There is something about a jeera biscuit recipe that no other tea time snack quite replaces.
That thin crunch. The warm smell of roasted cumin. The way it sits in your hand without crumbling. And that taste, not fully sweet, not fully salty, but somewhere in the middle where everything feels right.
I have been buying these from the local bakery for years.
A small polythene packet of zeera biscuits, tucked under my arm on the way home. A guilty pleasure, I used to tell myself.
Store-bought. Not made with my hands.
For a long time, this jeera biscuit recipe sat on my mental to-do list. One of those things I kept meaning to try. One of those recipes I assumed would be complicated or fussy.
It is not. Not even slightly.
Once I finally made these eggless jeera biscuits in my own kitchen, I felt a little foolish for waiting so long. The dough comes together in one bowl. The prep takes ten minutes. The baking takes about twelve. And the result is crispier, more fragrant, and more satisfying than anything I have bought from a shop.
I now keep a tin of these at home at all times. They go into my daughter’s snack box. They come out with afternoon chai. And whenever I want something sweet but not too sweet.
that mix of meetha and namkeen, this is what I reach for.
What Is a Jeera Biscuit?
A jeera biscuit or Zeera biscuit recipe is a crispy, mildly sweet, lightly salted Indian bakery biscuit flavoured with roasted cumin seeds. Jeera is the Hindi word for cumin, and it is the only spice in this recipe,
but it carries everything.
These biscuits are eggless, baked, and have a short, crumbly texture that comes partly from butter and partly from the combination of all-purpose flour with rice flour. They are one of the most popular tea-time biscuits across North India and are equally well known in Pakistani bakeries under the name zeera biscuit.
What makes them different from a regular butter cookie is that balance between sweet and salty. Not a dessert biscuit. Not a savoury cracker.
They sit somewhere in between,
warm from the cumin, rich from the butter, and light enough that you reach for another before you have finished the first.
Regional Variations of Jeera Biscuit
Jeera biscuits have made their way into almost every part of the subcontinent, and each region has its own version.
In North India, particularly in Old Delhi and UP, these are a bakery staple. The classic version is made with all-purpose flour, butter, and roasted cumin, straightforward and deeply familiar. Old Delhi bakeries have been making these for generations, and the recipe has not changed much because it does not need to.
In Pakistan, the same biscuit goes by zeera biscuit and is deeply tied to tea culture. Brands like Lu have their own commercially produced versions, but home bakers and small bakeries across Lahore and Islamabad continue to make them by hand. The Pakistani version tends to be a little thinner and very crisp.
In Gujarat, specifically in Surat, there is a version called Surati jeera biscuit that uses caraway seeds rather than regular cumin. Caraway and cumin look similar but taste quite different, caraway is more anise-like and slightly sharp.
The Surati version is also baked for much longer at a lower temperature, which gives it an almost melt-in-the-mouth texture. It is a staple of Gujarati breakfast culture, though not very well known outside the community.
The version I make at home is the North Indian bakery style – roasted cumin, butter, rice flour for extra crunch, and that familiar balance of sweet and salt.
Tips for Making Jeera Biscuit Recipe
Before you begin, a few things that will make a real difference.
Roast the cumin before adding it to the dough. Raw cumin has a sharp, slightly green smell. Dry roasting it on a tawa for a minute or two draws out the warmth and fragrance that makes these biscuits what they are. Do not skip this step, it is the difference between a biscuit that smells like a bakery and one that just smells like flour.
Use butter at room temperature. Cold butter will not cream properly with the sugar. If the butter is too hard, the dough will not come together smoothly and the texture of the biscuit will be off. Take it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before you start.
Do not overbake. Pull the biscuits out when the edges are lightly golden. The centres will look soft, that is correct. They firm up and crisp up fully as they cool. If you wait for them to look done inside the oven, they will be too hard by the time they reach the table.
Cool completely before storing. Any warmth left in the biscuits creates moisture inside the tin, and moisture makes them go soft. Leave them on the tray for at least 45 minutes before transferring to a container.
Keep the shapes even. Biscuits that are uneven in thickness will bake unevenly, the thin edges burn while the thick centres stay soft. Take a minute to press each one to a consistent thickness before baking.
Why This Recipe Works
There are two things in this recipe that make it better than a basic jeera biscuit recipe.
The first is rice flour. Most recipes use only all-purpose flour. Adding rice flour gives the biscuit a finer, crispier crunch and a lighter overall texture. It is a small addition but the difference is noticeable from the very first bite.
The second is the salt quantity. This recipe uses 1.5 teaspoons of salt, which sounds like a lot. It is intentional. The salt keeps the biscuits from tasting like ordinary butter cookies, brings out the cumin, and creates that sweet-salty balance that makes jeera biscuits so hard to stop eating. A timid hand with the salt will give you a perfectly acceptable biscuit. The right amount of salt gives you the one you keep reaching for.
