stuff, picture them stage by stage and phew! pen this down word by word. I can imagine the kind of hard work and patience that has gone into this.
Thank you Shireen for all the love.
Keep up the good work!!!
Wow.. This reminds me of my time at Kasargod. These curls are very popular at my cousins place 🙂
wow, the kulkuls look so cute and you have done a great job Shireen, just awesome..
My sister and I are Mangees who live in North America and love your blog.
Is it possible for you to also give measuring CUP or measuring SPOON measurements besides of course the KG and Grams.
This would benefit all your overseas fans..
Thanks…Flavia
My sister and I are mangees who live in North America and love your blog.
Is it possible for you to also give measuring CUP and measuring SPOON measurements …besides the KG and grams.
This would greatly benefit all your fans who live overseas…Thanks and keep up the great job.
Flavia
Thanks everyone for your lovely comments!
@Thanks Flavia, I will try to update this post with the CUP and SPOON measurements as well 🙂
Shireen, I love your blog…your work is awesome!. The story/detail attached to each recipe is definitely inspiring. Just wanted to let you know that I have a head start with my christmas sweets preparation this year – thanks to you!. Kulkuls and Rose cookies came out great…hopefully moving on to nevries soon 🙂
Wow, that is unbelievably elaborate! Pictures are awesome! 🙂 thanks for linking this to Jingle All The Way. Please mention the event with the link to be eligible for roundup 🙂
Thank you Roshni for the lovely comment! It feels great to receive such responses from those who have tried recipes from my blog! It is very encouraging and I hope I continue to delight you with my recipes!!
Thanks Kavi!! Sorry for the late response. Did I miss out on the roundup?
Oh these look like little bites of deliciousness!!
Dear Shireen,
Wish you and your family Merry christmas. Due to my busy work schedule i didnt try any of your recipes these days.
is there any machine to prepare these Kulkuls…???? if available plz… let us know… we will b waitng for your kind help…. our contact no is 9611228561…
@ Franklin Dcunha: Sorry there is no machine (automatic u mean?) that I know of, you need to curl each of them manually using a clean comb, fork or a plastic kulkul comb
I always like the sweet kulkuls
Thank you ContraFan! I like them too 🙂
Hi Shireen,I made these today and they came out damn neat. Felt so good recreating memories from back home in a foreign land! My little daughter and son were very fascinated too to know the indian christmas traditions! Merry Christmas to you and your family, god bless!
Do we need to make it with unused comb?
@ AGomes: Thanks so much! Happy to know that your little ones enjoyed the kidiyo making process!
@ Unknown: Why would you make anything with a dirty used comb that could have dandruff or hair stuck on it ? For reasons of hygiene I have recommended the use of an unused/new comb. Simple 🙂
best & delicious………
Hey Shireen… Been using your recipe for the past 2 years and I’ve always got perfect kulkuls .. Hit the right recipe after many failed ones…. Thanks for this one and all the other ones on the blog…. Got my kulkuls right this Christmas too…
Hi Betsy,
So glad to hear that! Thanks for the feedback 🙂
Hi Shireen,I would like to make these Kulkuls but can you please tell me how many cups Rawa to add cause I like my Kulkuls with rawa and if I want it on the sweeter side than how many cups of sugar to add for the above quantity?Kindly message me back.Thank you Shireen
Hi Stephanie,
I have not made kulkuls with rawa so I have no idea…sorry!
Very well explained. Thank you!
Glad you liked it Shyla!
Hi Ma’am,
I just wanted to ask you.. 250gms would be how many cups?
Hi Maria,
250 grams of flour would be about 2 cups (not packed)