Zalabia (Middle Eastern Doughnuts)

Make fresh zalabia doughnuts, without having to knead or cut dough! They’re crispy on the outside, whilst being light and airy on the inside.

These doughnuts go by many names like luqaimat or luqmat al-qadi. Traditionally, the dough is deep fried, then coated in a sugar syrup. However, my preferred way of eating zalabia is with powdered sugar. I’ll save the sugar syrup for other delicious desserts like atayef, baklava, and kunafa!

Crispy Texture

The main difference between these Middle Eastern doughnuts and Western doughnuts, is their texture. This dessert has a light crunch on the outside, whilst being soft on the inside.

I tried so many recipe variations and techniques, like double frying, and found there’s one thing which improved the texture of zalabia the most: increasing the wet to dry ingredient ratio.

Circle Shape

I was torn between sharing a zalabia recipe that’s easier to make vs tastes the best. I decided to share the one that tastes the best, imo.

So, as a warning, this recipe has more milk than you’d expect, leaving you with a runny dough. You won’t be able to use the piping bag and scissors method when shaping the dough. Instead, with some practice, you should be able to sqeeze the dough by hand, into the oil.

However, if you’re like me, and you’re not at that cooking level yet, there’s a solution! I used a cupcake batter dispenser to make these zalabia. Not every zalabia had a beautiful circle shape, but it does the job and keeps my hands free to comfortably remove the zalabia from the hot oil.

Toppings

These doughnuts aren’t sweet, it only has 1½ tbsp sugar for 4-6 portions. This means, you can go all out with toppings! Some of my favourites include:

• powdered sugar with chopped pistachios
• melted chocolate with chopped roasted peanuts
• melted biscoff spread with crushed biscoff biscuits

Zalabia (Middle Eastern Doughnuts)

These doughnuts are crispy on the outside, whilst being light and airy on the inside. The best part is there's no kneading or cutting required when preparing the dough. You can top them with powdered sugar, melted chocolate, or biscoff spread.

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 minutes mins

Rest Time 1 hour hr

Course Dessert

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

Dough

• 275 ml milk
• 1½ tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp yeast
• 200 g flour
• 20 g cornstarch
• pinch of salt
• ½ tsp baking powder

Toppings

• powdered sugar (with chopped pistachios)
• melted chocolate (with chopped roasted peanuts)
• biscoff spread (with crushed biscoff biscuits)

Instructions

 

• In a pan, warm the milk until it's slightly warmer than room temperature. Remove from heat then add sugar and yeast. Stir and set aside to rest for 5-10 minutes.
• Sift flour, cornflour, salt, and baking powder into a large bowl. Make a well in the center.
• Once foam has formed on top of the milk mixture, pour it into the flour mixture. Using a spatula, vigorously stir, no lumps should remain.
• Cover the bowl with cling film and leave it in a warm place for the dough to rise. This typically takes about 1 hour, during which the dough will double in size and have bubbles on top.
• After the dough has risen, deflate it with a spatula and transfer it into a cupcake dispenser (or leave it in the bowl if you’ll form the zalabia by hand).
• In a pot with high sides, add around 5cm of oil. Heat the oil over high heat until it reaches 150°C, then reduce the heat to medium.
• Drop small portions of dough into the oil, being careful not to overfill the pot. Fry the zalabia in batches of 3-4, depending on the pot size. The dough will sink momentarily, then rise and bubble.
• Use a skimmer (or preferred tool) to nudge the zalabia in the oil, for even browning. After 2-3 minutes, the zalabia should be golden brown, remove from the oil and place in a bowl lined with a kitchen towel to absorb any excess oil.
• Once all the dough has been fried, serve the zalabia with your favorite toppings. You can dust them with powdered sugar, drizzle with melted chocolate, or add melted biscoff spread. Enjoy!

Notes

• If you want a thicker dough, to be able to use the piping bag and scissors method, only add 200ml of milk.

Storing

I think all fried foods are best enjoyed immediately after frying, and zalabia is no exception. It’s best to have this dessert while it’s hot and fresh.

But, if you happen to find yourself with some leftover zalabia, you can store it in an airtight container at room temperature, it should last a few days.