Zalabia

Zalabia are a delicious type of fried treat popular throughout the Middle East and beyond, consisting of bite size, golden balls of dough bathed in a flavored syrup. They’re similar to doughnuts in texture and flavor—once fried, the yeasted batter cooks up crisp on the outside and light and airy inside. And while the thought of deep frying may be intimidating, cooking zalabia couldn’t be easier. There’s no complicated shaping involved or specific equipment needed; you’ll just drop spoonfuls of the batter into the oil and watch as they bubble and bob to golden brown perfection. (In fact, zalabia should be irregularly shaped, so there’s no striving for perfection here.) The final touch is a dunk in a fragrant syrup flavored with rose or orange blossom water, which lends an irresistible sweetness—and delightful stickiness—to each bite.

What Are Zalabia?

Also spelled zalabiyeh and zalabiya, zalabia, can be traced all the way back to a 10th century Arabic cookbook, Kitāb al-Tabīkh. And while the book contains recipes from the Arab courts in Baghdad, it's likely that the fritters were eaten throughout the Middle East, from Yemen to Syria.

Today, zalabia are enjoyed from the Middle East to West Asia to Northern Africa. They can be eaten throughout the year but are most often made for holiday gatherings, such as during Hanukkah for Sephardic Jews and Ramadan for Muslims. You'll find similar looking sweets in Greece, known as loukoumades, and in India where they're called jalebi.

Equipment for Making Zalabia

Making zalabia is easier than you might think. To create the batter and fry the fritters, you'll need a few basic pieces of kitchen equipment and a couple hours (but don't worry, most of that time is hands off).

Electric mixer: To achieve the right consistency, it's best to use an electric mixer to beat the batter until it's smooth and elastic, which will take about 10 minutes at medium-high speed.

Large bowl: Using a large enough mixing bowl will ensure the batter does not splatter while mixing. It should be large enough to comfortably hold the 4 cups of flour and 2 2/3 cups of water with a couple inches of head space at the top.

Medium saucepan: You'll use a medium (2- to 4-quart) saucepan to make the sugar syrup.

Large saucepan or Dutch oven: Use a large, heavy bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven to fry the fritters. When deep frying, it's always best to use a deep saucepan to keep the oil contained should it bubble up at all and to not fill it more than halfway with oil.

Thermometer: While not crucial, an instant-read or candy thermometer will let you know when your oil is hot enough to begin frying. If the oil temperature isn't quite there, the fritters will not puff up correctly and will instead flatten out. If you don't have a thermometer, you can test the temperature by adding a small spoonful of batter; if it immediately rises to the surface, the oil is hot enough.

Baking sheet: Lining a baking sheet with paper towels will give you plenty of space to drain the zalabia after frying (this recipe makes upwards of 96 fritters!).

Slotted spoon: When it's time to remove zalabia from the oil, use a slotted spoon or a wire spider—a very handy tool for deep frying—to transfer the puffed balls to drain.

3 Tips for Making Zalabia

Spoon, don't scoop, your flour: When measuring flour for this recipe, it's best to spoon it into the measuring up and level it off with a spoon rather than scoop the cup directly into the container. Scooping can cause the flour to pack too tightly, which can throw off the amount that ends up in the recipe.

Use two spoons to drop the batter into the oil: An easy way to form the fritters is to dip two small spoons in a small bowl of oil, then scoop up some batter with one of them and use the other spoon to scrape the batter off into the pot. Wiping the spoons clean after dropping in each one will help the batter to release more easily.

Don't crowd the pan: While it can be tempting to fry many fritters at once, we recommend only cooking six or so at a time to keep from crowding the pan. This will help keep them from sticking to one another and allow them to evenly brown on all sides. It will also help to keep the oil from cooling too much when the batter is added.