Osmania Biscuits

Osmania biscuits got its name from the last ruler of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan. Osmania biscuits is served in all the irani cafe in hyderabad. Anyone who is born or lived in hyderabad would have tasted these biscuits. Today my uncle who lives in US posted a picture of Osmania biscuits on his facebook wall. I re-collected my childhood when my dad and mom used to get these biscuits for us. The Irani cafes in hyderabad is in particularly visited by men, women rarely go there. When i was a kid we used to have cafe at the end of our lane. And we used to take 0.25 paisa and buy these biscuits. After marriage husband to used to get these.

This is my first attempt to make these biscuits. And i should say the taste was awesome and house was smelling like we are in a bakery. Osmania biscuits are very soft and just melts away in the mouth.Here goes the recipe.

Ingredients :

Plain flour 1 cup
Custard powder 1/4 cup
Icing sugar 1/2 cup
Butter 1/2 cup
Elachi/cardamom powder a pinch
Baking powder a pinch
Milk 1/4 cup
Salt a pinch
Saffron  few flakes
Milk 3 tbsp

Method:-

Soak saffron in 3 tbsp of warm milk.

Take butter in a bowl. Beat the butter until fluffy. Add icing sugar and milk. Mix it very well.

In a bowl add flour, custard powder,salt and cardamom/elachi powder. Mix well and add this to the butter mixture.

Make a smooth dough. The dough should be very soft.

Take a butter paper and roll out the dough into a 1/2 inch thick. Cut the biscuit with a 2 1/2 inch cutter. I didn't had a cutter so i used a small lid to the cut the biscuits.

Line the cookie tray with a parchment paper. Place the biscuits on the tray with little spacing between each biscuits.

Pour the safforn soaked milk on the unbaked biscuits and let the biscuit get the milk coat. And drain the excess milk from the tray.

Bake for 13 minutes at 170 degree Celsius.

Serve with tea or having it just like that.