🍩 Zalabia
Zalabia is a fried sweet of yeasted batter piped into hot oil in loops or ribbons, then soaked in sugar syrup scented with saffron and cardamom. The pieces are crunchy outside, slightly chewy inside and dripping with syrup. It is sold by street vendors and sweet shops, especially during Ramadan evenings.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 250 g flour
- 5 g instant yeast
- 300 ml warm water
- Pinch of salt
- 300 g sugar and 200 ml water for syrup
- Pinch of saffron
- 3 cardamom pods, crushed
- Oil for frying
Method
- Whisk flour, yeast, salt and warm water into a smooth, pourable batter; rest for 1 hour until bubbly.
- Simmer the sugar, water, saffron and cardamom for 8 minutes into a light syrup; keep warm.
- Heat the oil to 175 °C and pipe the batter into loops or spirals.
- Fry until golden and crisp on both sides, then drain.
- Dip the hot pieces in the syrup for a minute and lift onto a rack.
How to make it lighter
- Zalabia is fried and syrup-soaked, so have two or three pieces rather than a plate.
- Drain well and dip only briefly in a lighter syrup to cut the sugar absorbed.
- Pair it with unsweetened tea or coffee instead of a sweet drink.
History
Fried dough soaked in syrup appears in medieval Arabic cookbooks, and related sweets such as jalebi spread from the Middle East to South Asia. Today zalabia is eaten across North Africa and the Middle East, with regional shapes and names.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →