Lukhmiلُکھمی
⏱ Prep 40m🍳 Cook 30m🍽 Serves 12🌿 Non-veg
Video: Get Curried (YouTube)
Lukhmi is Hyderabad's proudest street-food pastry: a crisp, flaky square of unleavened dough sealed around a boldly spiced minced-meat filling, then deep-fried to a shatteringly golden crust. During Ramzan, the Old City comes alive with lukhmi stalls from Iftar until the small hours. Unlike a samosa, the filling is drier and the shape is flat and square, giving every bite a near-equal ratio of pastry to kheema. The hallmark is restraint in spicing — the meat should be the star.
📍 Make it in Plano
This recipe is the same everywhere — but where you buy the ingredients and eat the dish is local to you.
Finding Desi spots near Plano…
Ingredients
- ▪all-purpose flour (maida)2 cups
- ▪ghee (for rubbing into dough, gives flakiness)3 tbsp
- ▪salt1/2 tsp
- ▪cold waterapprox. 1/2 cup
- For the kheema filling
- ▪minced mutton or beef (qeema — قیمہ)300 g
- ▪onion, very finely chopped1 medium
- ▪ginger-garlic paste1 tbsp
- ▪green chillies, finely minced2
- ▪red chilli powder1/2 tsp
- ▪turmeric powder1/4 tsp
- ▪garam masala1/2 tsp
- ▪fresh coriander, chopped2 tbsp
- ▪fresh mint (pudina), chopped2 tbsp
- ▪neutral oil for the filling + deep-frying1 tbsp + enough to fry
🌍 Cooking abroad? Substitutions
- Minced mutton: lamb mince is an easy substitute and widely available. For a vegetarian version, replace the kheema with equal parts finely diced paneer and peas cooked with the same spices; reduce sautéing time to 4 minutes since there is no raw meat.
- Maida (all-purpose flour): use as-is. Substituting with whole-wheat atta will give a slightly denser, nuttier pastry — still delicious, just less flaky. A 50/50 mix of all-purpose and whole-wheat is a good middle ground.
- Fresh mint: if unavailable, substitute with 1/2 tsp dried mint rubbed between your fingers; the aroma is less vivid but works. Frozen fresh mint (widely stocked at South Asian grocers in diaspora cities) is the better option.
Method
- 1Make the dough: rub ghee into flour and salt with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add cold water a little at a time, mixing until a stiff, smooth dough comes together — stiffer than roti dough. Wrap and rest 20 minutes.
- 2Cook the kheema: heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Sauté the onions until golden (about 6 minutes), then add ginger-garlic paste and green chillies; cook 1 minute. Add minced meat and break it up well; cook on high heat until all moisture evaporates and the meat is dry and just starting to colour (10–12 minutes). Add red chilli, turmeric and garam masala; toss for 1 minute. Remove from heat; fold in coriander and mint. Spread on a plate to cool completely — the filling must be cold and dry before use.
- 3Divide dough into 12–14 equal portions. On a lightly floured board, roll each portion into a thin 5-inch (12 cm) square or circle, about 2–3 mm thick.
- 4Place a heaped teaspoon of filling just off-centre. Fold the dough over to form a rectangle or half-moon. Press the edges firmly together, then crimp all around with a fork to seal — any gap will cause the lukhmi to burst while frying.
- 5Heat oil in a kadhai or deep saucepan to 160°C (320°F). Fry 3–4 lukhmi at a time over medium heat, turning once, until golden and crisp all over — about 5–6 minutes total. Do not rush with high heat or the pastry will brown before the interior sets.
- 6Drain on a wire rack or paper towels for 1 minute. Serve hot with green chutney and sliced onion.
A Desi.Net original recipe · part of our Indian Cuisine library. Confirm details and adjust to taste.