Fiji sweet cart jalebi

Dotted through Fiji’s towns and cities, carts brim with treats like spiced fried peas, samosas, barfi and jalebi. While common across South Asia, the Indo-Fijian version has a distinct tartness that cuts through the crunch of its sugar shell. Made fresh and served warm, the crisp spirals are a little bite of luxury.

• serves

  5

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups plain flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• Pinch of salt
• ⅓ cup plain yoghurt
• 8–10 drops orange liquid food colouring
• Ghee, for deep-frying (ideally 100%, or at least 50–70% ghee topped up with neutral oil)

Sugar syrup

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 4 green cardamom pods

You will need to start this recipe the day before, to allow the batter to rest and ferment. You will also need a squeeze bottle for piping the mixture for frying.

Resting time: overnight

Instructions

1. Place the flour, baking powder, sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl and whisk to combine.
2. Whisk in the yoghurt, then gradually add 1 cup of water, whisking to a smooth, lump-free batter. The consistency should be thick, flowing and ribbon-like.
3. Stir in the food colouring a few drops at a time until the batter is a bright yellow-orange, a little more vivid than the jalebi you want.
4. Whisk the batter well for 3–4 minutes in one direction to aerate it. Cover and leave at room temperature overnight (around 14 to 20 hours) to ferment gently.
5. The next day, uncover and check for tiny bubbles and a slightly looser texture; it should smell mildly tangy, not sharp.
6. Stir to even out the bubbles. If too thick to pipe smoothly, add water a teaspoon at a time; if too thin, whisk in a teaspoon or two of flour.
7. For the sugar syrup, combine the sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan and heat over medium, stirring until dissolved.
8. Bring to the boil, then simmer until the syrup reaches a light one-string consistency between thumb and forefinger (around 3–4 minutes).
9. Stir in the lemon juice and add cardamom. Keep the syrup warm while you fry the jalebi.
10. To fry the jalebi, heat ghee in a wide, heavy-based pan over medium to a depth of a few centimetres. A drop of batter should rise quickly and sizzle without browning instantly.
11. Transfer the fermented batter to a squeeze bottle. Pipe spirals directly into the hot ghee, 3 to 4 rings thick, frying only a few at a time.
12. Cook until evenly golden-orange and crisp, turning as needed.
13. Lift the jalebi out, drain briefly, then immediately submerge in the warm syrup for 30 seconds on each side.
14. Remove to a rack or plate. Serve warm or at room temperature on the day they are made, when they are at their crispiest and most fragrant.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.