Luqaimat – Crispy Middle Eastern Sweet Dumplings
Luqaimat are small,crispy fried dough balls that are soft and fluffy on the inside. They are soaked or drizzled with sweet syrup and often topped with sesame seeds or datesyrup.
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 cup 125g flour
- 1 tbsp cornstarch cornflour
- 1 tbsp milk powder
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tsp instant yeast
- A pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- ¾ cup 155ml lukewarm water
For the syrup
- 1 cup 200g sugar
- 2 cups 200ml water
- Cardamom or ½ teaspoon rose water or orange blossom water optional
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp honey
For frying & topping:
- Oil for deep frying
- Sesame seeds optional
- Date syrup or honey optional
Instructions
For the sugar syrup:
- In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water and lemon juice. Set on a stovetop over medium high heat. Stir just to combine then let it be.1 cup 200g sugar, 2 cups 200ml water, 1 tsp lemon juice
- If sugar isn’t dissolving you can stir a couple times but as soon as it starts to boil stop stirring.
- Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5–7 minutes until slightly thick.
- Once off the heat, stir in the honey, rose water or orange blossom water, and transfer to a bowl to cool.Cardamom or ½ teaspoon rose water or orange blossom water, 2 tbsp honey
- Syrup should be warm or room temperature when using.
For the luqaimat dough:
- Add the flour, cornstarch, sugar, milk powder, vanilla extract, instant yeast, and salt to a large bowl.1 cup 125g flour, 1 tbsp cornstarch, 1 tbsp milk powder, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 1/2 tsp instant yeast, A pinch of salt
- Slowly add in the lukewarm water (starting with 1/2 cup) until the mixture looks like cake batter, or a thick pancake batter. You may need to add up to 3/4 cup of water.¾ cup 155ml lukewarm water
- Add the vegetable oil and continue kneading for 5-10 minutes. The batter should be sticky and not dough like.1 tbsp vegetable oil
- Cover the bowl and let it rise for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- After the resting time is over, stir the risen batter gently.
- Heat oil in a frying pan over medium high heat to 170–180°C.Oil for deep frying
- Test the temperature by adding a drop of batter. If it floats too quickly, oil is too hot, if it takes a long time to start sizzling it needs to heat more.
- Place the batter into a large ziploc bag, and snip off the corner of the bag (a makeshift piping bag).
- Squeeze the bag gently and use kitchen scissors you dipped in oil (to prevent the batter sticking) to snip little teaspoon sized dollops of batter carefully into the oil (watch the video to see how to do this!)
- Alternatively, to shape, lightly oil your hand. Scoop some batter into your palm.
- Squeeze it through your thumb and index finger to form a small ball. Use a spoon to drop it into the hot oil. (or use two oiled spoons.)
- Fry for a few minutes, moving the batter around in the hot oil with a slotted spoon to evenly cooked all the sides.
- Once golden brown, move to a paper towel lined plate to drain for a few seconds. Keep cooking the remaining batter in batches without overcrowding the oil.
- While still warm, drizzle the sugar syrup generously over the luqaimat or allow them to soak in the syrup for a few minutes (or place them in a bowl with the sugar syrup). Enjoy warm! Or room temp, still delicious.
- Note: You have two options:
Option 1 (Traditional):
- Dip the hot luqaimat directly into the cooled syrup for a few seconds, then remove.
Option 2 (Lighter Coating):
- Drizzle syrup, honey, or date syrup over them instead.Date syrup or honey
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional).Sesame seeds
- Serve warm for best taste and texture.
- Enjoy your crispy, golden, syrupy luqaimat!
Notes
Batter should be sticky, not dough-like — don’t add too much flour.
Oil temperature is key — too hot = dark outside, raw inside; too cool = oily dumplings.
Syrup must be cool and luqaimat warm for the best absorption.