Although Owwamat or Lebanese Doughnuts are available all year round, it is traditional for the Christians in Lebanon to eat them on 6 January to commemorate Jesus’ baptism, the Feast of Epiphany. As a child, I used to compare Owwamat to ping-pong balls because their rounded shape looked so perfect, it is not easy to achieve that at home, however the home-made ones are much tastier than the ones sold in shops.
There are also other fritters served on this occasion such as M’shabbak where confectioners pride themselves in displaying these colourful laced discs, Ma’croon and Zellabiya, the latter is rarely found in patisseries, it is usually homemade more specifically by countrywomen. These fritters are best served hot and fresh, they won’t keep well for long.
Makes about 16 doughnuts
Ingredients
- 150 g / 5 oz plain flour
- ¼ tsp yeast
- A generous pinch of salt
- 65 ml / 2 ½ fl oz plain yoghurt
- About 150 ml / 5 fl oz tepid water
- 1 quantity of Sugar Syrup/ Ater (See recipe)
- Enough vegetable oil to deep fry
Method
- Sift the flour into a Pyrex or non-metallic bowl, stir in yeast and salt, then mix in the yoghurt. Mix well all the ingredients adding gradually the tepid water, to achieve a smooth batter that has a dropping consistency. Cover and set aside in a warmish place for roughly one hour after which the batter should rise a little with some bubbling on the surface. Meanwhile, prepare the sugar syrup.
- When the batter is ready, heat up the oil until it is hot, (you can test it by dropping a tiny amount of batter, if it floats and the oil is bubbling, it means it is the right temperature). Lightly grease a dessert spoon with oil and take a spoonful of batter then drop it into the hot oil, do as many as you can fit easily in the deep fryer. Fry the doughnuts, turning them until they look fluffy and reach a golden colour on all sides, this should take about 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent kitchen papers, before dipping them into the syrup, swirl the doughnuts around for a minute or so then transfer into a serving dish, do likewise with the remaining batches. This is how it is usually done, however, I prefer not to dip the doughnuts into the syrup, I like them fluffy with a bit of crispiness, I simply let people add the amount of syrup they like.
- Serve while they are warm.
NB: Home-made doughnuts do not keep well for the next day.