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Awameh on a plate

Zalabia Recipe

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  • Author: Wafa Shami
  • 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

Scale
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 4 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons yeast
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 1 + 1/4 lukewarm water (divided)
  • Oil for frying, I prefer avocado oil

Instructions

  1. Prepare sugar syrup ahead of time so it'll be completely cooled off before dipping zalabia.

Making Dough

  1. In a small bowl mix instant yeast and sugar with ¼ cup of lukewarm water.
  2. 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.
  3. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and cornstarch.
  4. Gradually add lukewarm water over the flour mixture and with a spoon mix the dough well together.
  5. Keep mixing until you have a smooth dough. Keep in mind the dough should be soft and stretchy.
  6. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let the dough rest in a warm area for one hour.
  7. The dough should double in size after resting for an hour.

Frying

  1. Place a decoration bag or a zip bag inside a cup, using a tablespoon fill up the bag with dough.
  2. The dough is enough to fill up 2 decoration bags.
  3. Tie the bag from the top and cut the bottom (about 1 inch).
  4. In a frying pan, heat oil
  5. 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.
  6. Use a scissor to cut out the ball-shaped dough coming out of the bag into the frying oil.
  7. To prevent scissor in sticking to the dough, dip it in oil every few times.
  8. Fry zalabia in batches, until they are golden brown about 2-3 minutes per batch.
  9. With a frying spoon stir the balls so all sides are fried.
  10. With a slotted spoon remove zalabia balls from the oil and place them on a paper towel.
  11. While zalabia balls are still warm, dunk them in the prepared sugar syrup, ensuring they are well coated.
  12. 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.