Persian Elephant Ears (Gosh-E-Feel). Although the Persian community don’t traditionally celebrate Easter, the long weekend is always a great excuse to get together and enjoy some delicious sweet treats, like these gosh-e-feel.
Although the Persian community don’t traditionally celebrate Easter, the long weekend is always a great excuse to get together and enjoy some delicious sweet treats, like these gosh-e-feel.
Easter always falls quite close to the Afghan New Year, meaning it’s a doubly good time to get baking, so there is always something sweet to offer guests when they pop over for some tea, or chai. Named after the large, flappy ears of elephants, these sweets are easy to prepare.
My grandmother, who used to pick my brother and I up from primary school, used to save the sprinkling of the rose petals and sugar for me to do when I got home. It was the best part, because there was always some left to lick off your fingers afterwards.
Ingredients
200g flour plus, plus 50g extra, sifted
pinch of salt
2 eggs, whisked
30g butter, melted
1 tsp raw sugar
50ml milk
vegetable oil, for deep frying
icing sugar for dusting
1 tsp cardamom powder
handful unsalted pistachios, roughly chopped
rose petals.
Combine salt and 200g portion of flour, reserving the remaining flower for the kneading of the dough. In a large bowl, combine whisked eggs; cooled, melted butter; granulated sugar; and 50ml of milk.
Add 200g of sifted flour to egg mixture and knead on a floured surface until it comes together and forms a dough. If it is too wet and sticky, slowly add flour from your 50g reserve until it starts to bind well. Knead for 10-15 minutes.
Divide dough into two portions, cover with a tea cloth or plastic wrap and allow to rest for 1 hour.
Roll out first portion on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin until dough is half a centimetre thick.
Using an 8cm round cookie cutter, cut out circles and pinch/pleat the sides with your thumb and forefinger so the circle resembles an elephant’s ear (as shown in photo).
Place on parchment paper as you shape them and cover with a tea cloth to keep damp.
Take the leftover scraps from the cookie cutter and knead it into the second portion of dough. Repeat the process of rolling out the dough and cutting out circles, like you did previously.
Place a wok or deep fryer on medium high heat with enough oil for deep-frying. Test with a small piece of dough; if it floats freely to the top, the oil is ready.
Fry the elephant’s ears in batches of 3-4 at a time, for 5-10 seconds on each side until golden brown. Keep transferring to a plate lined with parchment paper or paper towels.
Sprinkle with icing sugar, cardamom powder, and crushed pistachios, rose petals, and serve.
