Last Updated on January 27, 2022 by Babita
Kulkul (pronounced as Kalkal) is a sweet deep fried snack. It is prepared during Christmas by Indian Catholics (Mangaloreans, Goans and East Indians)
I remember as a kid waiting to receive these goodies from my friends and neighbors who celebrated Christmas. The minute we received a tray full of all these treats, I would try to hog all the Kulkuls before my sister and brothers could. Off course after some scolding from my mom, I would share it with them too. I used to love them so much and I miss them terribly over here.
KulKuls are also known as Kidiyos (meaning worm) in a local Indian dialect. Appearance wise they look like a worm or a caterpillar. The textured ridges on this snack are achieved by rolling it over a fork or a new, clean comb. If you see the pictures below you will notice the difference in the ridges when used with a fork and a comb. I personally like rolling it on a comb because the texture is well defined.
The other thing to note about Kulkul is that it takes a lot of time to make. Not only do you need time, but you also need patience. So the ladies in the neighborhood would gather around and make this together while gossiping away. It was mostly a group effort. My mom never made this and I have been trying to find the recipe for this for a very long time.
One of my close childhood friend gave me this recipe which I had to improvise a little bit as the measurements were in grams. While the dough was a breeze to make, the formation of the Kulkul took me about 2 hours. The result however was pure delight mixed in with nostalgia. It is crispy on the outside with a soft inside. For comparison sake I would imagine it as a fried shortbread cookie. Enjoy!
How to Make Kulkul | Kidiyo
2 cups all purpose flour
½ cup fine semolino (rava)
2 egg whites
1/3 cup ghee or melted butter
1/2 cup sugar (powdered)
salt to taste
1/4 tsp baking powder
Water to knead the dough
- In a mixing bowl combine all the above ingredients together. Exclude the oil.
- Add water – a tablespoon a time until the dough starts to form.
- Keep this dough aside for half an hour covered with a damp cloth
- Break off a pea side dough and spread it over a fork or a clean comb and roll it over completely
- Set aside and complete the above steps until all the Kulkuls have been formed.
- Heat oil in a deep stainless steel pot, kadai or deep fryer.
- Fry the kulkuls in a batch of 7 to 10 at a time, depending on the amount of oil.
- Drain it on a paper towel, serve or store it in an air tight container
Kulkul | Kidiyo – Crispy and Sweet Christmas Treat
Kulkul is a sweet deep fried snack. It is prepared during Christmas by Indian Catholics
(Mangaloreans, Goans and East Indians)
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup fine semolino (rava)
- 2 egg whites
- 1/3 cup ghee or melted butter
- 1/2 cup sugar (powdered)
- salt to taste
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- Water to knead the dough
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl combine all the above ingredients together. Exclude the oil.
- Add water – a tablespoon a time until the dough starts to form.
- Keep this dough aside for half an hour covered with a damp cloth
- Break off a pea side dough and spread it over a fork or a clean comb and roll it over completely
- Set aside and complete the above steps until all the Kulkuls have been formed.
- Heat oil in a deep stainless steel pot, kadai or deep fryer.
- Fry the kulkuls in a batch of 7 to 10 at a time, depending on the amount of oil.
- Drain it on a paper towel, serve or store it in an air tight container
Nutrition Information
Yield 75 Serving Size 5Amount Per Serving Calories 41Total Fat 2gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 3mgSodium 25mgCarbohydrates 5gFiber 0gSugar 1gProtein 1g
BabsProjects.com provides nutritional information as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although BabsProjects.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, please remember these are estimates only.
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Hi, I was happy to find this recipe and thought you’ll have the Indian fried donut recipe that we make for Christmas. Wondering if you have one. Would love to have it.
Thanks.
If you are looking for the fugia recipe, I do have it on my site. Just search for it. If not can you write the exact name of the Christmas Indian donut recipe.
I am calorie counting. Please help me understand how much is one serving
Jessica, one serving is about 5 pieces of Kulkul. Please remember the calorie chart is approximate and auto generated. Please read the disclaimer below:
“BabsProjects.com provides nutritional information as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although BabsProjects.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, please remember these are estimates only”.
Thank you for posting this recipe. It is exactly what I was looking for! I found that it easier to make these with plastic gnocchi maker instead of a comb or fork. Also I took inspiration from the gnocchi maker, rolled and pre-cut the dough into squares instead of making small balls, which helped speed up kidiyo production.
Thank you Kelsey for your feedback. I will check out the gnocchi maker.
We make this every year for Christmas and we never add water, it makes the kalkals hard, we knead the dough with only eggs.
These Kulkuls did not become hard. They are nice and crispy. However, thank you for letting me know your way of preparation. I will try to make it like that.
I’ve never seen or heard of this food. Sounds like a food I would love to try and even see if the kiddos would try. Thanks for sharing!
Those are such cute little snacks. I could see my son tearing these up.
I love how these are bite sized and compact. That makes them easy to transport to work for consumption.
They are so pretty! And they sound delicious. I think I’ll be trying this one out soon!
After reading this I went on YouTube and watched a video on how to make Kul Kuls! I want to eat some!!!
Wow, that’s a really beautiful dish! I can just imagine how long it takes to make, but I bet it’s worth it. Sounds delicious, too!
Those looks tasty! Thanks for the recipe too, it’s definitely something I plan on making soon now. 🙂
In the first pic I thought it was gnocchi. I’d love to try these treats!
I have never seen anything where you used a comb! Interesting. They sound pretty good.
I have never heard of these before. They look very interesting. I can’t believe you use a comb to get that shape that seems so funny to me.
Sounds like a really tasty snack,Will have to attempt it.Thank you for sharing.
Wow, this looks really yummy but not only that; it also look very beautiful too!
This looks like a fun treat. At first I thought it was kuli kuli
I’ve never heard of these before but they look interesting. I’ve never used a comb as a cooking tool.
These look delicious. I would love to try them. I like how the comb gives a delicate look to it.
Is this more like a pasta type dish or is it like a donut? Whatever it is is looks great!
OMG I love everything about this except the fact that I don’t have a bowl of those sitting in front of me right now!
I have never heard of this before. It sounds interesting.
I think I would be able to stop eating these!
Clever using the comb for the shape
This sounds really tasty! I love how it looks when it’s formed with a comb. Sounds well worth the time spent on it!
Wow I haven’t ever even heard of this before I don’t think. It looks really great!
I’ve never tried kulkul before. It looks and sounds tasty!
Those definitely look like they’re worth the time. They look delicious!
Oh what a delicious sounding treat, I would love to try them I have to say. x
Those sound like a tasty snack. I love how you form each one by hand.