Lokma
İzmir's crisp yeast fritters soaked in lemon syrup
In İzmir and along the Aegean coast, lokma is the sweet of shared moments: families hire a lokma master with a big cauldron to fry hundreds of these golden balls on the street after a funeral or to mark an anniversary, handing them out to anyone passing by, and stalls sell them by the paper cup all year. Each fritter is a little ball of yeasted batter, crisp outside, hollow and soft within, soaked briefly in lemon syrup so it crunches before it melts. This home version needs no eggs or butter, and kids love squeezing out the balls. Eat them warm, on their own or with a sprinkle of cinnamon or crushed pistachios. Chef's tip: dip your spoon or fingers in a cup of water before each ball; the batter then slides off cleanly into round shapes instead of stringy tails.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the syrup
- 10 ½ oz sugar
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
For the batter
- 1 ½ cups lukewarm water
- ¼ oz instant dried yeast1 sachet
- 1 tsp sugar
- 10 ½ oz plain flour
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 4 ¼ cups sunflower oilfor deep-frying
To serve
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
- 2 tbsp pistachios (optional)crushed
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Make the syrup: bring 10 ½ oz sugar and 1 ¼ cups water to the boil over a medium heat, stirring until dissolved, and boil for 8 minutes. Stir in 1 tbsp lemon juice and leave to cool to room temperature.
10 minStep 2: In a large bowl whisk 1 ½ cups lukewarm water, ¼ oz instant dried yeast and 1 tsp sugar. Add 10 ½ oz plain flour, 1 tbsp cornflour and ¼ tsp salt and beat with a wooden spoon or your hand for 3–4 minutes into a smooth, sticky batter, thicker than pancake batter but too soft to knead.
4 minStep 3: Cover and leave in a warm spot for about 45 minutes, until doubled, bubbly and wobbly when you shake the bowl. The batter will be stretchy; that is what you want.
Step 4: Heat 4 ¼ cups sunflower oil in a deep pan to 350°F over a medium heat; a drop of batter should rise straight back up with steady bubbles. If the oil is too hot the outsides brown before the middles cook, leaving raw, doughy centres: the commonest lokma mistake.
5 minStep 5: Grab a handful of batter and squeeze it up between thumb and forefinger so a walnut-sized ball pops out, then scrape it off with a wet teaspoon into the oil. Fry 8–10 at a time, turning them, for 3–4 minutes, until deep golden all over and they sound hollow when tapped with the spoon.
20 minStep 6: Lift them out with a slotted spoon, let excess oil drip off for a few seconds, then drop them straight into the cool syrup. Turn for 30–60 seconds and lift onto a plate; don't leave them soaking or they turn soggy.
5 minStep 7: Serve warm, dusted with ½ tsp ground cinnamon or 2 tbsp pistachios if you like. They're best within a couple of hours.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 82 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does lokma take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- 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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