Luqaimat

Ingredients

• Flour300 g
• Cornflour50 g
• Dry yeast7 g
• Yoghurt100 ml
• Warm water280 ml
• Sugar2 tbsp
• Ground cardamom1 tsp
• Saffron1 pinch
• Date syrup200 ml
• Sesame seeds30 g
• Oil for frying1 l
• Salt1 pinch

Salt and spices grow more slowly than the rest: doubling a dish does not double the pepper.

Weight converts to ounces and volume to cups. Grams of flour are not turned into cups, because that depends on how tightly it is packed.

Method

1. 1

   Steep the saffron in a spoon of warm water and leave it.

   5 min

2. 2

   Mix the flour, cornflour, yeast, sugar, cardamom and salt.

   4 min

3. 3

   Add the yoghurt, warm water and saffron infusion and whisk to a smooth loose batter.

   6 min

4. 4

   Leave it somewhere warm for an hour; the batter should rise and bubble.

   62 min

5. 5

   Heat the oil to 170 °C and drop the batter in by the teaspoon, dipping it in water each time.

   8 min

6. 6

   Fry in batches for three to four minutes, moving them with a slotted spoon, to a deep gold.

   18 min

7. 7

   Drain on paper, pour over the date syrup and scatter with sesame. Serve at once.

   4 min

About the dish

The batter here is loose, closer to thick cream, and is not shaped by hand. It is dropped from a spoon or squeezed through a fist, which is why the balls come out irregular — and that is correct.

Saffron and cardamom in the batter are not optional. Without them luqaimat become ordinary doughnuts and all regional identity disappears.

Dibs, date syrup, goes over the balls while they are hot. Honey works but tastes different: dibs is darker and faintly bitter.

Worth knowing

• — The batter must not be stiff. If it does not slide off the spoon easily, add water; a firm batter makes heavy doughnuts.
• — Wet the spoon before each ball. Otherwise the batter clings and will not release.
• — Pour the syrup on just before serving. Sitting in it, luqaimat soften and lose their crunch within ten minutes.

Nutrition

Per serving at the base yield, calculated from the ingredients rather than measured in a lab.

Calories

420 kcal

Protein

6 g

Fat

16 g

Carbs

64 g

More from United Arab Emirates

• Machboos — Rice with prawns or chicken on the bizar spice mix with dried lime. The staple of the Gulf.