1. In a saucepan, combine the water and sugar and place it on the heat.
2. When the sugar dissolves, add the cinnamon, cloves, and rose water, and let the syrup come to a boil. Lower the heat and boil for only 3 - 4 minutes.
3. We don't want the syrup to thicken too much, otherwise, it won't soak into the loukoumades. Let it cool.
For the batter:
1. Place the flour in a large bowl and add the salt and vanilla. Mix and add the yeast. Continue mixing and gradually pour in the water, while vigorously whisking with your fingers and palms until a fluffy batter forms and small bubbles start appearing on its surface.
Be careful, the batter should not be stiff, nor too runny. Cover the bowl with a towel, place a blanket over it, and put it in a warm place for 1 - 1½ hours, so it rises and doubles in volume. When you see bubbles forming all over the surface, the mixture is ready.
2. Put oil in a cup (my mother uses water). We will dip the teaspoon used to scoop the loukoumades into this.
3. Pour plenty of oil into a wide frying pan and let it get very hot. Lower the heat (if it's too high, the loukoumades will burn on the outside and remain raw inside) and take some batter with your left palm. Close your fingers and with a teaspoon dipped in the oil cup, cut off the excess batter protruding and drop it into the hot oil, pushing the batter off the spoon with your thumb.
4. Repeat this process until the pan is full of loukoumades.
Dip the teaspoon in the oil periodically. This helps the batter not stick to the spoon. Once all the loukoumades are in, increase the heat.
Turn the loukoumades with a slotted spoon until they are golden brown. Press them down to ensure they are covered in oil.
5. Remove them with a slotted spoon and immediately place them in the cold syrup. Press them down to ensure they are well coated with syrup and then remove them to a colander to drain the excess syrup. Alternatively, you can serve the loukoumades with honey, chocolate ganache, walnuts, or other nuts instead of syrup.
