Basbousa with almonds بسبوسة باللوز Basbousa bil loz

Live Inspire is a new project by the Intesa Sanpaolo Group.  On their page is information on the Milano 2015 EXPO, as well as recipes from different countries and inspiring stories about sustainability and nutrition. They are also running a competition to find the best recipe that represents EGYPT so get online and vote.  

Just click on the link Live Inspire competition. Then click on the far left tab, select the flag of Egypt and click on the picture that you think best represents the recipe for the country.

Thanks to Alexbank of Egypt those that vote will go in the running to win a trip to Milan during the Milano EXPO 2015.  How awesome would that be? Vote and good luck winning a trip to Italy!

I thought in light of the Live inspire competition I would post my favourite dessert that I think best represents Egypt.  Basbousa is a very old Arabic dessert and there are many ways of making it, but the traditional Basbousa is made pretty much like this.  Nothing fancy, just the cake, syrup and almonds on top -and how many times have we heard “Simple is best” when it comes to cooking.  Well, this is certainly the case for Basbousa.  While there are plenty of versions, this one is a favourite of mine.

Basbousa is like a syrup drenched cake that is made with Semolina (coarse particles of wheat left after the wheat has been ground to flour and removed).  Traditionally Basbousa is served with tea and coffee and is yet another sweet that relies on cooled sugar syrup poured over something hot to soften and sweeten it.  The temperature differences between the syrup and the Basbousa cake results in greater absorption so don’t be tempted to let both components cool down and then serve it. 

This is a very easy sweet to prepare and always enjoyable to eat.  It is served often in homes but is also readily found in hotel banquets, celebrations, restaurants or cake shops.  The beauty with this dish is that it is almost preserved with sugar and even though it contains milk my mum stored any left over Basbousa in the cooled oven and not in the fridge.  It was quite happy there for several days.

Basbousa cake

2 cups semolina (1 cup coarse and 1 cup fine)

1 cup sugar

250 g unsalted butter, melted.

1 cup / 250 ml milk

1 cup self-raising flour

15 whole raw almonds, skin removed and halved

Syrup :

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

half a lemon juiced

A few drops of vanilla extract

Prepare the syrup first.  Combine the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan, bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until it is thick enough to coat a spoon.  Leave to cool.  Once cooled, add a few drops of vanilla essence or 2-3 teaspoons rose water or orange blossom water and stir. Set aside.

Preheat oven to moderate 180°C (350°F/Gas mark 4). Lightly grease a 30 x 25 cm cake tin with melted butter. 

Place semolina and sugar in a large bowl and combine.  Add melted butter, milk and flour, mixing well after each addition.  Transfer to prepared tin.

Cut into squares and place the almond halves in the centre of each square.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove Basbousa from the oven and carefully pour the cold syrup evenly over the hot Basbousa. Leave to cool to room temperature and serve.

Note :

To peel almonds, cover almonds with a little water in a microwave safe bowl, microwave on high for 1 minute 20 seconds.  While hot pop them out of their skins and cut or separate the halves.
 

Basbousa with almonds بسبوسة باللوز Basbousa bil loz

Sweet stuffed pancakes ( قطايف Kataif / Qatayef )

Sweet stuffed pancakes قطايف Kataif / Qatayef

One of my favourite Egyptian sweets is Kataif.  We didn't have it often at home, in fact we only had it a handful of times that I remember.  I am not sure if that is because it is time consuming - which it is - or if it is because you need a few mouths to eat them because they are very sweet and it only takes 3 or 4 to satisfy the sweetest of sweet tooths. 

It was with this distant, vague memory that I approached my mother one day many years ago and tried to describe Kataif to her, expecting her to know what i was talking about when I described it as simply "a sweet she made once" (in my vague memory with no details or specifics).  I certainly tested both of our memories that day!  Finally, by a process of elimination, we figured out that I was talking about kataif as my mum declared she did make it a long time ago but she couldn't remember the quantities for the ingredients.

This was the first time I really saw my mum experimenting in the kitchen.  She was always such a sure cook, never needing to measure ingredients and cooking by using her senses almost all of the time.

