{{Short description|Middle eastern and Balkan dessert}} {{About||the city in Argentina|Villa Tulumba|the department|Tulumba Department}} {{Redirect|Bamiyeh|the dish featuring okra|Bamia}} {{more citations needed|date=June 2019}} {{Infobox food | name = Tulumba | image = Tulumba.jpg | image_size = 250px | caption = Tulumba | alternate_name = balah ash-sham ({{langx|ar|بلح الشام}}) | country = Egypt, Syria, Ottoman Empire | region = Egypt, Balkans, Middle East, South Caucasus | creator = | course = | type = Dessert | served = | main_ingredient = Flour, butter, salt, water, syrup, vanilla extract | variations = | calories = | other = }}
'''Tulumba''', '''tolomba''' or '''bamiyeh''' ({{langx|fa|بامیه}}; {{langx|ar|بلح الشام}}) is a deep-fried dessert found in Egypt, the Levant, Greece and the regional cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire. It is a fried batter soaked in syrup, similar to jalebis or churros.<ref name="marks">{{cite book |last1=Marks |first1=Gil |author1-link=Gil Marks |title=Encyclopedia of Jewish Food |date=17 November 2010 |publisher=HMH |isbn=978-0-544-18631-6 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Encyclopedia_of_Jewish_Food/gFK_yx7Ps7cC?gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover&bsq=tulumba |access-date=1 October 2025 |language=en |chapter=Zalabia, Zvingous}}</ref> It is made from unleavened choux pastry dough,<ref>{{cite news |title=Café Columbia: Get your caffeine fix and a continental fare |url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/343471/caf%C3%A9-columbia-get-your-caffeine-fix-and-a |access-date=1 October 2025 |work=Dhaka Tribune |date=5 Apr 2024 |language=en}}</ref> usually about 3 inches long, piped with a pastry bag using an open star or similar tip.<ref name="marks" /> It is first deep-fried to golden colour and then sugar-sweet syrup is poured over it when still hot.<ref name="salloum" />
==Name== {{Wiktionary}} ''Tulumba'' literally means 'pump' in Ottoman Turkish, deriving from the Italian {{lang|it|tromba}}.<ref name="HathiTrust">{{cite web |last1=Kahane |first1=Henry |author1-link=Henry R. Kahane |title=The lingua franca in the Levant; Turkish nautical terms of Italian and Greek origin. |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015002655952&seq=695 |website=HathiTrust |publisher=University of Illinois |access-date=5 October 2025 |date=1958}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Redhouse |first1=James W. |author1-link=James Redhouse |title=A turkish and english Lexicon shewing in english the significations of the turkish terms: Printed for the American Mission by A. H. Boyajian |date=1890 |publisher=Boyajian |page=1262 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_turkish_and_english_Lexicon_shewing_in/4DrigFChhu8C?gbpv=1&pg=PA1262&printsec=frontcover |access-date=24 December 2025 |language=en}}</ref>
''Tulumba'' features in Balkan,<ref name="albanianews2017">{{cite news |last1=Alushi |first1=Sonila |title=Tullumba albanesi: un dolce che più dolce non si può - Ricette albanesi |url=https://ricette.albanianews.it/dessert-albanese-tullumba/ |access-date=2 December 2025 |work=Albania News |date=16 September 2017 |language=it-IT}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bosnian sweets in Australia: the golden hands of Emina Sagir and Timka Delić |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/language/bosnian/en/podcast-episode/bosnian-sweets-in-australia-the-golden-hands-of-emina-sagir-and-timka-delic/q64usfw09 |website=SBS |access-date=12 November 2025 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="hurriyet2019">{{cite news |title=Kapısının önünden kuyruk hiç eksik olmuyor... Bayramdan önce mutlaka uğrayın |url=https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/lezizz/galeri-kapisinin-onunden-kuyruk-hic-eksik-olmuyor-bayramdan-once-mutlaka-ugrayin-41230458/18 |access-date=13 November 2025 |work=Hurriyet |date=30 May 2019 |language=tr}}</ref> Greek ({{langx|el|τουλούμπα}}),<ref>{{cite news |title=Ask for the moussaka at this Greek specialty store in Scarborough |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/suresh-doss-cosmos-agora-1.5215463 |access-date=13 November 2025 |work=CBC |date=18 Jul 2019}}</ref> Azeri ({{langx|az|Ballıbadı}}),{{Citation needed|date=November 2025}} and Turkish cuisines.