The First Time I Finally Made These at Home
I have loved this eggless jeera biscuits since I can remember. The small bakery packets. The ones that come in a steel tin at a relative’s house. The ones you buy without meaning to and finish before you reach home.
But for the longest time, making them myself felt like something I would get to eventually. It stayed on my to-do list the way a lot of things do, important but not urgent, always pushed to next week.
When I finally made them, I could not believe I had waited so long.
The dough came together in minutes. The biscuits went into the oven, and my kitchen smelled of roasted jeera in a way that was genuinely comforting.
And when they came out and cooled on the tray and I bit into one, that crunch, that warmth, that saltiness – it was exactly what I had been buying in packets all those years.
Now I make a batch every week or two. My daughter takes them in her snack box. They come out with chai. And I no longer feel guilty reaching for a biscuit, because I know exactly what went into making it.
What to Serve with Jeera Biscuits
These biscuits were made for chai. Masala chai, ginger chai, plain milk tea , all of them work. The cumin and salt in the biscuit go particularly well with a strong, milky cup.
They also work well alongside coffee, especially black coffee or a light filter coffee where the bitterness picks up the warm spice of the jeera.
For a snack box or a travel tin, jeera biscuits pack beautifully. They do not crumble the way cream-filled biscuits do, and they hold up well for a few days outside of a container.
If you are putting together a small chai snack plate, these go well with roasted chana, namkeen mixture, or a simple piece of jaggery on the side.
How to Store Jeera Biscuits
Store in an airtight container at room temperature. They stay crisp and fresh for up to two weeks.
Make sure the biscuits are completely cool before you seal the container, at least 45 minutes after they come out of the oven. Sealing them warm traps moisture and makes them soft.
Keep the tin in a dry, cool spot away from the stove or any source of heat. In humid weather, they may soften a little faster. If that happens, you can put them back in the oven at 150°C for 5 minutes to crisp them up again.
Pro Tips for Perfect Jeera Biscuits
Roast the cumin on a dry tawa over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes until it smells fragrant and turns a shade darker. Spread on a plate to cool completely before adding to the dough. Hot cumin will soften the butter.
If the biscuits spread too much in the oven, the butter was too soft. Refrigerate the shaped biscuits for 15 minutes before baking next time.
If the biscuits come out too hard, they were overbaked. Check at the 10-minute mark and pull them out as soon as the edges colour.
For a uniform look, use a small cookie scoop or tablespoon measure to portion the dough. This takes the guesswork out of getting even sizes.
If you want a slightly crumblier, more melt-in-mouth texture, add an extra tablespoon of powdered sugar and reduce the salt slightly.
Press a few extra cumin seeds on top of each biscuit before baking if you want, it looks nice and adds a little extra fragrance.
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Basic Ingredients Used in Jeera Biscuit Recipe
Unsalted butter (150 g): The base of the dough and what gives these biscuits their richness. Use unsalted so you can control the salt yourself. The butter must be at room temperature before you begin, cold butter will not cream properly.
Powdered sugar (1/2 cup): Also called icing sugar or pisi cheeni. Powdered sugar dissolves smoothly into the butter and gives the dough a uniform, fine texture. Do not substitute with granulated sugar, it will not dissolve the same way and will affect how the biscuit bakes.
All-purpose flour (1 1/2 cups): The main structure of the biscuit. Sieve it before use to avoid lumps.
Rice flour (1/2 cup): The ingredient that makes this recipe different from a standard jeera biscuit. Rice flour adds a finer crunch and a lighter texture to the finished biscuit. If you do not have it, you can use only all-purpose flour, but the rice flour is worth using if you have it.
Salt (1 1/2 tsp): More than you might expect, and deliberately so. The salt is not just seasoning here, it is part of the flavour balance that makes jeera biscuits distinct from a sweet cookie.
Baking powder (3/4 tsp): Gives a small lift and keeps the biscuits from being too dense.
Roasted cumin seeds / jeera (2 tbsp): The star of the recipe. Dry roast the cumin on a tawa until fragrant before adding it to the dough. Roasted cumin has a completely different depth of flavour compared to raw cumin straight from the packet.
How to Make Jeera Biscuit Recipe
Step 1: Cream the butter and sugar
Measure the butter into a large mixing bowl. Sieve the powdered sugar directly into the bowl. Whisk the two together until the mixture is light, pale, and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes by hand. Do not rush this step. The creaming is what gives the biscuit its texture.
Step 2: Sieve and mix the dry ingredients
In a separate bowl, sieve the all-purpose flour and rice flour together. Add the salt and baking powder and stir to combine. Add the roasted cumin seeds and mix through the flour.
