Craving a sweet crispy dessert that elevates your mood with its booming flavour?
There is not a better one than the Middle Eastern Zalabia.
So, follow us in such a delightful journey to unreveal the secret of this exceptional traditional dessert.
Let's explore together What is zalabia.
What is zalabia?
It's a fried yeasted dough shaped like balls,soaked in a simple syrup to end with a super crispy on the outside and fluffy like cotton from the inside little bite delight.
Popular across the Middle East region as Egypt, Levant and Turkey.
It is also called Lokmet El Kady in Egypt or Awamat in Levant or Loukoumades in Greek culture.
Regardless of what you call it, these little golden bites are so scrumptious that you won't know when to stop eating them!!
They are very popular street food in Egypt with a modest price, also prepared easily at home especially in Ramadan.
Also try Basbousa bil ashta for more special Ramadan gatherings.
What is zalabia's preparation technique?
Actually it is as simple as making a dough then frying it and that's it!!
Zalabia Ingredients
For the most crunchy zalabia from outside while airy from inside you need:
All purpose flour (3 cups)
Cornstarch (1 tablespoon)
Granulated sugar (1 tablespoon)
Instant dry yeast (2 tablespoons)
Warm water (2 cups)
A pinch of salt
Oil (for frying)
Other recipes use room temperature plain yoghurt instead of warm water.
Instructions
Follow these fairly easy steps to have crispy from outside soft from inside zalabia as it must be from the first try.
In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together very well (flour,starch,yeast, sugar,vanilla,salt).
Add water then blend together until you have a wet sticky dough.
Adjust the batter consistency to medium, neither too thick nor too loose.
Cover with a plastic wrap and settle the batter for 1 hour in a warm place for fermentation until its size is doubled.
Transfer the dough to a pipping bag to be ready for the frying step.
What is zalabia Frying method?
Fill the frying pan with oil and put on medium-high heat (175°C-190°C).
Cut the tip of the piping bag to make an opening about 1 cm wide.
Near to the pan, squeeze the dough with one hand to release a 1 cm from the dough from the tip of the piping bag then,using your other hand with oiled fingers or oiled scissors’ tip for cutting.
By this way you can obtain a regular ball shaped zalabia, Another way is to use the small size ice-cream scoop which makes it much easier.
Keep stirring the zalabia while frying until it has a shiny golden colour.
After that, take the zalabia out of the pan with a slotted spoon and let the excess oil be dropped.
Soak in room temperature syrup for 1 minute then take the balls out to drip the excess syrup.
While frying, you will notice that they will be floating, so push them down to be sure all the sides are taking the same colour.
Now, it's time to enjoy your homemade crispy golden zalabia that melts in your mouth.
Zalabia's simple syrup
A cup of granulated sugar is added to a cup of water.
Put on medium heat till thickening.
Squeeze two lemon drops or add rose water for flavouring.
Other zalabia coatings
Although the main traditional recipe depends on drizzling zalabia with simple syrup, there are some other options to give it a modern twist, they could be:
Chocolate sauce (dark or white)
Sugar with cinnamon
Powdered sugar
What is zalabia storage technique?
The good news is that you can enjoy zalabia in no time by using the previously frozen ones as follows:
Fry the dough until it is pale yellow, take them out and wait until they cool completely.
Put them in the freezer and they are ready to use next time by frying again in hot oil until it is golden and continue the steps as mentioned.
Zalabia expert tips
After discovering what is zalabia, let me focus on some points to ensure having the best zalabia every time.
The most important tip is to test the yeast you are using to ensure its viability.
Zalabia is fried in groups or batches, so keep the rest of the dough covered while the others are fried.
Dip your fingers or the scissors tip in a cold oil before each cut.
On putting zalabia in oil, lower the heat till you finish pipping then raise it again.
The smaller the zalabia balls the better it will be especially if you have kids.
You can prepare the zalabia dough and let it overnight in the refrigerator for slow rise.
Let the batter come to room temperature before frying if you keep it in the refrigerator.
And now, after knowing What is zalabia, this little sweet bites with their crunchy outside and tender soft inside, moreover it is undeniably affordable and loved by all, you will miss alot if you don't try it.
And for savouring, try the Egyptian unique Hawawshi and the exceptional Warak Enab recipes,and to calm down, the Egyptian milky sahlab warm drink is the best choice.