Tulumba Tatlisi (Fried Pastry with Syrup)

In Turkey, it is a tradition to cook desserts for visitors especially during gatherings, holy days, or religious festivals (eids). Especially the Ramadan Eid, which will start in a couple of days, is associated with sugar and dessert.

I believe baklava is one of the most famous desserts amongst them. In the past, many women used to cook baklava several days before the Ramadan Eid, and add its syrup shortly before the first day of the Eid.

Since people are busier now than before, they prefer to buy baklava from the stores. Only very small amount of people bake it from scratch. And there are people like me, who use ready-to-use phyllo dough.

Although not as common as baklava, tulumba dessert (fried pastry with syrup) is also served during gatherings and festivals. The reason why I chose to mention this not-so-common dessert is simple: it is my favorite!

Tulumba dessert is actually just another dessert with syrup. It is usually crunchy on the crust - depending on the size - and moist on the inside. Like the funnel cake, it is cooked in hot oil with the help of a funnel or piping bag.

Tulumba is widely available in Turkey. Almost all highly specialized dessert stores sell and serve it. Outside of Turkey, however, it would be very hard to find.

Being abroad for about a year now has forced me to bake my own, and below is all the information you need to bake your own.

Please take caution while you are at it, since the oil may reach really high temperatures!

Ingredients:

2.5 cups of flour
3 cups of water
1 tbsp fine semolina
1 tbsp rice flour
1 tbsp corn strach
5 eggs
1.5 tbsp butter
1 pinch of salt

syrup:
2.5 cups sugar
2 cups water
0.5 tsp lemmon juice

olive oil for frying

1. For the syrup, mix sugar and water, and bring the mixture to a boil. When it starts boiling remove the froth, and add lemmon juice. Put the syrup aside for cooling.

2. Put water, butter and salt in a heavy bottomed sauce pan, and bring the mixture to a boil.

3. In a bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the boiling water, and stir fast for 5 minutes with a wooden spoon.

5. Take it from the heat and let the mixture cool down to a warm temperature.

6. Add eggs one by one and mix them throughly by kneading.

7. Fill the mixture into a funnel, or a piping bag. (The openings should be at least 3/4 inch wide)

8. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed fryer.

9. Pipe the dough over the heated oil, and cut it with a kitchen scissors as desired lenght.

10. Fry the dough until golden brown, take the pieces from the fryer, and remove the excess oil using a paper towel.

11. Keep the pastry in the cold syrup until it soak the syrup.

12. Take the pastry from the syrup and put it to a serving dish.

Afiyet olsun.