Sweet stuffed pancakes قطايف Kataif / Qatayef

I watched as my mum went about mixing water, yeast and sugar and when she was satisfied the yeast was viable she added flour and more water to form a batter.  Then a bit more flour and a bit more water until she said she couldn't remember the texture of the batter.  Anyway she kept what she had made and moved on to the next step.  She got a frying pan added some oil and poured some of the paint like batter into the hot oil.  She repeated and repeated the process finding that each would stick to the pan no matter how long they cooked for.  She got out a hot plate and tried cooking on that with and without oil to find that they would stick there too. Finally another frying pan, a non-stick, oil-less hot pan produced pancakes that didn't stick.  She turned them over and when they were lightly cooked she removed them and put them on a plate.  She then tried to fill them with the crushed almonds, sugar and sultanas.  Pressing the edges tightly together and finding they would not stick or if they did they would open again while waiting to be fried.  Some even made it as far as being fried only to act like a warm toe dipped into freezing cold water!  We cooked the remainder of the batter in the non-stick pan, without oil and only on one side.  Yes!!!  We were able to finally seal in the luscious filling and fry the Kataif without them opening.  After 3 long hours of trial and error we both enjoyed our kataif, and what a sweet reward it was.
 

I have made them at home on occasion for my family, mainly when I was testing the recipe and then again for photos for my cookbook.  So it was with great pleasure that I undertook to make a video of how to make them. 

How then did it take me over 6 hours to get the footage to make Kataif?  Well we attempted time laps for the first time.  Growing yeast.  Varying the quantity of yeast and container to demonstrate the effect well.   So 4 attempts later, in a cup and not a glass, nor a plate, we had a good result.   Then there was the batter, the first fry, the stuffing, the second fry, the soaking, the draining and then finally…the eating.

I hope that you will give these a try and let me know if you like them as much as I do.  Even though I don’t make them much, I am sure glad that I finally have a record of these for the next time it crosses my mind to make them!

Sweet stuffed pancakes قطايف Kataif / Qatayef

Corn oil to deep fry

Syrup:

2 cups/ 500g sugar

2 cups / 500ml water

½ lemon juiced

pinch of vanilla powder

Dough:

7 gram yeast sachet

1 teaspoon sugar

1 ½ cups plain flour

1 3/4 cups warm water

Stuffing:

1 ½ cups crushed raw walnuts, almonds, pistachio kernels or mixed nuts.

1 tablespoon sugar

40g sultanas, optional 

Sweet stuffed pancakes قطايف Kataif / Qatayef - Ingredients

To make the syrup:

Combine the sugar, water and lemon juice in a saucepan, bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes.  It should be a thin consistency.  Leave to cool.  Once cooled, add a few drops of vanilla essence and stir.

To make the dough:

Place the yeast, sugar and ¼ cup warm water in a cup, stir, then leave in a warm place for 10 minutes until bubbles form.  If there are no bubbles the yeast is dead and you must start again.

Sift the flour into a large bowl, make a well in the centre and add the yeast mixture.  Add the remaining warm water and using your fingers mix together to form a smooth consistency.  Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place such as an oven, for 1 to 2 hours until the dough doubles in size.

To make the Kataif:

Combine the crushed walnuts, sugar and sultanas together in a small bowl.  Set aside. Heat a non-stick frying pan on medium heat.   Mix the dough with a spoon and take about half a tablespoon of the dough and spread in the pan thinly and evenly to a 10 cm diameter (just thicker than a crepe).  Do not use any butter or oil.  Remove from heat when the dough has changed from white to yellow.  Do not cook the other side. Place on a clean dish and repeat with remaining mixture.

Place a teaspoon of the stuffing mixture in the centre of each pancake on the uncooked side.  Fold over, pressing the edges firmly together forming a half moon.  Repeat with each fritter, until all are sealed before you start frying.

Heat the oil in a deep fryer over high heat.  Test by placing any dough scraps in the oil - it should bubble entirely over the dough immediately.  Carefully place 2 or 3 Kataif into the oil at a time, and fry until golden brown in colour turning as required.  Remove from the oil and place directly into the cooled syrup, turning to coat.  Remove from the syrup and leave to drain in a colander or sieve.  Repeat.  Serve immediately and enjoy.

Sweet stuffed pancakes قطايف Kataif / Qatayef

Sweet stuffed pancakes قطايف Kataif / Qatayef

AWAY SO LONG

Apologies for not getting more videos or entries on the blog.  With the birth early arrival of our baby by 7 weeks and the recovery and adjustment after birth as well as moving house and my eldest boy starting school I have had little energy to do anything other that the essentials.  I must say that life has improved enormously since I have finally started to catch up on the many hours of sleep I have needed and now my energy levels have improved immensely also.  I hope that soon I will get orgainsed enough to start producing and uploading more videos too.

Hopefully you will still keep checking in from time to time and until I am fully back on line I thank you for your patients.

I am keen to get back into the swing of things soon, 

Dyna xx