Lokma

A wet yeasted batter squeezed out between thumb and forefinger, so each one tears off round.

Vegan.

Ingredients

the batter

• 400 g plain flour
• 350 ml warm water
• 7 g fast-action dried yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

the syrup

• 600 g caster sugar, for the syrup -- the lokma are lifted out of it and the surplus is not eaten
• 500 ml water
• juice of ½ lemon

to fry

• 1 litre sunflower oil

Method

1. A WET YEASTED BATTER IS SQUEEZED OUT BETWEEN THUMB AND FOREFINGER, so each one tears off round. The batter is far too loose to roll -- it is a thick pouring batter, not a dough. A handful is taken up in the fist and squeezed so a ball of it is forced up through the circle made by thumb and forefinger, and that ball is scooped off with a wet spoon into the oil. The squeezing is what makes it round: the batter necks and tears cleanly. Attempts to shape this batter with two spoons give lumpy irregular pieces that fry unevenly.
2. IT IS YEASTED AND NOT A CHOUX, AND IT IS NOT A SMOOTH BALL. Risen an hour and a half until bubbly and slack. What results is a bread-like, chewy inside rather than the hollow shell of a piped choux pastry, and a knobbled irregular surface rather than ridges. Two quite different fried sweets and the difference is entirely in the batter.
3. THE HAND AND SPOON ARE KEPT WET THROUGHOUT. A bowl of cold water beside the pan, and the hand and spoon dipped before every piece. The batter sticks to anything dry and the ball will not release.
4. THE OIL IS AT 170°C AND THEY ARE FRIED UNTIL DEEP BROWN. Not golden -- a proper dark brown, six or seven minutes, turning. The inside is a wet batter and needs the time; and a pale lokma goes soggy under the syrup within minutes.
5. THEY ARE MOVED CONSTANTLY AS THEY FRY. Pushed around with a slotted spoon so they turn and brown evenly. Left still, they float with one face up and that face stays pale.
6. HOT LOKMA INTO COLD SYRUP, FOR SECONDS ONLY. Straight from the oil into the cold syrup, in and out within about a minute, then onto a rack. They take up what they need fast and go sodden if left.
7. The syrup ingredients boiled 12 MINUTES and LEFT TO COOL COMPLETELY.
8. The flour, yeast, sugar and salt whisked with the warm water to a THICK POURING BATTER -- far too loose to roll.
9. Covered and risen 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES, until bubbly and slack.
10. The oil heated to 170°C. A bowl of cold water set alongside.
11. A handful of batter taken up in the fist and SQUEEZED so a ball forces up through the circle of THUMB AND FOREFINGER.
12. Scooped off with a WET SPOON into the oil. The hand and spoon RE-WETTED for every piece.
13. Fried 6 to 7 MINUTES, MOVED CONSTANTLY with a slotted spoon, until DEEP BROWN.
14. Lifted straight into the COLD syrup for under 1 MINUTE, then onto a rack and the surplus syrup POURED OFF.
15. TESTED: deep brown outside, chewy and bread-like inside. Pale ones will be soggy within minutes.
16. Eaten warm, the same day.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Turkey · All recipes