Doughnuts bring back some of my fondest childhood memories, with mom throwing this dough together in minutes, and us kids gobbling up the sugar-tossed doughnuts as quickly as she made them. Mom made doughnuts while we lived in Nagpur; since we had no cookie cutters, we’d use a jam jar lid and a ketchup bottle cap to stamp out the doughnuts and its inner ring. This recipe highlights the beautiful and simple brilliance of fried dough, and how it has the power to delight young and more mature palates alike. Leavened by baking powder and a baking soda and yogurt emulsion, they’re light and crispy and absolutely phenomenal. Ingredients Canola oil 2 cups - All-purpose flour plus extra for dusting worksurface 1 1/2tsp - Baking powder 1/2tsp - Salt 1/2tsp - Ground ginger 1/2tsp - Freshly grated nutmeg 1/4tsp - Cinnamon 1 no - Large egg 1/2 cup - Plain yogurt 2 1/2 cups - Sugar Zest of 1 lemon 1/2tsp - Baking soda ALSO READ | How our experiences of life, love and food make us who we are Method *Heat enough neutral vegetable oil to fill a medium saucepan by 3 inches to 350°F. *Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon into a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, yogurt, 1/2 cup of sugar and the lemon zest. Add the baking soda and whisk to combine (the mixture should get bubbly). Add the yogurt mixture to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. The dough will be very wet and tacky. Place the remaining sugar on a large plate or in a baking dish and set aside. *Sprinkle a generous amount of flour onto your worksurface. Transfer the dough ball to your worksurface and sprinkle flour over it. Pat it with your hands into a thin disc, between 1/4 to 1/3-inch thick. Use a 2 to 3-inch wide cookie cutter (or upturned coffee mug) to cut circles out of the dough. Use a 1-inch cookie cutter (or bottle cap) to cut out small circles from the center of each larger dough disc. Place the doughnut shapes onto a plate and re-pat the remaining dough into a large disc, cutting out doughnuts as described (you should get about 15 to 20 doughnuts depending on the size of the cookie cutter that you use). ALSO READ | Suvir’s Slice of Life: This sweet potato chaat is a feast for the senses *Fry 4 to 6 doughnuts at a time, turning and basting often, for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, or until they’re evenly browned all over. Place the hot doughnuts in the reserved sugar and turn to coat. Eat while hot, or within a couple of hours of frying. (The recipe makes about 14-20 doughnuts.) For more lifestyle news, follow us: Twitter: lifestyle_ie | Facebook: IE Lifestyle | Instagram: ie_lifestyle
