The jolly time of year comes around more quickly the older one gets. “Christmas cheer” and Chanukah’s unhealthy but tasty oily foods are back upon us before we even know it.
The deep-fried doughnut has several versions. In Northern Europe it is traditionally filled with jam and dusted with confectioners’ sugar. In the USA it comes with a hole in the middle and is dipped in and sprinkled with everything bad for you. Meanwhile, throughout the Levant, it is a small ball of fluffiness, deep fried and dusted with cinnamon and sugar or a rose-water sugar syrup.
In the Maghreb the doughnut dough is called sfinge (sponge), but throughout most of the rest of the Levant it is known as Zalabia. Its origins are apparently in the northern-Indian sub-continent.
Bottom line: good foods always manage to move from place to place.
This recipe is from my wife Merav’s grandmother, Safta Luna, whose family origins were in Saana, Yemen.
Super easy to make and fun to eat at any time of the year.
Ingredients (makes 25 small medium zalabia)
- 500 g all-purpose flour
- 8 g dry yeast
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ tbsp Cognac or similar strength alcohol
- 900 ml cold water
- Absorbent kitchen paper to soak up oil
- Mixture of sugar and cinnamon for coating (ratio 100 g sugar to 4 g cinnamon)
- Canola oil for deep frying
Method
This is a very wet dough mix.
Using a hook attachment, mix flour, yeast, sugar and salt on low speed for a minute. Add the alcohol to the water and then add the water to the mix a bit at a time.
When all the water is mixed in, stop the mixer and using a spatula ensure that all the dry mix at the bottom of the bowl has been absorbed into the wet dough. Continue mixing for several minutes then cover and set aside to rise for at least an hour in a warm place. After the dough has risen for an hour, use the spatula to fold the dough several times and push it back down, then cover and leave to rise for another half hour.
Heat an inch and a half of canola oil in a pot for deep frying. You can either break off small pieces of the dough using wet hands, or, if doing larger quantities or you prefer cleaner hands, use a piping bag with a half-inch diameter opening.
When the oil is hot, test with a small piece of dough: if browning super quick, turn the heat down a little. Plop small balls in, let them fry on both sides until medium brown. Remove to a colander and then onto paper towels to soak up excess oil.
While still warm toss in a bowl with the sugar-cinnamon mixture, then eat as many as you dare.
Happy Chanukah and Merry Christmas.
Have safe and relaxing holidays. I will be back in the New Year.
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