Cypriot Loukoumades with Potato (Kıbrıs Lokması)

Boil the potato in its skin for 20-25 minutes, until a fork goes in easily. Peel it while hot, mash it with a fork or potato masher until there are no lumps, and leave it to cool to lukewarm.

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl, add the dried yeast and mix. Add the mashed potato and beat with a wooden spoon for 4-5 minutes, pouring in the lukewarm water a little at a time. The dough should be soft and sticky; it should drop slowly and heavily from the spoon and not run like crêpe batter.

Cover the bowl with cling film and a clean cloth. Leave it in a warm place for about 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in size and the surface is covered in bubbles.

While the dough is rising, put the sugar, water, cinnamon stick and, if using, the cloves in a saucepan. Stir until the sugar dissolves and bring to the boil, then add the lemon juice and boil for 5 minutes. Take it off the heat and leave it to cool completely.

Chef's tip: The syrup must be cold and the lokma hot; if both are hot, the lokma soak up too much syrup and go soft.

Pour the frying oil into a deep, narrow pan to a depth of at least 5 cm and heat it to 170-180 °C. If you have no thermometer, drop in a hazelnut-sized piece of dough: if it rises to the surface within a few seconds and bubbles form around it, the oil is ready.

Take a handful of dough and squeeze your hand as if making a fist; with a teaspoon dipped in the hot oil, scoop off the walnut-sized piece of dough that pushes out between your thumb and index finger and drop it into the oil. Fry 8-10 lokma at a time, turning them with a slotted spoon, for 3-4 minutes until golden on all sides, and transfer them to a plate lined with kitchen paper.

Chef's tip: Do not overcrowd the pan, and let the oil heat up again after each batch; in oil that has cooled, lokma soak up oil and become heavy.

Drop the fried lokma into the cold syrup while they are still hot, turn them for a few seconds and lift them out with a slotted spoon onto a serving plate. If you like, drizzle with strained honey and sprinkle with ground cinnamon and crushed walnuts. Lokma are eaten warm on the day they are made, when they are at their crispiest.