That Translator Can Cook: Luqaimat

Bite-sized pastry balls spiced with cardamom and saffron that are deep fried and bathed in date syrup or honey

Image Source: TasteAtlas

I’ve eaten luqaimat in Palestine, and lokoumades (the original Greek recipe) in the US. They’re not bad, just not to my taste personally. The dough was light, probably so that they wouldn’t be too heavy and people could eat more, but to me, they just didn’t have much substance besides the crunchy outer shell and the syrup. I’m not really into foods that are as sweet as luqaimat, so if I made them, I would not put any syrup or honey on them, maybe just some powdered sugar (and even then only on half of the ball). I’m also intrigued by the idea of spicing them like you would with spice cake…



Here we have another dessert that’s commonly made during Ramadan. Luqaimat means “small bites” in Arabic and that’s exactly what they are: small bites of sweetness. Luqaimat is the term used in the Gulf, but there are many different names and flavors all over the world. According to the Life Traveller, “the Turkish name is lokma, meaning ‘a mouthful’ or ‘a morsel’. In Egypt and the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine), it is called luqmat-ul-qadi. In Somalia, it is burka macan. The Swahili people call it kaimati. And the Greeks call it loukoumades.”

When you bite into them, you break through the sweet and crunchy exterior and taste the cardamom and saffron of the soft yet airy interior. The cardamom and saffron are a Gulf tradition, other countries may use different spices. For those who have a sweet tooth, it’s hard to stop at just one.

via GIPHY

Apparently, this is considered an Emirati dish that originated in Saudi Arabia. As I mentioned in my post about balaleet, most of the Emirati population is made up of expatriates, so it’s somewhat of a challenge to determine ‘traditional’ Emirati food, kind of like American food. Most of the ‘traditional’ American food originates from the countries that the original settlers and subsequent immigrants came from. What sets us apart is how unhealthy American food can be.

Luqaimat mirror the lokoumades that were presented as "honey tokens" to winners of the Olympics in Ancient Greece. And according to 196 Flavors, the luqmat al-qadi recipe “dates back to at least the early medieval period and the 13th-century Abbasid Caliphate,” and it was included in the famous Kitab al-Tabikh (10th century Baghdad cookbook).

Here is how to make these delicious sweets (recipe belongs to Alaa Alkhateeb)

Instructions

Mix the dry ingredients, then add the liquids. Mix until the batter is cohesive and all the clumps dissolve. Let it sit for close to an hour. Later, using a confectionery bag, drop ball-shaped dollops into preheated oil. Then, lower the heat to medium heat and fry them until they’re golden brown. Refry them, then let them sit for an hour. Refry them and dunk them in thick syrup.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of flour

• 1 tablespoon of custard

• 2 tablespoons of starch

• 1 teaspoon of baking powder

• 1 tablespoon of yeast

• 2 tablespoons of sugar

• 0.5 cup of yogurt, warmed in the microwave

• 1 cup of water

Translators’ Discussion

I have to say that I took a bit of liberty with this recipe because the text wasn’t very clear, or it’s just that I’m not familiar with the dialect it was written in, but here are the sentences that gave me the most trouble. Please share how you would have translated them

1. Let it sit for close to an hour.

2. Later, using a confectionery bag, drop ball-shaped dollops into preheated oil.

3. Refry them, then let them sit for an hour. Refry them and dunk them in thick syrup.

1. بتركها ترتاح شي ساعة اقل شي
2. بعدين بفرغن بكيس الحلواني مشان يكون الشكل دائري وعلى زيت محمى مسبقا
3. وبرجع بقلين كمان قليه بتركن شي ساعة وبرجع بقلين وعلى قطر ثقيل يكون