Foods with the same name can mean different things in different countries. In India, biscuits mostly refers to cookies, they could be sweet or lightly salted, with or without nuts, with or without chocolate. The entire range of cookies is mostly referred to as biscuits. So when I first ordered biscuits in a restaurant in North America, I was completely surprised by what landed on my plate. These were soft pillows of dough that very beautifully salted and would just dissolve in the mouth. Served with fried chicken and gravy, a sheer delight. And I knew it was love at first bite. They were completely unlike their namesakes in India and I could not have enough of them.

Over a period of time I learnt that there are good biscuits and bad biscuits. Good biscuits are soft, flaky and light as air. Hard biscuits feel like clumps of dough baked in an oven. The good ones could be made two ways - one was to cut fat into flour, leaveners and add and add buttermilk or biscuits made with flour, leaveners and fresh cream. The second kind were the ones made like puff pastry They were light, fluffy, airy and full of layers of biscuity goodness. The first ones are very easy to make and the second type are harder to put together, take more time but they are definitely worth it!

Today I will write about my favorite kind - the super fluffy layered ones and will blog about the other kind. This recipe has been taken from the book "Cooksmart" by Pam Anderson. She is one author who has helped me get my basics right for the simple and complex foods and cooking techniques. This is another recipe which is big on basics like freezing butter, chilling dough and temperature of the ingredients. If done correctly, the end result is very good. And if at first it does not work out, one needs to try again because this is a recipe worth knowing and mastering.

Makes 8 2 1/2 inch biscuits plus 3 or 4 extra biscuits rolled from scraps.

Ingredients

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, frozen

3 cups bleached all purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons vegetable shortening, frozen

1 cup cold milk plus extra for moistening and brushing

Method:

1. Grate about 1/3 of the butter onto paper towel, then sprinkle shreds with a big pinch of flour; toss to coat to prevent sticking. Transfer to a small bowl. Repeat twice more, then place bowl in freezer.

2. Mix flour, baking powder and salt with a rubber spatula in a medium bowl. Cut shortening into dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or two forks until looks like coarsemeal. Add a heaping 1/2 cup of the grated frozen butter, toss to coat, then cut butter into flour 4 or 5 times to blend. Return remaining butter to freezer.

3. Stir in milk with a rubber spatula. Once dough starts to clump, bring it into a coherent ball with your hands, pressing it into bottom of bowl to pick up remaining scraps. If dough does not readily come together, sprinkle in a drop or two more of milk and continue pressing on dough scraps until they incorporate.

4. On a lightly floured surface, press dough into a rough square, then roll out into a 10 1/2 by 6 inch rectangle, about 3/4 inch thick. Sprinkle 1/3 of the remaining grated butter over half of the dough and brush edges with milk. Fold and roll out again. repeat, sprinkling half of dough with 1/3 butter, brushing border with milk, folding in half and pinching seam. Freeze remaining grated butter to keep it chilled. Place folded dough squares on a baking sheet and freeze for about 10 minutes to firm up and let gluten relax.

5. Roll dough out again as before, sprinkle with remaining butter and fold in half for a third time. Roll out dough a final time into a 10 1/2 by 6 inch rectangle. Freeze again for 10 to 15 minutes to let dough firm up and relax.

6. Meanwhile adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to to 450F. Use a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter to cut dough into 8 rounds and place them about 1 inch apart on a baking sheet. The cutter can be dipped into dry flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the cutter. Pinch dough scraps together and cut 3 or 4 more dough rounds. Bake until biscuits are golden brown, 13 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately.