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
…

















































