Lakhamari
“A hard, crunchy Newari sweet bread of wheat flour, sugar and ghee, deep-fried and shaped into ornate coils, rings and lattices. A ceremonial sweet central to Newari weddings, where it signals the family's blessing.”
Where it comes from
A traditional Newari sweet from the Kathmandu Valley, lakhamari is prepared for weddings and festivals such as Yomari Punhi and Gai Jatra and offered to deities and ancestors.
On the plate
Dense and emphatically crunchy, snapping into shards that slowly dissolve into a buttery, mildly sweet richness. Not cloying but deeply satisfying, the kind of sweet made to keep for weeks of celebration.
How it works
A low-water, ghee-rich stiff dough fries into a hard, shatteringly crisp structure rather than a fluffy one. Slow frying at moderate heat dries the dough through, locking in a long-keeping crunch.
Variations
Coiled lakhamari, ring lakhamari, sugar-glazed lakhamari, sesame-studded festive shapes
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 8How it's made
8 steps · Show ↓45 min active · 60 min waiting
How it's made
8 steps · Show ↓- 16 min
Rub ghee into wheat flour until the mixture resembles crumbs.
- 24 min
Dissolve sugar in warm water to make a sweet syrup.
- 310 min
Knead the flour with the syrup into a stiff, firm dough.
- 460 min
Rest the dough, covered, for about an hour.
- 58 min
Pull off pieces and roll into long ropes by hand.
- 610 min
Coil and twist the ropes into rings, lattices or wreath shapes.
- 712 min
Deep-fry slowly in moderate oil until deep golden and hard.
- 830 min
Drain and cool completely so they turn crisp and crunchy.
