Greek · Authentic-ish Greek
Loukoumades
186 kcal a serving, against 428 for the traditional version. That is 242 kcal off, or 57%, with 6.8g of protein. Serves 10. 40 minutes.
What the traditional version is
A sticky yeast dough dropped straight into a vat of boiling vegetable oil until golden and crisp. The hot dough balls are immediately dragged through a thick syrup made from honey and sugar, then heavily coated in crushed walnuts and ground cinnamon.
What changed, and what each change costs
Deep-fried dough down to baked yoghurt dough
Frying dough turns it into an oil sponge. Using plain flour and zero-fat Greek yoghurt cuts the fat to nearly nothing. The yoghurt provides structure and shifts the balance of the dish.
What it costs you. You lose the shattering crispness of a deep-fried shell. Baked dough has a softer, bread-like crust that doesn't crunch.
250g of honey down to 100g, thinned with lemon juice
Traditional loukoumades sit in a massive pool of syrup. I reduce the honey drastically and thin it with water and lemon juice, coating the baked dough without completely soaking it.
What it costs you. The dish is less sweet. You don't get that intense sugar rush, but you can actually taste the slight tang of the yoghurt.
100g of walnuts down to 40g
Nuts are heavily calorific. Cutting the volume still leaves enough to scatter over the top for crunch, but stops them dominating the whole pudding.
What it costs you. You get fewer nuts per bite. You'll have to chop them very fine to make them stretch across the batch.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 428 | 186 |
| Protein | 6.8g | 6.8g |
| Fat | 14.2g | 3g |
| Saturated fat | 1.6g | 0.3g |
| Carbohydrate | 70.5g | 33.8g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 1.6g | 3.7g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Greek prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. gluten, milk, nuts.
The method is in the book
I'll be honest here. A baked dough ball will never truly rival a deep-fried one. The crunch is different, the crumb is denser, and the sugar hit is muted. But as a fast pudding, it's fantastic. The yoghurt gives the dough a slight sourdough tang that works beautifully with the sweet honey and earthy walnuts. You can eat a sensible portion without feeling terrible, and it takes half the time of messing about with hot oil.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Greek, along with 56 more. Buy the paperback