Laila Blog’s

Namoura

This recipe was requested by Ammar .. Namoura is a sweet, egg-less, cake like dessert .. its a popular dessert across the middles east … it is also known a Harisseh in Syria and as Basboosa in Egypt … so three different names for one dessert … The main ingredient used in it is semolina … and once its baked … sugar syrup is added to it … its supposed to be a really “sweet” dessert …. so to make it you will need:

- 2 cups semolina

- 3/4 cup yogurt

- 1 cup sugar

- 1/4 cup ghee or butter

- 1 1/2 ts baking powder

- 1 1/2 tb blossom water

- 1 1/2 tb tahini sauce

- 1/4 cup almonds

- 1 1/2 cup sugar syrup

Start by soaking the almonds in water for around half an hour … this is done so we can peel them…

Peel the almonds … this is really easy to do … the skin will peel right out of it … if it didnt then you will need to soak it more …

ps. some people like to split the almond in half before using them .. this is totally up to you …

ps. if you are in a hurry you can boil the almonds for 5 mins … then peel them …

Spread the tahini sauce in a 10 inch cake pan … this is like buttering a cake pan … it wont give any taste to the cake … it just will prevent the dessert from sticking to the pan …

In a large bowl … add the semolina, sugar, ghee or butter, yogurt, baking powder, and blossom water…. so basically you add all the ingredients together …

Mix everything really well to a soft dough texture …

Spread the dough in the prepared pan …

Then using a knife … cut it into diamond or square shape … and place one peeled almond in the middle of each diamond or square …

ps. press the almond lightly into the dough so it wont pop out while baking …

Bake the Namoura in a medium oven … around 180°C .. until the edges are golden … if the top isn’t golden .. then place it under the broiler for few mins until golden …

Once its out of the oven … run the knife again over the cuts you made previously .. this will help the sugar syrup to be absorbed well …

While still hot … add the sugar syrup on top of the Namoura … you can adjust the amount of syrup up to your taste … but traditionally its supposed to be really sweet ..

Let it cool completely before serving …

And thats it .. Enjoy a sweet piece of a traditional dessert along with a cup of Turkish coffee …

Enjoy …

Shorbet Adas (Lentil Soup)

This recipe was requested by Dave … Lentil soup is one of the most popular soups in the middle east .. each family has there own version of it … some make it without vegetable … and some don’t purée it … and this is the way my family makes it … to make it you will need :

Serves : 4 – 6

- 1 cup red lentil

- 1 medium potato .. chopped

- 1 big tomato… chopped

- 2 medium carrot… chopped

- 1 big onion… quartered

- 3 garlic cloves

- 1 ts cumin powder

- 2 chicken stock bouillon

- 1 liter hot water

- 1 tb ghee or butter

- lemon juice … for serving

- Chopped deep fried pitta bread … optional .. this is for serving

In a pressure cooker … add the lentils ..

Then add all the vegetables ( potato, tomato, carrot, onion, and garlic)… also add the chicken stock bouillon and the cumin powder …

Now add boiling water enough to cover everything .. approximately 1 liter (4 cups) …

Cover the pressure cooker … let it boil until it whistles then cook it for 10 mins …

Purée the soup until its smooth … you can do that using a blender or a hand blender like I did …

Bring the soup back to a boil then add to it the ghee or butter … and let it boil until melted … and the soup is ready …

And thats it .. serve the soup with a squeeze of lemon and some croutons .. traditionally its served with diced pitta bread that is deep fried until golden ….

Enjoy …

Short Break

hey everyone ..

Im going on a trip for a couple of weeks so will continue posting all requests and new recipes as soon as i come back … will try to stay in touch whenever i find internet connection .. if you have any new suggestions for my blog let me know as im looking for new ideas … so do stay in touch

Enjoy …

Laila

Atayif bi Ishtah (Cream Filled Atayif)

Once you have the Atayif dough ready … now all you will need is to choose your filling … my choice this time was cream filling.. known as ishtah around here … then you have a choice of either baking it or deep frying it … the good thing about atayif is that it can be made and frozen till the time you want to serve it … all you need to do is fill it … then freeze it … and when ever you feel like having it .. you can simply take it out of the freezer straight to the fryer .. or to the oven … and it will taste just as fresh as it was made the same day … so to make cream filled atayif you will need:

- Atayif

- Ishtah or Cream filling

- Ghee or butter

- Sugar syrup

- Pistachio …. optional

Start by closing the atayif half way …

Then add 1 to 2 ts of the cream filling … don’t add a lot or it wont close …

Now continue closing the dough …

And make sure its well sealed so it doesn’t open while frying or baking

Ps. At this point you can place the Atayif on a tray and freeze them .. and when ever you want to have them take them right out of the freezer to the deep fryer or continue to the next step to bake them …

Generously grease a baking tray with ghee or butter … and place the filled atayif on it …

Then brush the top of the atayif with ghee or butter … and bake it in a medium to hot oven (around 200°C) until its nice and crisp .. around 15 to 20 mins …

Take the atayif while still hot and dip them in sugar syrup … the syrup must be cold( at room temperature) and the atayif must be hot so that it absorbs it well …

Take the Atayif out of the syrup and place it on a serving dish … sprinkle with a little pistachio and serve …

Enjoy …

Atayif Dough

This recipe was requested by Nansi .. Atayif or Katayif is a popular Levant dessert … Basically its Pancake like dough that is stuffed with different fillings … the most popular filling is cheese .. but its also stuffed with cream, walnut, nuts mixture , and my family’s invention is filling it with coconut.. so once you have the dough you can stuff it with anything of your choice .. Bake or deep fry it … then drop it in sugar syrup … Atayif is mainly consumed in the month Ramadan in most of the middle eastern countries but i was told that in Syria its a winter dessert … its a delicious dessert and always served hot or warm … to make the dough you will need:

Makes: 18 to 20 pieces

- 2 cups flour

- 2 cups milk .. it should be lukewarm (around your body temperature) but not hot or boiling

- 1/2 ts yeast.. fast acting

- pinch of salt

- 1/2 ts mahleb … this is optional

In a bowl … mix together the flour, yeast, salt and mahleb …

Add the milk to the dry mixture and whisk well until there are no lumps …

Cover the dough well with a towel and let it sit aside in a warm place for an hour …

After an hour you will realize that it has slightly risen .. and when you stir it you will be able to see bubbles in it …

Heat a pan really well … it should be really hot … Then pour around 1/4 cup into it and slightly spread it with the back of the cup …

Like in the picture you should see big bubble appear .. don’t move it .. wait a little until the top dries up … if you worry that it will burn then lower the heat … you will not need to flip it .. it should be golden brown on one side only …

Finally remove the Atayif and set it aside on a tray covered with a towel … once they cool down completely you can stack them .. but be careful if you stack them early they will stick together … so make sure they are completely cooled …

And that’s it … the dough is ready to be stuffed … the next recipe will be Atayif with cream filling …

Enjoy …

Namoura

Shorbet Adas (Lentil Soup)

Short Break

Atayif bi Ishtah (Cream Filled Atayif)

Atayif Dough

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Namoura

Shorbet Adas (Lentil Soup)

Short Break

Atayif bi Ishtah (Cream Filled Atayif)

Atayif Dough

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