I should begin this entry with Salam 1Malaysia greetings!
Considering the delicacy I chose for iftar today, Jalebi, was a traditional Indian sweets. While many will recognise it as Indian sweets most famous served during Diwali festival or weddings, history shows that Jalebi shares similar characteristics with Zalabia found in Middle Eastern countries such as Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and even as far as East African countries i.e Zanzibar. In Middle Eastern countries Jalebi/Zalabia is more famous made during the holy month of Ramadan.
So, while it maybe odd to see Jalebi/Zalabia served as sweets for iftar, it is not in other continents. And knowing me, I don't always stick to tradition. I adopt other (food) tradition as well. It is the beauty of being Malaysian. And I have Arabic blood too. So, it is not odd at all (*_^)
It is not the first time I made Jalebi. It was my 3rd time. My first attempt was captured in this blog i think 2 years back? It was unsuccessful one but that never stops me from finding the perfect recipe. My 2nd attempt was 2 weeks ago. This time around I took time watching several videos on youtube to see how it was made (shaped). I want to get that nice spiral shape but during my 1st attempt it was impossible because the batter was a bit too runny.
The 2nd time, after watching several videos I decided to make a new batter differ from my 1st attempt. The 1st time around I used intant yeast to make instant batter. This time around I opt for the no-yeast batter. Ingredients wise, hardly any investment involved. Just 1 cup of plain flour, 1 cup curd or yogurt and a couple of tablespoon of water. Mix together and leave overnight. The 2nd time I unintentionally left it for more than 2 days. :-P. But it turns out marvelous! It was crispy and light after frying. And remain crispy with slight chewy texture after soaking in sugar syrup. Purrrr fect!
This time around, I'm not too happy with the outcome. It was not as crispy as before. Probably because I leave it for an overnight ... I should have leave it for 2-3 nights! I also use a different kind of yogurt. Last time it was greek yogurt. I couldn't find greek yogurt while shopping yesterday. So I use normal plain yogurt. Now I know better.
For the colouring, I soaked a pinch of saffron strands into warm water. And mix into the batter. The colour turns deep saffron yellow the longer you leave the batter the better it gets (*_^). With 1 cup flour I get 9-10 small tea-cup sized spirals. Which I gooble up all by myself.
Heaven!
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