Making Zoolbia

[rbm]

Having just celebrated the Persian New Year with my wife and her family, we had to have the traditional pastries, including Zoolbia and Baamieh. I love these pastries and want to try to make my own. I've found the recipe online for the basic dough along with a description of how to form Baamieh. But nowhere can I find the technique for creating Zoolbia even though they are nearly the same.

Can anyone help me to understand how to make Zoolbia? Is the dough piped through a piping bag using a very large tip? Or is it formed another way, maybe pressed into special forms?

Edited March 21, 2009 by rbm (log)

[melamed]

Having just celebrated the Persian New Year with my wife and her family, we had to have the traditional pastries, including Zoolbia and Baamieh.  I love these pastries and want to try to make my own.  I've found the recipe online for the basic dough along with a description of how to form Baamieh.  But nowhere can I find the technique for creating Zoolbia even though they are nearly the same.

Can anyone help me to understand how to make Zoolbia?  Is the dough piped through a piping bag using a very large tip?  Or is it formed another way, maybe pressed into special forms?

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Do you mean the spiral fried dough pastries? (also called shabkia in Iraq)

I never made it but the recipe I have looks pretty easy, the batter is put in

a squeeze bottle (or piping bag) and the shape is sqeezed out into hot shallow oil. Once it becomes golden brown it is dipped in sugar/honey syrup. The dough is 1:1 dough to water with a bit of yeast, sugar and salt added.

hope this helps

[ChefCrash]

If this is what you are referring to:

M'shabbak

Make a thin batter of flour, water and yeast. Thin enough to flow through a funnel with a 1/4" opening. Hold the funnel over the hot oil and ladle a few ounces of batter into it. Move the funnel in a circular (spiral) motion, forming~4" disks.

After frying, drizzle with cooled simple syrup to which a little pickling lime has been added. The lime keeps the fried dough crisp.

[melamed]

If this is what you are referring to:

M'shabbak

Make a thin batter of flour, water and yeast. Thin enough to flow through a funnel with a 1/4" opening. Hold the funnel over the hot oil and ladle a few ounces of batter into it. Move the funnel in a circular (spiral) motion, forming~4" disks.

After frying, drizzle with cooled simple syrup to which a little pickling lime has been added. The lime keeps the fried dough crisp.

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Chefcrash, Interesting, I have never used pickling lime for anything, how does it work and how much is a little?

[rbm]

If this is what you are referring to:

M'shabbak

←

Thanks for replying. What you have pictured there is Baamieh (what Melamed also refered to as Shabkia in Iraqi).

Zoolbia looks like this:

Actually this photo shows both delicacies but Zoolbia are the short, fat, oblong cylinders. It is the technique for making these that I am searching for. I understand making Baamieh because it is similar to other funnel cakes.

[melamed]

If this is what you are referring to:

M'shabbak

←

Thanks for replying. What you have pictured there is Baamieh (what Melamed also refered to as Shabkia in Iraqi).

Zoolbia looks like this:

Actually this photo shows both delicacies but Zoolbia are the short, fat, oblong cylinders. It is the technique for making these that I am searching for. I understand making Baamieh because it is similar to other funnel cakes.

←

aha! thanks for clarifying.

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

vegetable oil for deep frying

hot sugar syrup

The instructions just say to mix everything together and fry,

not very specific.

It looks like the zoolbia were made using a piping bag.

An easy technique for making the balls is to tie a string

above the hot oil (from one handle to another) so that it

is taut. When you are piping the batter into the hot oil use

the string to "cut" the segments into the size you want. that

way you don't have to use a spoon for each fritter. I think this is

a spanish technique but I am not sure.

[nolafoodie]

Oh, that looks like what (at least some) Arabs call "'awameh" (and Greeks call "loukoumades."

Frankly, I've never made it, because it's just not something for which I'd go out of my way (fried dough balls soaked in syrup -- at least fill them with cheese or nuts and call them qatayef, right?). However, my mother makes them, often during Ramadan. And I happen to know her recipe definitely uses yeast.

I had a little trouble finding a 'awameh recipe online, but here's a loukoumades recipe from About.com. Note that the Greek and Arabic versions of syrup differ -- Greeks tend to use honey and Arabs don't. If you have a favorite recipe for syrup, then use that instead.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Loukoumades, a Greek pastry, is their version of a doughnut.

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 05 minutes

Ingredients:

* 1 tablespoon yeast

* 1 cup lukewarm water (for yeast)

* 5-1/2 cups flour

* 1 teaspoon salt

* warm water

* 2 cups sugar

* 1 cup honey

* 1 cup water

* cinnamon

* oil for frying

Preparation:

Dissolve yeast in water and let set for 10 to 15 minutes. Sift flour and salt together. Make a hole in flour and pour in yeast mixture. Mix gently while continuously adding warm water until a soft, sticky dough is formed. Cover dough with clean, damp dishtowel. Let dough double in size.

Bring sugar, honey and water to a boil. Boil for 6 minutes. Remove from high heat, but keep warm.

Heat oil in deep fryer. Use a tablespoon to drop batter into hot oil. When batter floats and is golden and puffy, remove to drain on paper towel.

Pour syrup over hot doughnuts and sprinkle with cinnamon.