Kaapi Khushi Kaapi Gham [Donuts]

Oh Coimbatore! The first city I landed in India in 2019 after not having been to India for 9 years and also the first South Indian city I traveled to. Well technically Bangalore and then a connecting flight, but lets ignore that. I often recall my time sitting in Shree Anandhaas, sipping cup after cup of filter kaapi to overcome my jetlag. The shuffling of the scalding liquid between the davarah and tumbler was quite therapeutic. Even in the 38ºC weather, I didn't mind a hot beverage of this decoction. A few weeks back, an idea popped into my head for filter kaapi donuts and I've shared my recipe for that below.

Ingredients:

For the coffee decoction:
-8 tsp of coffee powder*
-14 oz. water

For the donuts:
-2/3 cup of hot milk
-1/3 cup of prepared coffee decoction
-4 tsp of prepared coffee decoction
-1/4 cup of granulated sugar
-1 tsp of granulated sugar
-1 packet of active dry yeast (should be 2.25 tsp)
-4.5 cups of all purpose flour
-0.5 cups all purpose flour for the surface when rolling out dough
-1/2 tsp of salt
-6 tbsp. melted butter
-2 large eggs
-Canola or vegetable oil for frying (enough to go 2 inches deep in your pan)
-Cooking spray or oil for greasing

For the glaze:
-2.5 cups powdered sugar
-1/2 cup of the prepared coffee decoction
-1/4 tsp of pure vanilla extract

Preparation:

For the coffee:

-Add 4 tsp of the filter coffee mix to your coffee press** and tamp it down. The traditional coffee presses used in South India will come with a tool to push it down. Note that most recipes will usually call for ~3 teaspoons per 8 oz of water, but since this is being mixed into a dough, it will have to be a more concentrated flavor
-Boil your water and let it cool down for a minute. Pour over the water while still hot, close the lid, and let the decoction collect in the bottom chamber. It usually takes 15 minutes. 

-Note that I have a small filter, so I had to to do this twice. If you have a filter that holds more water, then you can get away with doing this in one batch. Otherwise you won't have enough for the coffee glaze

The coffee being filtered

-Set aside so it can cool down a bit and be used in the dough

For the donuts:

-In a bowl, add 1/4 cup coffee decoction to the hot milk and mix, the best way would be to shuffle it between two bowls 3-4 times
-Let it cool down till lukewarm and add 1 tsp of sugar to dissolve
-Sprinkle in the yeast and let it sit for 8 minutes to activate

-In another bowl, mix the flour and salt
-In a 3rd bowl, mix the granulated sugar, eggs, butter, and 4 tsp of coffee decoction
-Add the yeast mixture to the bowl with the eggs and mix all the wet ingredients together
-Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and knead all the ingredients into a dough.

Wet bowl on left and dry bowl on right

-Apply cooking spray or oil to a bowl and transfer the dough. Cover with a towel and let it rise for 1 hour

-Remove the dough from the bowl and punch down to release the air. Spread it out with a rolling pin and cut out your donuts. You can also do holes without donuts and not worry about the hole in the center. I did a mix.
- Move your donuts to a tray, cover with a towel and let them rise again for 40 minutes

Not the most perfect shape, but it's all about experimentation. Perhaps I should invest in a donut cutter 🤔

-Heat oil to ~350ºF and add donuts to fry. Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side. The donut holes should fry faster

-Remove and let cool on a drying rack

For the glaze:
-Mix powdered sugar, coffee, and vanilla in a bowl
-Dip the donuts and coat with glaze all around

Notes:
*This has to be a specific mix of coffee and chicory, similar to a New Orleans style coffee. I ordered mine from Akara,  though you should be able to work with Cafe du Monde or a similar New Orleans style coffee/chicory blend.
**I got my filter coffee press from Ministry of Kaapi. You can consider a French press or do a slow drip coffee as an alternative.

This is a modified version of Delish's recipe: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a24788319/how-to-make-donuts-at-home/