Albania

The dish

Petulla are fried dough balls and a common Albanian breakfast. There are two ways to serve them: honey and powdered sugar, or jam and feta. My version is a quick yogurt batter you spoon straight into hot oil, so there’s no waiting for the dough to rise.

What we thought

Albania was our first country, and the kids and I rated it 5/5. Surprisingly, the feta and jam was really good.

Ingredients and directions

Petulla (Albanian Fried Dough Puffs)

Crispy, golden fried dough puffs from Albania

Ingredients

• 2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 2 cup vegetable oil for frying
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar for serving
• 2 tbsp honey for serving

Directions

1. Whisk together 2 cup all-purpose flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp sugar in a bowl. Add 3/4 cup warm water and 1/4 cup plain yogurt and stir until a thick, sticky batter forms. Drizzle water until the right constituent.
2. Pour 2 cup vegetable oil for frying into a heavy skillet or saucepan to about 1 inch deep. Heat over medium-high until it reaches around 350°F.
3. Drop heaping spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil. Fry until deep golden on the bottom, about 2 minutes, then flip and fry another 90 seconds. They should puff up nicely.
4. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Serve immediately dusted with 2 tbsp powdered sugar for serving and drizzled with 2 tbsp honey for serving. Feta cheese and a little jam on the side is the traditional savory-sweet combo. The feta plus jam combo is a 5/5.