Zoolbia Recipe; 9 Tips You Must not Miss When Making Zoolbia

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Zoolbia (Jalebi) is one of the most popular sweets among Iranian people. The exact origin of Zoolbia is unknown. This delicious sweet is the decoration of Iftar tables during Ramadan.

Zoolbia dessert ingredients include yogurt and starch. Making this sweet at home is very simple, and homemade Zoolbia is tastier and healthier than market ones. This article teaches us how to make Zoolbia in 8 simple steps.

Table of Contents

How to Make Zoolbia?

Ingredients for Zoolbia Recipe

1 cup wheat starch
1 cup yogurt
½ tablespoon of jam baking powder
1 tablespoon white flour
1 tablespoon thick brewed saffron

Ingredients for Zoolbia Syrup

2 glasses of water
3 cups sugar
¼ teaspoon citric acid (lemon juice essence)
¼ cup rosewater
Thick brewed saffron as needed

Directions

Zoolbia Syrup Recipe

Step One

Mix water and sugar, put it on medium heat until it boils and all the sugar dissolves.

Step Two

Now, add brewed saffron, rosewater, and citric acid. After boiling for 10-15 minutes, when the syrup is thick enough, remove the syrup from the heat and allow the syrup to cool in the environment. The concentration of Zoolbia syrup increases after cooling and should be slightly smoother than honey.

Tips For Making Zoolbia Syrup:

Make the syrup on low heat. If the heat is high and the syrup thickens quickly, it will become sugary after cooling.
Let the syrup simmer; the duration varies depending on the flame’s strength and the pot. However, it takes at least 10-15 minutes to thicken.
To check whether it has reached consistency, test a few drops of your syrup between two fingers. If it was sticky and thick, it means that the syrup has reached its consistency.
If the syrup does not have a good consistency and concentration, it will soften the Zoolbia and eliminate the brittleness of the Zulbia, and if the syrup is too thick, it will become sugary.

Zoolbia Recipe

Step One

Pour a cup of wheat starch into a bowl and add a glass of yogurt to it. Stir well to dissolve the starch in the yogurt.

Step Two

Then add a spoonful of flour with baking powder to the batter and mix thoroughly with a spoon until the ingredients are well combined, and finally add brewed saffron to the ingredients and mix.

Step Three

The concentration of batter at this stage should be the same as yogurt. If it is too thick, add one tablespoon of rosewater.

Step Four

Then pass the batter through a strainer so that no impurities get stuck in the pastry bag when pouring it into the pot.

Step Five

Cover the batter with cellophane and put it in the refrigerator for 8 hours. (If you are in a hurry, set it aside for at least an hour until you see tiny bubbles on it, and then follow the next steps.)

Step Six

Remix the batter ingredients with a spoon and pour them into a sauce bowl or, if you do not have one, pour it into a pastry bag.

Step Seven

Put the oil in a frying pan on medium heat until scorching. Then, pour the ingredients into the pan in a circular and rotating shape, let it turn slightly golden on one side, and turn on the other side.

Step Eight

When both sides are golden, take it out of the oil and immediately put it in a warm syrup to cool it.

How to Serve Zoolbia?

After a few minutes, take it out of the syrup and put it in a strainer. Now, it is time to put Zoolbia in a serving dish and design it with slices of pistachios or rosemary.

Persian Bamieh vs. Zoolbia

Zoolbia has the shape of a little funnel cake, whereas the Bamieh shape resembles tiny doughnuts. They are similar in taste and sweetness, although they both require saffron as a primary component. When you’re craving something sweet, any of these is a terrific choice.

9 Tips for Making Zoolbia

You can add two tablespoons of natural lemon juice to your syrup instead of citric acid, but my advice is to use citric acid because the syrup does not become sugary.
If you like your Zoolbia to be shiny, you can add a tablespoon of glucose in the last few minutes of cooking the syrup. Glucose makes Zoolbia shiny and prevents the syrup from becoming sugary.
Instead of rosewater in Zulbia syrup, you can use a few cardamom seeds. Do not forget to remove them from the syrup later.
Yogurt used in Zulbia should not be too thick or watery. If available, you can use homemade sour yogurt. Yogurt should not be fresh.
For Zulbia, using starch with large grains is better than powdered starch because powdered starch is not for Zoolbia. Note that the starch must be fresh because if not, Zulbia will not swell in the oil at all!
A teaspoon of saffron in Zoolbia batter can be removed, but it makes Zoolbia more colorful.
It is better to fry the Zoolbia as needed. Too much frying of Zoolbia dries it, and too little frying softens it.
If your ingredients are watery, you can add very little flour. The batter should quickly form into the oil from inside the pastry bag by hand pressure.
If you use a pastry bag, do not cut the top of it too thin because the Zoolbia will be very dry and hard.

Do not forget to make this recipe and share it with us. If you also have any related questions about the Persian zoolbia recipe, please do not hesitate to ask.

FAQs on Zoolbia Recipe

In the Zoolbia batter, is yogurt a suitable replacement?

Yogurt is a classic, but you may also try other dairy products, such as sour cream or buttermilk. The texture may, however, differ significantly.

Which kind of flour works best for making Zoolbia?

Although all-purpose flour is the most popular kind, you can experiment with other varieties to get varied textures.

Is there another sweetener I could use for the syrup?

Although sugar is the conventional ingredient, you may also try using agave syrup or honey for a distinct flavor.