Step 3: Bring the dough together
Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter and sugar. Mix with your hands or a spatula until a soft, smooth dough forms. It should come together cleanly and not stick to your palms. If the dough feels too soft in a warm kitchen, wrap it and refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes before shaping.
Step 4: Shape the biscuits
Pinch off small portions of dough, roughly the size of a large marble. Roll each portion into a smooth ball between your palms, then press gently to flatten. Keep all the pieces roughly the same size so they bake evenly. Arrange on a greased baking tray with a little space between each one.
Step 5: Preheat and bake
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) for 10 minutes. Slide the tray in and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are just turning lightly golden.
Step 6: Cool on the tray
Remove from the oven and leave the biscuits on the tray. They are fragile when hot. Let them cool completely, they will crisp up fully as they come to room temperature. Transfer to an airtight container once cooled.
Jeera Biscuits Recipe
Ingredients
- 150 g unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup rice flour
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp roasted cumin seeds
Instructions
- Measure the butter into a mixing bowl. Sieve the powdered sugar into the bowl and whisk together until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, sieve the all-purpose flour and rice flour together. Add the salt and baking powder and mix. Add the roasted cumin seeds.
- Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter and sugar. Mix to form a soft dough.
- Pinch off small portions of dough, roll into balls, and press gently to flatten.
- Arrange on a greased baking tray.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) for 10 minutes.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the edges are lightly golden.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely on the tray before transferring to an airtight container.
- Serve with a hot cup of chai and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions About Jeera Cookies
Why are my jeera biscuits soft and not crispy?
Two common reasons. Either they needed a minute or two more in the oven, the edges should be lightly golden before you pull them out, or they were stored before cooling fully. Both cause soft biscuits. Let them cool completely on the tray before sealing the tin.
Can I make these without rice flour?
Yes. Use only all-purpose flour and the biscuits will still taste good. But rice flour genuinely makes them crispier and lighter. If you have it at home, use it.
What is the difference between jeera biscuit and zeera biscuit?
They are the same thing. Jeera and zeera are both spellings of the Hindi and Urdu word for cumin. In Indian bakeries the name is usually jeera biscuit. In Pakistani bakeries you will more often see zeera biscuit.
Can I make these without an oven?
Microwave convection mode at 180°C should work. I have only made these in a regular oven, so I cannot say from personal experience, but I have seen others do it successfully. Check at the 10-minute mark.
Can I make these without an oven?
Microwave convection mode at 180°C should work. I have only made these in a regular oven, so I cannot say from personal experience, but I have seen others do it successfully. Check at the 10-minute mark.
How many biscuits does this recipe make?
Approximately 20, depending on how large you shape them.
Are these good for kids?
Yes. They are eggless, not heavily sweet, and they hold up well in a snack box without crumbling. The cumin flavour is warm but mild. My daughter takes them to school and looks forward to them.
Can I use salted butter instead of unsalted?
You can, but reduce the added salt to 1 teaspoon to compensate. Salted butter varies by brand, so taste the dough and adjust from there.
How do I know when the biscuits are done?
Watch the edges. When they turn a light golden, the biscuits are done. The centres will still look pale and a little soft, that is correct. They will firm up fully as they cool.
My Recommended Product:
For creaming the butter and sugar in this recipe, a good hand mixer makes the job much easier, especially if you are making bakery style jeera biscuits regularly.
I use the Philips HR3705/10 Hand Mixer and it has been reliable in my kitchen. It is a 300W motor, which is enough power for everyday baking tasks like this one. It comes with two strip beaters and dough hooks, so you are covered for both mixing and light kneading. The 5 speed settings plus turbo mode give you good control – I usually start on the lowest speed when creaming butter so the sugar does not fly out of the bowl, and move up from there.
The cord is 1.2 metres long, which sounds like a small thing but makes a real difference when your kitchen counter is not right next to a socket. The accessories are stainless steel, easy to rinse clean, and do not bend or warp with regular use.
It is compact, not heavy to hold, and backed by a 2-year warranty. If you are looking for a hand mixer that does the basics well without taking up half your counter, this one is worth considering.
I only recommend products I’ve personally used or truly believe in for home cooking.
You can even check out my PAGE on Amazon, where you will find my favorite kitchen tools, Appliances, Accessories, and more HERE.
Disclosure: Bear in mind that some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a small commission.
Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases.
I am an independent blogger and the reviews are done based on my own opinions. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.
- 300W Powerful Performance – The Philips Hand Mixer delivers efficient mixing with a 300W motor for everyday recipes.
- 2 Beaters & Dough Hooks Included – This Hand Mixer comes with two strip beaters and dough hooks for mixing and kneading …
- 5 Speeds + Turbo Function – The Philips Hand Mixer offers 5 speed settings and a turbo mode for greater control.
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