Ingredients:

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
                        ***BATTER***
   2      cups          plain flour
     1/2  cup           rice flour
   7      grams         fresh compressed yeast -- (or)
     1/2  tablespoon    dried yeast
     1/2  cup           lukewarm water
     1/4  teaspoon      saffron strands
   2      tablespoons   boiling water
   1      tablespoon    yoghurt
                        vegetable oil -- for frying
                        ***SYRUP***
   3      cups          sugar
   3      cups          water
   1      tablespoon    light corn syrup
                        rose essence to flavour
   1 1/2  teaspoons     liquid orange food coloring

Preparation:

Sift the flour and rice flour into a large bowl. Sprinkle yeast on the warm water in a small bowl, leave to soften for 5 minutes and stir to dissolve. Put saffron strands in a cup and pour the boiling water over. Leave to soak for 10 minutes. Pour dissolved yeast and saffron with its soaking water into a measuring jug. Add tepid water to make up 2 1/4 cups. Stirring with a wooden spoon, add the measured liquid to the flour and beat well until batter is very smooth. Add yoghurt and beat again. Leave to rest for 1 hour. Batter will start to become frothy. Beat vigorously again before starting to fry jelebis. (While batter stands make syrup and leave it to become just warm). Heat vegetable oil in a deep frying pan and when hot use a funnel to pour in the batter, making circles or figures of eight. Frying, turning once, until crisp and golden on both sides. Lift out on a slotted spoon, let the oil drain for a fews seconds, then drop the hot jelebi into the syrup and soak it for a minute or two. Lift out of the syrup (using another slotted spoon) and put on a plate to drain. Syrup: Heat sugar and water over low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Raise heat and boil hard for 8 minutes; syrup should be just thick enough to spin a thread. Remove from heat, allow to cool until lukewarm, flavour with rose essence (about 1.2 tsp of good quality essence is sufficient) and colour a bright orange with food colouring. *Jelebis are coils of crisply fried batter with a rose-scented syrup inside the coils. How the syrup gets into the coils is a mystery unless you do some research on the subject. This is a traditionally festive sweet. (Moghul custom)