Plenty of us have a perfectly understandable fear of frying. After all, it can be both messy and dangerous. But it doesn’t have to be. And since eating fried food is one of life’s great joys, it’s well worth mastering.
Consider the doughnut. Everybody’s favorite wheel-shaped goodie is made of fried sweetened dough that has leavened with yeast, baking powder or baking soda. The difference in leavening comes down to texture. Yeast doughnuts are light and airy, while doughnuts leavened with baking powder or baking soda are denser, more like cake.
These chai-spiced doughnuts are of the latter variety. They are easy to mix together (just don’t overmix or they’ll get tough) and flavored with chai-style spices (the kinds that make Indian tea so lovable).
The equipment part of frying is easy. A fryer is nice, but if you don’t have one, you can piece together one of your own. It requires nothing more than a large, deep pot and a frying thermometer.