Zalabia recipe, also known as awameh, is a popular sweet treat, similar to donuts. The dough is made from a few simple ingredients, fried, then dunked in sugar syrup. Crunchy from the outside and soft from the inside, delicious and addictive.
I grew up eating zalabia in observance of the Epiphany holiday or Eid al-Ghtas in Arabic.
For more Palestinian dessert recipes, check out my knafeh, warbat, or harissa, and for lighter options check out my mahallabia or rice pudding.
I was always impressed by my mother's skills in easily handling the soft stretchy dough, simply using her hands and a small spoon. She used to make big batches of zalabia and share them with the entire neighborhood. Follow my easy steps to make this delicious treat.
When Christians in Palestine Make Zalabia?
Christians in Palestine make zalabia during the Epiphany holiday. Epiphany is a holiday celebrated by Palestinian Orthodox Christians commemorating the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. The idea of making small balls from the dough, frying it in deep oil then dunking it in sugar syrup resembles the baptism of Jesus.
This holiday is known as Eid el Ghtas in Arabic, referring to baptism, Ghtas comes from ghatas, which means to dive, and awameh means to float, another popular name for zalabia.
What is Zalabia?
Zalabia, also spelled as zalabiya, zalabie, or zulbia, is a popular Middle Eastern sweet treat. Zalabia has various names, it's known as awameh, awamat, luqaimat or luqmat al-qadi. It is made from deep-frying batter, typically made from flour, cornstarch, and yeast shaped into small balls or spiral shapes. After frying, zalabia is often soaked in a rosewater-flavored syrup giving it a sweet and fragrant taste.
Other cultures make something very similar to zalabia, the idea is very similar but with a different texture. Like in Greece, they called them Loukoumades, and in India, they're called Gulab Jamun.
Zalabia is commonly enjoyed during festive occasions such as Ramadan for Muslims and Ephiphany for Christians.
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Equipment
Large Bowl - For mixing dough
Frying Pan - For deep frying zalabia
Cake decorating bags - Using plastic bags to fill with dough will be helpful to pipe the dough out for frying.
Slotted Spoon - To use while frying.
Ingredients
Flour - all-purpose flour is used in this recipe.
Yeast - I use instant yeast in this recipe.
Corn starch - It helps with the texture and crunchiness of zalabia.
Sugar - To mix with yeast that helps activate the dough.
Salt - To balance the dough.
Instructions
Full ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
MAKING SUGAR SYRUP
It's best to make the sugar syrup (ater) few hours earlier or the day before so it will be completely cooled off and ready to use. All you need is sugar, water, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Check out my step-by-step instructions here.
Making Dough
Step 1 | In a small bowl, mix yeast and sugar with ¼ cup of lukewarm water. Combine well together until yeast is fully dissolved.
Step 2 | Let it sit for 5 minutes or until a foam appears on top which is an indication that yeast is activated.
Step 3 | In another large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, and cornstarch, and gradually add lukewarm water.
Step 4 | Keep mixing until you have a smooth dough. Keep in mind the dough should be sticky and stretchy.
Step 5 | Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let it rest in a warm area for about 1 hour.
Step 6 | Dough size should double after resting for an hour.
Frying
Step 1 | Place a decoration bag or a zip bag inside a cup, and with a spoon fill up the bag with dough. Tie the bag from the top and cut the bottom (about 1 inch).
Step 2 | In a deep saucepan, heat oil and carefully squeeze out a small portion of the batter from the bag into the hot oil, forming a ball. You can use a scissor (wet in oil) to cut out the ball-shaped dough piped out of the bag into the frying oil.
Step 3 | Fry zalabia in batches, until they are golden brown about 2-3 minutes per batch. With a frying spoon stir the balls so all sides are fried.
Step 4 | With a slotted spoon remove zalabia from the oil placing them on a separate plate with paper towels.
Step 5 | Place fried zalabia on a paper towel to get rid of any excess oil.
Step 6 | While zalabia balls are still warm, dunk them in a prepared sugar syrup, and mix well ensuring they are well coated. Then transfer onto a serving plate.
Storage
- While zalabia is best served the same day, you can store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for the next day but keep in mind they won't be crunchy.
- To freeze you can do a half fry, meaning fry until they're yellow-pale, and take them out of the oil before they turn golden brown, place them on a paper towel, and once they're cooled off store them in the freezer in a zip bag or an air-tight container. When ready for serving take them out of the freezer and fry in hot oil until golden brown. No need to defrost.
