Pishme

Pishme is a traditional Turkmen snack that is served with green tea during celebrations, especially weddings and baby showers. Although nowadays pishme is thought of as a sweet snack, it was originally prepared without sugar. I have added in sugar to my recipe but feel free to leave it out if you want a “truer” taste. And if you want a softer pishme, you can use milk instead of water.

Pishme – Fried Dough Treats

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 300 ml (1⅕ cups) warm water or warm milk
• 500 g (3⅓ cups) flour
• Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

1. In a large bowl, mix the salt, sugar, yeast and water. Add the flour and work to a soft dough. Wrap the bowl in a thick kitchen towel until the dough is well risen, about 20 minutes.
2. Divide the dough in half and roll each piece between your palms into a ball. Cover the dough balls with a kitchen towel and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
3. Roll out one ball of dough to 5 mm thickness. Cut the dough into long, 4-5 cm wide strips. Then cut the strips crosswise, making diamond shapes. Repeat with the remaining dough.
4. Pour oil into a frying pot until it is 4 cm deep, and place the pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot, drop in the pishme and stir continuously with a perforated spoon. Strain out the pishme when they are golden brown on both sides.