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Balah el sham
Fried choux fingers in syrup
Balah el sham: ridged fingers of choux pastry fried crisp and soaked in syrup, a Ramadan favourite
EgyptianRamadan in Cairo means trays of balah el sham glistening in sweet-shop windows, and plenty of families fry their own to serve after iftar alongside konafa and qatayef. Choux dough is piped through a star nozzle into finger lengths, fried until crisp and deep gold, then dropped into cool syrup, so the outside crackles and the inside stays hollow and custardy. It contains eggs. The mistake almost everyone makes once is frying in oil that is too hot: the outside browns in seconds while the inside stays raw and the fingers collapse. Start them in moderately hot oil and let them puff slowly. Chef's tip: beat the eggs in one at a time and stop when the dough falls from the spoon in a thick V; too much egg and the fingers flatten.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the syrup
- 10 ½ oz sugar
- ¾ cup water
- 1 tsp lemon juice
For the dough
- 1 cup water
- 2 ⅛ oz butter
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 5 ½ oz plain flour
- 3 eggslarge, beaten
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 4 ¼ cups sunflower oilfor deep-frying
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Make the syrup: boil 10 ½ oz sugar and ¾ cup water, stirring until dissolved, then simmer until slightly thickened. Add 1 tsp lemon juice and cool completely.
10 minStep 3: Tip in 5 ½ oz plain flour all at once and beat hard with a wooden spoon over a low heat until the dough forms a smooth ball and leaves a thin film on the pan.
2 minStep 4: Transfer to a bowl and cool for 5 minutes. Beat in 3 eggs a little at a time with ½ tsp vanilla extract until the dough is glossy and drops from the spoon in a thick V. You may not need all the egg.
5 minStep 5: Spoon into a piping bag with a large open star nozzle (about 1.5 cm).
Step 6: Heat 4 ¼ cups sunflower oil in a deep pan to 325°F. Pipe 6 cm lengths straight into the oil, snipping them off with oiled scissors, 8–10 at a time.
8 minStep 7: Fry, turning, until puffed, crisp and deep golden all over. Raise the heat slightly near the end if needed, but don't rush them.
7 minStep 8: Drain for a few seconds, then drop the hot fingers into the cool syrup, turn to coat and lift out after 1 minute. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
15 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does balah el sham take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of lemon juice?
- Lime juice, same amount.
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