Basbousa with Almonds

Ramadan is here and I’m trying out some Middle East recipes frequently. Here’s a dessert which is very simple to prepare but yet, very yummy. Basbousa with Almonds is a traditional Middle East dessert and is perfect with coffee or tea.

Ingredients

Water: 2 ¼ cup

Sugar: 1 ½ cup

Almonds: ¾ cup

Butter: ½ cup

Semolina: ¾ cup

Lemon juice: 1 tsp

Method

Bring water, sugar and lemon juice to boil in a pan. Simmer the syrup for 5-10 minutes. Cut the almonds into small pieces and fry in butter with semolina until golden brown. Add the syrup slowly to the semolina mixture stirring constantly over a low heat. See to it that no lumps are formed and the mixture becomes thick. Remove from heat and cover the lid of the pan and allow it to cool for a while. Later, pour the mixture into greased moulds and flatten the tops and garnish with almond pieces before serving warm.

The same can be done in a different manner, but in the oven and we can call it as Semolina Cake. Here’s the recipe for that.

Ingredients

Butter: 1 cup

Condensed milk: 1 tin

Baking powder: 1 tsp

Semolina: 2 cup

Almond pieces: 1 cup

Water: 1 cup

For the syrup

Sugar: 2 cup

Water: 1 ½ cup

Lemon juice: 1 tsp

Rosewater: 1 tsp

Almond pieces: 2 tsp

Method

Prepare the syrup first. Dissolve sugar in water in a saucepan. Add lemon juice and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes on a low flame and keep it aside.

In a bowl, combine butter, condensed milk and baking powder and mix well, before adding semolina, almond pieces and water and stir well. Preheat oven to 190 degrees and lightly grease a baking dish. Pour the mixture into the baking dish and flatten it with a spoon. Bake for 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Remove the cake from oven and pour the cooled syrup all over. Allow the syrup to be absorbed and place in fridge to cool completely. Cut into diamond shapes, garnish with almond pieces and serve. It can also be served warm without keeping in fridge.