Crispy Lebanese Awameh
Awameh stays crisp outside and cloud-soft inside through double frying: a first fry in medium oil until cooked and pale, then a fast second fry in hotter oil just before serving. And the syrup must be cold with the awameh hot.
- Prep
- 70 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 95 min
- Calories
- 210
Photo: Benreis — CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Awameh, or luqmat al-qadi, is a simple Lebanese sweet sold on the street, and its secret is crispness that survives the syrup. Double frying is what creates it.
Method
-
1
Cold syrup first
Boil the sugar and water for 8 minutes, add the lemon juice, then take it off and let it cool completely. Cold syrup on hot awameh is the secret to the crunch.
⏱ 12 min -
2
A loose batter
Mix the flour, cornflour, yeast, sugar and salt, then add the yogurt and warm water. The batter must be loose, like pancake batter, not stiff.
⏱ 8 min -
3
Prove
Cover and leave somewhere warm for an hour until risen with bubbles on the surface. The cornflour gives crispness and the yeast gives the cloud-soft inside.
⏱ 60 min -
4
First fry
Heat the oil to medium, 160°C, and drop in small balls using two spoons dipped in water. Fry until cooked through and pale, without browning.
⏱ 12 min -
5
Rest
Lift them onto kitchen paper and leave for 10 minutes. This rest lets the internal steam escape so the crust dries and is ready to crisp.
⏱ 11 min -
6
Second fry
Raise the oil to 190°C and return the awameh for just one minute until golden brown. This is the fry that creates the crisp shell.
⏱ 8 min -
7
Syrup
Dip in the cold syrup for just 20 seconds and lift onto a rack. A long dip saturates them and kills the crunch.
⏱ 5 min
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Tips that actually matter
- Double frying is not a luxury — it is the only way to get crispness that survives the syrup.
- A batter loose like pancake batter — a stiff one gives heavy balls.
- Two spoons dipped in water stop the sticking and give a round shape.
- Hot into cold: hot awameh, cold syrup. The reverse gives a soggy sweet.
People also ask
Why does my awameh soften so fast?
Either you fried it once, or the syrup was warm, or you dipped too long. Double frying, cold syrup and a 20-second dip together give crispness that lasts hours.
Why is the inside solid?
The batter was too stiff, or it did not prove long enough. It must be loose like pancake batter and sit for a full hour until bubbles show on the surface.
What does the cornflour do?
Cornflour has no gluten, so it reduces the chewiness of the batter and gives a crisper, lighter shell than flour alone. Without it, awameh comes out closer to a doughnut.
Cook mode
Crispy Lebanese Awameh
-
1
Cold syrup first
Boil the sugar and water for 8 minutes, add the lemon juice, then take it off and let it cool completely. Cold syrup on hot awameh is the secret to the crunch.
-
2
A loose batter
Mix the flour, cornflour, yeast, sugar and salt, then add the yogurt and warm water. The batter must be loose, like pancake batter, not stiff.
-
3
Prove
Cover and leave somewhere warm for an hour until risen with bubbles on the surface. The cornflour gives crispness and the yeast gives the cloud-soft inside.
-
4
First fry
Heat the oil to medium, 160°C, and drop in small balls using two spoons dipped in water. Fry until cooked through and pale, without browning.
-
5
Rest
Lift them onto kitchen paper and leave for 10 minutes. This rest lets the internal steam escape so the crust dries and is ready to crisp.
-
6
Second fry
Raise the oil to 190°C and return the awameh for just one minute until golden brown. This is the fry that creates the crisp shell.
-
7
Syrup
Dip in the cold syrup for just 20 seconds and lift onto a rack. A long dip saturates them and kills the crunch.
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