<ref name="marks" /><ref name="hurriyet2019" />
The dessert goes by many names in different regions:
* In Hejazi Arabic, it is called ''ṭurumba'' ({{langx|ar|طُرُمْبَة}}) directly from {{langx|it|tromba}}<ref name="Mushahid">{{cite news |title=حلوى شعبية في تعز جعلت من صاحبها رمزاً رمضانياً |url=https://almushahid.net/60386/ |access-date=5 October 2025 |work=Al-Mushahid |date=16 May 2020 |language=ar |trans-title=A popular sweet in Taiz that made its owner a Ramadan icon}}</ref> * In Egyptian, Levantine, and some Arab cuisines it is called ''balaḥ ash-Shām'' ({{langx|ar|بلح الشام}}), literally "Syrian dates" or "Damascene dates."<ref name="felesteen" /><ref name="Mushahid" /><ref name="salloum">{{cite book |last1=Salloum |first1=Habeeb |title=Arabian Nights Cookbook: From Lamb Kebabs to Baba Ghanouj, Delicious Homestyle Arabian Cooking |date=28 February 2012 |publisher=Tuttle Publishing |isbn=978-1-4629-0524-9 |page=133 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Arabian_Nights_Cookbook/v5TTAgAAQBAJ |access-date=1 October 2025 |language=en |chapter=Balah al-Sham |chapter-url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Arabian_Nights_Cookbook/v5TTAgAAQBAJ?gbpv=1&pg=PA133&printsec=frontcover}}</ref> * In Armenian cuisine, it may be called either ''pomp'' or ''tulumba'' (Armenian: թուլումբա). * In Persian cuisine, it is known as ''bamiyeh'' ({{langx|fa|باميه}}), after the vegetable of the same Persian name (okra), due to its shape.<ref name="https://www.masterclass.com/articles/bamieh-recipe">{{cite web |title=Bamieh Recipe: Persian Donuts With Saffron and Rosewater - 2025 |url=https://www.masterclass.com/articles/bamieh-recipe |website=MasterClass |access-date=11 November 2025 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Benjamin |first1=Sharon |title=Find out what connects the Indian gulab jamun to the Emirati luqaimat |url=https://gulfnews.com/food/find-out-what-connects-the-indian-gulab-jamun-to-the-emirati-luqaimat-1.1642692180983 |access-date=11 November 2025 |work=Gulf News: Latest UAE news, Dubai news, Business, travel news, Dubai Gold rate, prayer time, cinema |date=25 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref> * In Iraqi cuisine it is known as ''datli'' ({{langx|ar|داطلي}}), directly coming from Turkish word ''tatlı''.<ref name="felesteen">{{cite news |title="الداطلي العراقي".. حبات تشبه التمر غارقة بالقطر |url=https://felesteen.news/post/86531/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B7%D9%84%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%82%D9%8A-%D8%AD%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%AA%D8%B4%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%B1-%D8%BA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%82%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%B1 |access-date=11 November 2025 |work=فلسطين أون لاين |date=14 April 2021 |language=ar |trans-title="Iraqi Datli"... Date-like sweets drenched in syrup}}</ref><ref name="shafaq2023" /> * The dessert is called ''pomba'' in Cypriot Greek and ''bombacık'' in Cypriot Turkish. * In Turkish, it is called ''tulumba tatlisi'', meaning "pump dessert".<ref name="bbc2022" /> * In Serbo-Croatian, it is called ''tulumba'' ({{langx|sr|тулумба}}), from Ottoman Turkish.
