Mekici

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 gplain flour
• 250 mlwarm water
• 150 mlplain yoghurt
• 7 ginstant yeast
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspsugar
• 2 tbspoil

To fry

• oil, for deep frying

To serve

• white brined cheese, sirenje, crumbled
• thick yoghurt
• jam
• icing sugar
• honey

Directions

1. Mix the flour, yeast, salt and sugar, then work in the warm water, yoghurt and oil. Knead 8 minutes to a soft, slightly sticky dough. Keep it soft and a little sticky. A stiff dough gives heavy, bready mekici that soak up oil.
2. Oil the bowl, cover it, and prove in a warm place for an hour until doubled. Knock the dough back gently and divide it into pieces about the size of a small egg.
3. Rest the pieces 10 minutes under a cloth before shaping them. Now oil your hands and stretch each piece into a rough round, pulling it thin in the middle and leaving the rim thicker.
4. Heat the oil to 175°C (345°F) in a deep pan. Lower a round into the oil and spoon hot oil over the top surface for the first few seconds.
5. Fry about 1 minute a side, until golden and puffed. Keep the oil at a steady temperature. Too cool and they drink oil; too hot and they colour before the middle sets.
6. Fry only two or three at a time so the oil does not drop in temperature. Drain on a rack rather than paper, which keeps them from going soft underneath.
7. Serve them hot, torn open, with crumbled white cheese and yoghurt, or with jam and icing sugar.

Technique

• They must be eaten within the hour, because they go tough and greasy as they cool.
• Some recipes use only yoghurt and no water, giving a richer dough.
• The dough can be proved in the fridge overnight for a morning fry.

Substitutions

• Any plain yoghurt, or soured milk.
• Feta in place of sirenje, which is close enough.

Variations

• With a piece of cheese folded inside before frying.
• Made without yeast, using baking powder, which is quicker and denser.
• Priganice, the smaller Montenegrin and Serbian version.

History

Fried dough eaten for breakfast with white cheese and yoghurt, shared across the southern Balkans.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mekici?

Mekici is a breakfast from North Macedonia: fried dough rounds with cheese or jam. Fried dough eaten for breakfast with white cheese and yoghurt, shared across the southern Balkans.

How long does Mekici take to make?

Mekici takes 20 min plus 1 hr rising of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 16. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Mekici?

Yes, within limits. Any plain yoghurt, or soured milk. Feta in place of sirenje, which is close enough.

What is the most important thing to get right in Mekici?

Fry only two or three at a time so the oil does not drop in temperature. Drain on a rack rather than paper, which keeps them from going soft underneath.