Khameer /Bakhmir

One among my all-time favorites from Emirati cuisine is the luqaimat. They are dumplings that are fried to perfect golden brown and served with a drizzle of date syrup and occasionally sesame seeds. If you would like the recipe let me know in the comments below.

Another favorite is the rigag, always found as street food, not sure if rigag is of Emirati origin, but always had loads of memories when it comes to sharing and fighting over a plate of luqaimat and rigag.

Rigag is basically like an Emirati dosa😂 with your choice of spread, be it chocolate (Nutella), Cream Cheese, egg, honey, etc. I love to watch Emiratis cook them, the pace at which they cook these are so amusing to watch. These are salient scenes you get to see in Dubai.

Now onto the bread; Khameer bread is, of course, coming from the Emirati cuisine, usually served with a hot beverage for breakfast. It is so soft looks very similar to battoora with black seeds on. Unlike battoora, this bread is made using yeast as a raising agent and is slightly sweet. Not exactly sweet. It totally depends on you. I just add a little sugar, so that it's not too sweet for a bread.

With a few basic ingredients from the pantry, you can enjoy this tasty bread and it goes along with most of the Indian curries/dishes too.

You may bake the bread in the oven, but we malabaris are used to frying anything and everything we get our hands on! 😃😃

Anomalous from how we roll in the kitchen, this is exactly why our dishes come out so good and we become flabby. 😅😅

This is the bread I make, most of the time when  I host a party at my place. Somehow I feel the bread being Emirati connects to our Indian side dishes and makes the spread fab! The picture isn't a perfect one to post here but since I was a bit back on time I could only capture this! But the recipe is a must-try, do give it a try and let me know how you liked it ♡

Let's move on to the ingredients

Ingredients :

• 1 - 1½ cup All-Purpose Flour
• 1 cup wheat flour/ atta
• 1 tbsp active dried yeast
• 1 ½ tbsp sugar
• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 1 large egg
• Salt as required
• ½ cup warm milk/ 2 tbsp milk powder
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp black seeds
• A pinch of cardamom powder (optional)
• Oil for frying

Instructions :

1. In a large bowl add the active dried yeast, sugar and warm water and stir until dissolved and cover the bowl with a plate or lid for about 5 minutes for the yeast to activate.
   
2. In a separate small bowl crack an egg, add warm milk and salt. (keep in mind not to pour in hot milk).
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Pour the egg mixture to the activated yeast and give it a mix. 
   
4. Next, add 1 tbsp olive oil and add the cardamom powder (if using at this stage) and mix.
5. Add the flour 1 cup at a time and knead well, check the consistency, if required add more. The consistency isn't that of chappati, it is a very wobbly dough but not very sticky either.
   
   
   
   
6. Place the lid and let it rest for 1 hour in a warm dry place until it doubles in size.
7. 
8. After 1 hour, pound the dough slowly with your fists, slowly bring the dough from the sides of the bowl to the middle.
9. When at the final stage of kneading add the black sesame seeds.
   
10. Grease your hands and the countertop with vegetable Cooking Oil. Make dough balls size of an orange.
11. Now with the help of your fingers and inner palm, press the ball into a circle shape, you may use the help of a rolling pin but usually, it's done with the hands as the consistency isn't that of a chappathi.
    
12. Press to a medium thickness, not too thick or thin and cut into fours using a knife or pizza slicer into a + sign, you should now have 4 pieces of Khameer from 1 ball.
    
13. Fry in hot oil, when the khameer puffs up, flip and fry until golden brown on both sides. (Check notes for baking instructions).
    
14. Enjoy your khameer with a drizzle of honey, cream cheese, or jam, etc! The perfect Emirati Breakfast! You may also pair it with any of your choice of Indian curries.
    
    
    
    

Notes :

• Be careful that the water isn't too hot, or else the yeast won't activate.
• Do not do the yeast activation in a glass or small bowl. When the yeast activates, there are high chances that the solution will overflow and you will end up with a big mess. I suggest do it in the bowl that you plan to knead the dough.
• I have used equal parts of All Purpose Flour and Atta, it is normally prepared in Maida (APF).
• You may also bake in a preheated oven at 230 deg C for 2-3 minutes changing sides when you see it starts browning. 

Do try this recipe and don't forget to share your experience/feedback with me here in the comments or feel free to send me an mail. Also, do tag me at #taystedit if you try out my recipes on Facebook, Instagram, etc so that I can see when you make it. ♡♡♡♡