# 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.

**Lebanese Cuisine · 95 min · 8 servings · 210 kcal per serving**

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.

## Ingredients

- 2 cups — flour
- 0.5 cup — cornflour
- 1 cup — yogurt
- 0.75 cup — warm water
- 1 tbsp — instant yeast
- 1 tbsp — sugar
- 1 pinch — salt
- 2 cups — sugar
- 1 cup — water
- 1 tbsp — lemon juice
- oil for frying

## 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.
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.

## Tips

- 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.

## FAQ

### 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.

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Source: https://hanakoleah.com/en/lebanese-cuisine/crispy-lebanese-awameh
Edited by: Marwa Mohamed
Last updated: 2026-10-29