== History ==
''Tulumba'' in its modern form was likely influenced by medieval Arab cuisine; books like ''Kitab al-Tabikh'' by 10th century author Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq mention similar dishes like zalabiyeh.<ref name="marks" /><ref name="bbc2022">{{cite news |last1=Grima |first1=Bonita |title=Sweet temptation: Istanbul's beloved 'brothel dessert' |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20221024-sweet-temptation-istanbuls-beloved-brothel-dessert |access-date=11 November 2025 |work=BBC |date=25 October 2022}}</ref>
According to food historian {{ill|Priscilla Mary Işın|tr|Priscilla Mary Işın}}, the oldest recipes dates back to 1900, credited to ''Mahmud Nedim''. The recipe mentions that tulumba was in Erzurum, Anatolia.<ref name="isin2010">{{cite book |author1=Priscilla Mary Işın |author1-link=:tr:Priscilla Mary Işın |title=Osmanlı Mutfak Sözlüğü |date=2010 |publisher=KiTAP YAYINEVI |pages=376-377 |url=https://archive.org/details/priscilla-mary-isin-osmanli-mutfak-sozlugu/page/376/mode/2up?q=tulumba |access-date=3 May 2026 |language=tr |trans-title=Ottoman Culinary Dictionary}}</ref>
== Main ingredients == It is made from a yogurt{{Citation needed|date=April 2019|reason=copied from merged page Bamiyeh, which came without citations. To my knowledge this dessert does not contain yoghurt, least not in its modern form}} and starch and flour-based dough, often with eggs, which is fried before being dipped in qatir.<ref name="felesteen" /><ref name="salloum" /> It is a special sweet often eaten at Iftar in Ramadan.<ref>{{cite news|title=Muslims break fast on first day of Ramadan|newspaper=USA Today|publisher=Associated Press|date=November 4, 2005|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-10-04-ramadan_x.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051024091632/http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-10-04-ramadan_x.htm|archive-date=2005-10-24|access-date=August 19, 2010}}</ref> It is also commonly sold alongside ''jalebi'', which is prepared in a similar way, but arranged in a web-like arrangement of strips of dough.{{Citation needed|date=November 2025}}
Some varieties include spices like cardamom.<ref name="salloum" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Mumbai: Bayroute Offers Customary Mediterranean Dishes Like Persian Tulumba And Egyptian Semolina Cake |url=https://www.freepressjournal.in/lifestyle/mumbai-bayroute-offers-customary-mediterranean-dishes-like-persian-tulumba-and-egyptian-semolina-cake |website=Free Press Journal |access-date=13 November 2025 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="tasteatlas">{{cite web |title=Tulumba {{!}} Traditional Deep-fried Dessert From Turkiye |url=https://www.tasteatlas.com/tulumba |website=TasteAtlas |access-date=13 November 2025}}</ref>
==Varieties==
{{ill|Halka tatlı|tr|Halka tatlı}} is a Turkish dessert considered by some to be a variation of tulumba.<ref name="bbc2022" />
Iraqi ''datli'' is typically made without eggs.<ref name="shafaq2023">{{cite news |title="العقال النجفي والعوامة" أبرز تسمياتها.. شفق نيوز تتجول في أقدم معمل بغدادي لصناعة الداطلي (صور) |url=https://shafaq.com/ar/%D9%85%D8%AC%D8%AA%D9%80%D9%85%D8%B9/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%AC%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%B2-%D8%AA%D8%B3%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%A7-%D8%B4%D9%81%D9%82-%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%B2-%D8%AA%D8%AA%D8%AC%D9%88%D9%84-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%82%D8%AF%D9%85-%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%84-%D8%A8%D8%BA%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B7%D9%84%D9%8A-%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%B1 |access-date=12 November 2025 |work=Shafaq News |date=24 Mar 2023 |language=ar |trans-title="The Najafi headband and the 'Awama' are its most prominent names... Shafaq News tours the oldest Baghdad factory for making 'Datli' (photos)}}</ref><ref name="felesteen" />
In the city of Taiz in Yemen, tulumba is made by mixing eggs and flour into hot water, then kneading the dough, which is then cut into pieces that are first dipped into cold oil, and then fried before adding syrup.<ref name="Mushahid" /><ref name="alaraby2021">{{cite news |title="الطرمبة"... حلوى مدينة تعز اليمنية الأكثر شعبية |url=https://www.alaraby.co.uk/entertainment_media/%22%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B7%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%A8%D8%A9%22-%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%88%D9%89-%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%B2-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%83%D8%AB%D8%B1-%D8%B4%D8%B9%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9 |access-date=13 November 2025 |work=The New Arab |date=8 May 2021 |language=ar-AR |trans-title="Al-Tarumba"... the most popular sweet in the Yemeni city of Taiz}}</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery align="left" widths="200" heights="120" mode=packed> File:Tulumba with kaymak and pistachio.jpg|Tulumba with kaymak and pistachio File:Tulumba (cross section).JPG|Tulumba cross-section (front) File:Tulumba (6881443243).jpg|Round File:Cooking Zalabya & Bamiyeh, Qom - 22 May 2018 14.jpg|Iranian ''bamiyeh'' being made </gallery>
==See also== * List of doughnut varieties * List of fried dough varieties * List of Turkish desserts * Buñuelo * Fartura * Gorgoria * Lokma * Pinaypay
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{commons category-inline}}
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Category:Egyptian desserts Category:Doughnuts Category:Ottoman cuisine Category:Arab desserts Category:Iranian pastries Category:Iftar foods Category:Turkish desserts Category:Jewish desserts Category:Israeli desserts Category:Balkan cuisine Category:Persian Jewish cuisine Category:Sephardi Jewish cuisine Category:Albanian cuisine Category:Choux pastry Category:Yemeni cuisine