This Teff Kal Kal is a vegan & gluten-free version of a deep-fried Christmas Cookie that’s a part of every Christmas in India.

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by The Teff Company. All opinions, as always, are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that support Love is in my tummy.

It’s just not Christmas without Kal Kal, atleast in India, and we’ve always made ours with the same recipe – flour, eggs, butter, baking soda, cardamom and vanilla. But since I became vegan, I’ve been making a different kind of Kal kal each year, and this year, I’m making them both vegan and gluten free with Maskal Teff®. 

It’s deep-fried as always, flavored with cardamom and rolled in cinnamon sugar. Serve with a hot beverage (I’m thinking hot chocolate, but you do you!) and you’ve got yourself a very merry Christmas treat!

Here are my other Kal Kal versions:

The original | Gingerbread (V)

All holiday treats are an indulgence, but there’s always a little extra guilt while eating Kal kal, simply because it’s deep-fried. But this version, because it’s made of Teff flour, vastly reduces the guilt, because of how nutritious Teff is. (Learn more about the nutrition in Teff)

With protein and calcium, the two things most wanted in plant-based diets, it’s an absolute delight to include in most of my favorite recipes.

Shaping Kal kal is a family tradition, as we all sit around a giant batch of dough a few days before Christmas, after dinner, watching our favorite Christmas movies, rolling the dough on our forks as Mom fries it up in the kitchen.

The first batch, hot from the oil, crispy on the outside and molten on the inside, is all the payment we ask for, and well paid, we were.

While every family makes their own version of Kal kal – some choose to keep it plain and simple, some sprinkle a little icing sugar, others dip it in sugar syrup, so that when it dries off, it leaves a white coating of sugar.

My version, fashioned after a churro, I confess, involves the hot kal kal, straight from the oil taking a tumble in a bowl of cinnamon sugar. 

I regret nothing!

Look at these frosted beauties, will ya? 

Dig in and enjoy the holidays. Now we make merry, and come January, we can make amends.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New year, friends. May the new year bring with it an end to our pandemic troubles and the light of new beginnings, but most of all, health.

When you make this VEGAN Teff Kal Kal (which I really think you SHOULD!), be sure to SHARE YOUR PHOTOS with me through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. I’d love to see what you cook from here!

Teff Kal Kal

Yield: About 20-22

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

This Teff Kal Kal is a vegan & gluten-free version of a deep-fried Christmas Cookie that's a part of every Christmas in India.

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Ingredients

For the Kal Kal

• 50 grams (1/4 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoon) Maskal Teff® flour - Ivory
• 40 grams (1/4 cup) rice flour
• 38 grams (2 tablespoon+ 1 teaspoon) cane sugar
• 2 green cardamom (seeds only)
• a pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 1/2 tablespoon (42 ml) water
• Vegetable Oil, for deep frying

For greasing/shaping

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon water

For the cinnamon sugar (optional)

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

Make the cinnamon sugar

1. In a bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon together. Set aside.

Make the Kal kal dough

1. Grind the sugar and cardamom seeds (discard skin) together until powdered.
2. In a bowl, combine the Maskal Teff® flour - Ivory, rice flour, cardamom sugar, salt, oil and baking soda. Adding a little water at a time, combine to form a sticky but moist dough. Do not over knead. Keep dough covered while you shape the kal kal.

Shape the Kal Kal

1. Take a little oil and water in two separate bowls and set aside. You'll need it to grease the fork and dough as you shape the kal kal.
2. Grease a fork with oil.
3. Take a small piece of dough and roll it into a smooth ball between your palms.
4. Place on the fork, dip your finger in water and press down, smoothing it across the length of the fork tines. Start at one end and roll. (See video above).
5. Repeat with the remaining dough. When the fork gets too sticky, wipe down with a wet towel (or rinse off in a bowl of water, then dry), grease with oil and continue.

Fry

1. Heat oil in a small pan for deep frying.
2. On low-medium heat, fry the rolled kal kal in small batches (4-5 per batch), until golden brown on all sides.
3. Drain and toss in the cinnamon sugar (this is an optional step). Shake off excess sugar.
4. Serve warm. Keeps well for a week stored in an airtight container, although it will loose some of its crispness as it cools.