Zalabya
Zalabya
Zalabya; these little gems are deliciously sweet, golden, mini doughnut balls, which are crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside.
There are three ways that Zalabya can be served.
Traditionally they’re drenched in a delicious syrup.
As an alternative they can be sprinkled with caster sugar or icing sugar mixed with a little ground cinnamon. If you’ve ever eaten fresh doughnuts at the end of the pier then you’ll know what to expect when you eat them this way.
The third way, which is most definitely not the traditional way, is to serve them with melted Nutella. Either drizzled over or served alongside in a dipping bowl. Ridiculously naughty, but very nice!
ingredients
- 3 cups (360g) plain flour
- 1 tablespoon cornflour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons dried yeast
- pinch salt
- a few drops vanilla essence
- 2 cups (454g) plain yoghurt at room temperature
- oil for frying
Simple syrup ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- juice of half a lemon
Method
Right, let’s start making your Zalabya. It couldn’t be simpler.
Mix all your dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Add the yoghurt and beat well. The dough will be loose and sticky.
Cover the bowl with cling film or a clean tea-towel and put it in a warm place for about an hour until it doubles in size.
Whilst you’re waiting for the dough, make your syrup.
For the simple syrup: put all the ingredients into a small pan and heat it over a medium heat. Bring your syrup to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Then put the pan to one side and allow your syrup to cool.
Time to fry your Zalabya
When your dough is doubled in size, it’s time to cook your zalabya.
I choose to cook these in a wok because woks are wide but they are also nice and deep for frying.
You need about 2 inches of oil in the bottom of the pan and then you heat it over a medium to high flame. To test when the oil is hot enough put the handle of wooden spoon into the oil and if it fizzles it’s ready.
The dough needs to go into the frying pan in small spoonfuls. The easiest way to do this is by using a mini ice-cream scoop. First pour a little cold oil into a small cup and dip the scoop in the oil before scooping up a portion of dough and carefully dropping it into the oil.
Stir & Flip, Stir & Flip until they’re Golden Brown
Fry about 8 to 10 dough balls at a time, stirring and flipping them until they are evenly golden brown all over.
Use a slotted spoon, take the zalabya out of the oil and put them on to kitchen paper. Repeat the process until all the dough is used up.
Time to drench your Zalabya in delicious syrup
While they’re still piping hot, its time to bathe your crispy nuggets of wonderfulness, in the lovely syrup. Turn them over in the syrup then use a slotted spoon to take them out of the syrup and put them in a single layer on a plate. Leave them for a short time to cool and soak up the syrup before serving.
*If you fancy an extra special, indulgent breakfast treat, you could mix the dough and leave it in the fridge over-night to double in size, so it’s ready for you first thing in the morning.
And if you fancy an extra, extra special, indulgent breakfast treat you could sprinkle just a tiny bit of icing sugar on your zalabya and have a little Nutella on the side to dunk them in. Naughty but very nice xxx
Have fun trying this recipe
and let me know how you get on.