Petulla me mjalte

Ingredients

The dough

• 500 gplain flour
• 350 mlwarm water
• or warm milk
• 7 gdried yeast
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 1 tablespoonsugar

The quick version

• 500 gself-raising flour
• 300 mlyoghurt
• 1egg
• 1 teaspoonsalt

To fry

• oil, for deep frying
• a deep heavy pot

To serve

• honey, to pour
• fresh white cheese
• crumbled
• or jam

Directions

1. Salt cuts through sweetness sharply. Yeast takes an hour or more to rise. Cool oil soaks into the dough. Hot oil seals the outside immediately. Warm the water or milk gently. Stir the yeast and sugar into it.
2. Let it stand there for ten minutes. The yeast should foam up visibly. Discard it and start again if it does not. Put the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the yeast liquid to the flour. Bring it together into a soft batter. It should be a thick sticky batter. Beat the batter well with a spoon. That helps it hold in the steam.
3. Cover the bowl and leave it somewhere warm. Give it about one whole hour there. Mix the self-raising flour and salt. Add the yoghurt and the whole egg. Beat it into a thick loose batter.
4. Let it rest ten minutes if you can. Heating the oil takes attention. Pour the oil into a deep heavy pot. Fill it no more than half full. Heat it to about one hundred and eighty degrees. A deep pot of hot oil is genuinely dangerous. Keep a lid nearby to smother a flare-up. Never put water on an oil fire at all.
5. Keep children well away from the pot. Drop a small piece of batter in. It should rise and sizzle immediately. Adjust the heat before the batch. Shaping them is done with spoons. Take a spoonful of the batter. The batter is too loose to shape by hand.
6. Dip the spoons in oil so it releases. Some cooks use a wet hand instead. Work in small batches instead. They should puff up within seconds. Turn them once they are golden below. Give them about two minutes a side. Tear the first one open to check. The inside should be cooked through. Fry them for longer if it is not. Lift them out onto a wire rack.
7. Let all the excess oil drip away. That softens the outside within minutes. Pile them all onto a warm plate. Pour honey generously over them. Crumble fresh white cheese alongside. Pour the honey while they are hot. Cold ones just have honey sitting on top. Serve them straight from the fryer. People take some with each puff.

Technique

• The batter is deliberately looser than a bread dough — thick and sticky rather than kneadable — because a stiff dough gives a dense fritter where a loose batter puffs properly. It is spooned into the oil rather than shaped, using two spoons dipped in oil so it releases.
• Water in the dough turns to steam and inflates each puff into a hollow ball while the outside sets around it. Hot oil at about one hundred and eighty degrees is what makes that happen: cool oil soaks in and gives a greasy heavy puff, and one that comes out heavy rather than almost empty means the oil was not hot enough.
• A deep pot of hot oil is genuinely dangerous. Fill it no more than half full, never leave it unattended, lower the batter in gently, keep a lid nearby to smother a flare-up, never put water on an oil fire and keep children away.

Substitutions

• The quick version uses self-raising flour with yoghurt and an egg and needs no rising, giving a denser tangier puff where the yeasted one is airier; both are genuinely made.
• Some cooks squeeze the batter through a wet fist rather than using two spoons, which gives a rounder puff but takes practice.

Variations

• Honey and salty fresh white cheese together are the point rather than either alone: the salt cuts the sweetness and the two balance exactly.
• Pour the honey while they are hot so it runs in and soaks through; cold ones just have honey sitting on top.
• Work in small batches, since crowding the pot drops the oil temperature and gives greasy heavy puffs.

History

Kosovar and Albanian home fritters, cooked for visitors and on holiday mornings.

Frequently asked questions

What is Petulla me mjalte?

Petulla me mjalte is a dessert from Kosovo: fried dough puffs served hot with honey and fresh cheese. Kosovar and Albanian home fritters, cooked for visitors and on holiday mornings.

How long does Petulla me mjalte take to make?

Petulla me mjalte takes 20 minutes plus rising of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 20 puffs. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Petulla me mjalte?

Yes, within limits. The quick version uses self-raising flour with yoghurt and an egg and needs no rising, giving a denser tangier puff where the yeasted one is airier; both are genuinely made. Some cooks squeeze the batter through a wet fist rather than using two spoons, which gives a rounder puff but takes practice.

What is the most important thing to get right in Petulla me mjalte?

Cover the bowl and leave it somewhere warm. Give it about one whole hour there. Mix the self-raising flour and salt. Add the yoghurt and the whole egg. Beat it into a thick loose batter.