Place all the ingredients for the dough into a large bowl and mix well to combine. Make a well in the middle, pour in lukewarm water, little bit at a time. Using hands, knead with hands, combining all the ingredients into a soft dough. Keep kneading for 15 minutes. Cover with a cloth and leave to rise to double the size.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, pour together the sugar, water and lemon juice and melt to medium heat until all the sugar has dissolved, and it's in a syrupy consistency. Remove from heat and place in the refrigerator to cool.

Heat oil in a large saucepan. Once dough has risen, roll it out on a floured surface and cut strips of required size. For each koeksister, plait 3 strips and pinch the ends to secure. Repeat until all the dough is used.

Deep fry the plaited dough into hot oil, turning them until golden brown. Place on a blotting paper. Dip each one into the syrup and place on a wiring rack to drip off syrup. They should look lovely shiny.