Luqaimat — meaning “small bites” in Arabic — is a big favorite among Muslims, especially Saudis, when it comes to traditional Ramadan desserts.
This dumpling dish, which consists of fried dough balls sweetened with honey or date syrup and sometimes garnished with sesame or black seeds, is thought to have been developed in Baghdad, where it was originally known as “judge’s bite” because legal adjudicators received the treat as their first payment.
Other theories suggest the sweet treat came from Greece, arriving in Egypt via Greek bakeries in Alexandria before spreading to neighboring countries and the entire Gulf region.
Luqaimat is mostly made at home and eaten after iftar and the taraweeh prayer. People now sweeten the fried dough balls with sugar or maple syrup, or melted chocolate. Lotus, vanilla or pistachio sauce, or any type of jam are also popular sweeteners.
This sweet and simple dish has a simple recipe as well, with readily available ingredients. All you need is 225 grams of all-purpose flour, 15 grams of dry yeast, one cup of milk, chopped pistachios, and one cup of honey in a bowl as the main sweetener.
Mix the flour and dry yeast in a bowl before adding the milk, and knead the dough until firm. Leave it to prove for one hour.
After the dough doubles in size, place in a piping bag, and squeeze out the ball into the hot oil for frying.
Stir and let the dough fry until it turns a golden color. Remove the luqaimat, add to the honey, mix, then place on the plate.
Garnish with chopped pistachio or another topping of your choice.