Pro Tips
- To prevent zalabia from turning soggy, ensure it's dunked in cold syrup (or room temperature) right after frying.
- Don’t overcrowd the dough while frying, fry them in batches.
- If you need to serve them hot, you can fry them halfway, and then when ready to serve heat the oil and fry them again.
- By double frying them you can also guarantee that zalabia will be crunchy from the outside and soft from the inside.
- I cover the dough with a blanket to keep it warm while rising.
- Keep in mind that the balls will puff up and become slightly larger once placed in the hot oil.
- To test if the oil is hot and ready for frying, you can drop a small amount of the dough in the frying pan, if it fizzes means the oil is ready.
- If the yeast doesn't create a foam or bubble it means it has gone bad and can't be used.
- Turn the heat to medium-low until you fill up the frying pan with one batch to ensure all balls are evenly fried.
- You can use a squeeze bottle instead of a plastic bag.
FAQ
It's because for either one of those reasons:
1. Yeast is old and didn't activate the dough.
2. The dough didn't rest enough.
3. Sugar syrup is warm.
4. The oil wasn't hot enough while frying.
Zalabia dough should be stretchy, soft, and elastic. If the dough is dry then you need to add more water, gradually add 1-2 tablespoons and mix with a spoon.
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Zalabia Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 1 hour resting:
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 45-55 pieces 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: Palestinian/Middle Eastern
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Zalabia recipe, also known as awameh, is a popular sweet treat, similar to donuts. The dough is made from a few simple ingredients, fried, then dunked in sugar syrup. Crunchy from the outside and soft from the inside, delicious and addictive.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons yeast
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 + ¼ lukewarm water (divided)
- Oil for frying, I prefer avocado oil
Instructions
- Prepare sugar syrup ahead of time so it'll be completely cooled off before dipping zalabia.
Making Dough
- In a small bowl mix instant yeast and sugar with ¼ cup of lukewarm water.
- Combine well together and let it sit for 5 minutes or until it creates a foam or bubbles on top which is an indication the yeast is activated.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and cornstarch.
- Gradually add lukewarm water over the flour mixture and with a spoon mix the dough well together.
- Keep mixing until you have a smooth dough. Keep in mind the dough should be soft and stretchy.
- Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let the dough rest in a warm area for one hour.
- The dough should double in size after resting for an hour.
Frying
- Place a decoration bag or a zip bag inside a cup, using a tablespoon fill up the bag with dough.
- The dough is enough to fill up 2 decoration bags.
- Tie the bag from the top and cut the bottom (about 1 inch).
- In a frying pan, heat oil
- Hold the bag filled with dough in one hand and carefully squeeze out a small portions of the batter into the hot oil, forming a ball.
- Use a scissor to cut out the ball-shaped dough coming out of the bag into the frying oil.
- To prevent scissor in sticking to the dough, dip it in oil every few times.
- Fry zalabia in batches, until they are golden brown about 2-3 minutes per batch.
- With a frying spoon stir the balls so all sides are fried.
- With a slotted spoon remove zalabia balls from the oil and place them on a paper towel.
- While zalabia balls are still warm, dunk them in the prepared sugar syrup, ensuring they are well coated.
- Let zalabia soak in sugar syrup for a few minutes to absorb the sweetness. Then transfer onto a serving plate.
Notes
- To prevent zalabia from turning soggy, ensure it's dunked in cold syrup (or room temperature) right after frying.
- Don’t overcrowd the dough while frying, fry them in batches.
- If you need to serve them hot, you can fry them halfway, and then when ready to serve heat the oil and fry them again.
- By double frying them you can also guarantee that zalabia will be crunchy from the outside and soft from the inside.
- I cover the dough with a blanket to keep it warm while rising.
- Keep in mind that the balls will puff up and become slightly larger once placed in the hot oil.
- To test if the oil is hot and ready for frying, you can drop a small amount of the dough in the frying pan, if it fizzes means the oil is ready.
- If the yeast doesn't create a foam or bubble it means it has gone bad and can't be used.
- Turn the heat to medium-low until you fill up the frying pan with one batch to ensure all balls are evenly fried.
- You can use a squeeze bottle instead of the bag.
Samer says
Thank you for such detailed recipe, I'm definitely going to try it.
Wafa Shami says
You are welcome, Enjoy!