Karachi biscuits – Meet Hyderabad’s most popular cookies. These signature fruit biscuits are from the world-famous Hyderabadi Karachi Bakery.


However, the name is Karachi still these fruit cookies are made in India & delivered worldwide. In short, Karachi biscuits are Indian by Heart.

Today we will bake these famous Karachi bakery biscuits. But before we get into baking these fruity cookies, let’s explore some interesting facts.

Why are Karachi biscuits called that?

I have done some research & would like to share with you what I found. Here you go.

According to Wikipedia, Karachi Bakery was founded by Sri Khanchand Ramnani. He was a Sindhi migrant who left Karachi for Hyderabad in 1947 during the Partition of India. In 1953 Ramnani opened the first Karachi bakery of Hyderabad next to Seena Bakery in Moazzam Jahi Market.

Guess what now they have 14 branches in Hyderabad alone.

It is one of the popular bakeries in Hyderabad known for its fruit biscuits. As of now, Karachi bakery is in five cities Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi. They also export their products to the Middle East, UK and USA for Non-resident Indians residing there.

I am aww amazed to know the above details. Okay, let me show you how to make or bake famous Karachi baker biscuits at home. I bet you not only children but even adults in your family will go ga-ga over these tutti-frutti cookies.

What Is Used For Karachi Biscuits?

Ingredients are easy-peasy—nothing fancy in here. Additionally, every single item is available. Let’s see what we need to bake Karachi’s famous biscuits.

Butter & Sugar

Melted butter (salted) is what you need to dissolve sugar powder. Mix both of them well & stir continuously till it becomes fluffy. You can also use cold butter since we are going to freeze the dough overnight.

All-Purpose Flour

Maida, aka all-purpose flour, is the base flour to bake our Karachi biscuits. Do not try wheat or any other flour. Doing it will only make your process challenging. So stick with maida.

Custard Powder

Flavourful custard powder gives a definite aroma & colour to the biscuits. For example, vanilla, strawberry or mango custard powder are all fruity. Feel free to use any of them. Make sure the quantity is not more or less.

Dry Fruit & Cardamom Powder

Cardamom powder has a great substitute. It’s nutmeg powder, aka jaifal. However, the taste profile of both spices is different.

I usually use nutmeg powder in my kheer recipes in place of cardamom. It tastes great. Needless to say, what dry fruit powder does.

Baking Powder & Salt

Those who don’t know what baking does, then let me tell you. It increases the volume & lightens the texture of the baked item. The apparent purpose of baking powder is to inflate cookies & cakes. Salt is for taste purposes, yet be cautious with the measurement of the same.

Tutti Frutti

Ahh! One of my favourite ingredients. I love tutti frutti just like a small child does. However, it’s not my age to fall in love with this colourful item but then who doesn’t love it?

The Karachi biscuits’ yellow texture with red, yellow, orange & green tutti frutti is next. I believe tutti frutti is the star ingredient of our cookies here.

It’s a kinda show topper for me. Do not replace it with anything else. Please. You & everyone else will love it. Trust me.

Milk

Milk is essential because the dough needs the required moisture. Above all, milk provides enough room for all ingredients to mix, match & mingle. But wait!

Avoid your temptation to use a few more drops of milk. It will happen. Stay calm, resist the tempt, and use milk as per the quantity given in this recipe.

Like I told you before, there’s no out-of-box item used to bake these cookies. So relax, take your time, gather all ingredients & bake it right away.

The Making & Baking Process of Karachi Biscuits

To bake super crunchy Karachi biscuits, you need to process 3 crucial steps. They are – Making an excellent dough, wrap+freeze and baking. Let’s understand all 3 of them.

It’s all in the dough.

An excellent dough is half the battle won. I now believe this after several failed attempts. When you mix melted butter & sugar, it must be fluffy.

I mean, you need to mix it till it becomes super light. Another item is milk. No more & no less. A fixed proportion of milk will give the required amount of moisture to the dough.

Keep the above details in mind. Remember, it’s all in the dough.

Wrapping & Freezing

First, understand the term Freezing. It’s not making the dough solid or unbreaking or cold like ice. Just keep it in your refrigerator.

Before you toss the dough into the fridge, wrap it up with a self-stick plastic sheet. It’s readily available online as well as at confectioner stores.

Wrapping the dough prevents it from being rock hard. Freezing overnight allows all the ingredients to release their flavours into the dough. Anyway, it is always advisable to rest biscuit dough for at least an hour or more.

On top of it, freezing prevents the dough from becoming loose. As a result, when the cookies are baked, they won’t flatten too much. Take care that you immediately cut the dough & bake it after taking it out from the fridge. Please don’t bring it to room temperature.

Baking the Karachi biscuits

I believe there’s less human intervention in the baking process. All you need to do is set the right temperature. I have a Bajaj OTG. It’s compact. It takes hardly 3 minutes to preheat my OTG if the temperature is 180°C plus.

On the other hand, my OTG bakes maida biscuits in just 12 minutes at 150°C. In different ovens, it takes 20 minutes & 180°C temperature. In short, average baking temperatures in your oven are too high for me & my OTG.

What’s the point?

My point is every oven, OTG, or microwave has different settings. Find yours. My ideal settings are 12 to 20 minutes at 150°C to 180°C depending on the cookies & ingredients.

Karachi Biscuits OTG Baking Temperature

Preheat your OTG for 10 mins 150°C. Preheating is compulsory.  When you insert the baking tray, there must be uniform heat. If you don’t preheat, some cookies will bake faster than others. Usually, the ones that are in the end corner bake real fast. Therefore, always preheat.

My baking time is 12 minutes at 150°C. Remove the cookies from OTG once baked, or else they will start burning.

I believe I have made everything clear here. Additionally, I have addressed all the issues regarding ingredients, dough & baking. To start baking the crunchiest Karachi biscuits, watch the recipe video.

Follow recipe steps with images. Match your cookie texture with mine. Tell me in the comment box who wins.😛

Finally, we must thank the renowned Karachi Bakery owner for giving us such a wonderful biscuit recipe.

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