loukoumadopolis

well, i'm back to the grind after having a week off for reading break. instead of actually reading, i got on a plane and headed out east to visit my grandparents in montreal. it was COLD. first four days was all snow, and -17 degrees! by the time i got to ottawa to see penny, it had warmed up quite a bit. too much cause they closed the rideu canal the day penny and i went to go skate : (  when am i ever going to be back in ottawa it february?! (hopefully never...) anyways, i devoured tons of yummy greek food (including deer that my papou shot while hunting in the fall) ate my weight in montreal bagels, and was spoiled with having several glasses of my papou's homemade wine every night. it was beyond glorious.

my papou and yiayia, montreal 2008

one of the highlights of my trip was making loukoumades with my yiayia. it's no secret to anybody that knows me that i love loukoumades. it's an addiction. and now that i actually have my yiayia's recipe, it's going to be actually be problem. if you don't know what these golden balls of deliciousness are, i pity you. i really do. they're basically a greek version of a doughnut: batter fried till crisp, then drizzled with greek honey and cinnamon. penny, christina and i basically die anytime we eat them. see video below.

bites penny. bites are good.

sometimes loukoumades that you get from a bakery or festival can be quite dense. my yiayia's recipe is anything but. its light and fluffy on the inside, but crispy on the outside - the perfect loukoumades. oh, and i know, i know, this blog is supposed to be somewhat healthy, and deep fried batter doesn't exactly fall into that category. well, this blog is also for me to share a bit of my heritage for those who care, whether healthy or not! so, here we go, my yiayia's recipe:

what you need:
~ 1 cup self rising flour
~ 1 cup of lukewarm water
2 tbsp greek honey
pinch of cinnamon
oil for frying
2 sheets of paper towel

step 1:
pour oil into a pan and heat up. take a mixing bowl and pour in lukewarm water. slowly stir in the flour until it forms a slightly goopy mixture. it should kind of resemble a thick pancake batter.
step 2:
while waiting for the oil, take honey and heat up in the microwave so it is more liquidy. this makes it easier to cover the loukoumades.
step 3: 
once oil is hot, take a spoonful of mix and pour it into the oil. only fry a few at a time or they will take longer to cook. once one side is golden brown, flip over. they should take a few minutes per batch.
step 4: 
place the crispy loukoumades on a few sheets of paper towel to soak up the oil, then serve. pour greek honey on top and sprinkle with some cinnamon. if you want, you can add sesame seeds too  : )

light, fluffy, crispy and down right yummy loukoumades