Lebanese cakes, pastries, desserts, jams and preserves are very sweet. They are always served to visitors with coffee, and are often eaten as snacks between meals. However they are not necessarily served as desserts at the end of a meal, but may be replaced by a bowl of fresh fruit in season.
The most popular Lebanese sweets are the Baklawa and K'naafeh pastries which, like many recipes are satuated in a fragrant sugar syrup. They are made commercially, but like most foods they are even more delicious when fresh from the home kitchen.
Some Lebanese sweets are traditionally made to celebrate religious or family festivities, Oo'whamat, for example are made for the Gh'taas (baptism of Christ) celebration Ma'amool b'Jowz are special Easter cakes, and Meghli is a rice pudding served to well wishers when a baby is born.
Plain Rice Pudding
(Ruz b'Haleeb)
- 31/2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup rice, washed and drained
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 teaspoon rosewater or orange blossom water*
- 1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds for decoration
Bring the milk and sugar to the boil. Add the rice, mixed with the water, and stir until it comes to the boil again. Turn down the heat to a low simmer and cook gently until the mixture becomes very creamy --approx. 45 minutes. (Add a little more milk during cooking if necessary.)
Add the rosewater or orange blossom water, stirring until bubbles appear on the surface.
Remove from the heat and cool slightly, then pour into a bowl and refrigerate.
Serve chilled, decorated with slivered almonds.
Serves: 6 Cooking time: 45 minutes.
* These are diluted essences available from chemists, drug stores, health food shops and some continental delicatessens. Pure essence, which is much more expensive, may be substituted but the quantities should be reduced to a few drops.
Ground Rice Pudding
( M'hal'abeeyeh)
- 2 Tablespoons cornflour/cornstarch
- 1/4 cup ground rice
- 1.25 litres OR (2 pints)Milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon rosewater OR orange blossom water(see above)
Blanched slivered almonds or some Crystallized Flowers for decoration. *
Lower the beat to a simmer and, using a wooden spoon, gradually stir the warm paste into the milk.(Be careful not to scrape the bottom of the pot with the spoon so that you do not dislodge particles of burned milk which may have occurred during boiling.)
Continue stirring the mixture until it thickens enough to coat the spoon. Stir for a further minute, then remove from the heat and stir in the rosewater or orange blossom water, Cool slightly, pour into individual dishes and refrigerate,
Serve chilled, decorated with slivered almonds or Crystallized Flowers.
Serves: 6 - 8 Cooking time: 20 minutes.
* Crystallized Flowers ( Zah'rit Succar )Egg white
Fruit blossom, violets, rose petals or mint leaves
Caster sugar
Beat the egg white with a fork and pour it over the blossom, petals or leaves. Dip them into the caster sugar, then set aside on crinkled kitchen paper to dry in a cool place. Use for decorating puddings, cakes and other sweets.
Dough Balls in Syrup
(Oo'whamat)
- 31/2 cups plain flour
- 7.5g (1/4oz) dried yeast or 15g 1/2oz fresh yeast.
- 21/2 cups lukewarm water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 4 cups Atter syrup*
Nut or corn oil for frying.
- Ground cinnamon (optional)
Warm a mixing bowl and sift the flour into it.
Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of the lukewarm water, add the sugar and set aside until it rises and foams.
Beat the remaining water into the yeast, then gradually add the flour, beating constantly until the mixture becomes a sticky batter. Cover with a damp cloth and place in a warm spot to rise--approx.11/4 hours. During the first hour beat the mixture vigorously at quarter hour intervals.
Place 5 cm (2in) oil in a frying pan and heat until very hot. With a wet teaspoon scoop up the dough and drop it into the hot oil. The dough balls will swell up and float to the top, at which stage you should turn the heat down to mediup and keep cooking until they are crisp and golden brown.
Serve hot or cold.
Makes: approx 50 balls.
Cookin time : 5 minutes per batch.
- 3 cups sugar
- 11/2 cups water
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 Teaspoon rosewater or orange blossom water.
Dissolve sugar in water, add lemon juice and bring to the boil. Skim the foam from the surface and continue to boil, stirring occasionally until syrup thickens slightly -- approx 10 minutes. Add the rosewater or orange blossom water towards the end of the cooking time.
Stand syrup to cool.
Festive Rice Pudding
(Meghli)
- 1 cup ground rice
- 5 cups of cold water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon of aniseed OR 1/2 teaspoon powdered
- 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds OR 1/2 teaspoon powdered
- 1 teaspoon of caraway seeds OR 1/2 teaspoon powdered.
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon.
- 1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds for decoration.
Mix the ground rice to a smooth paste with some of the cold water. Add the sugar, aniseed, fennel, caraway and cinnamon.
Bring the remaining water to the boil. Add the ground rice mixture gradually, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon. Continue stirring until it comes to the boil again, then lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until cooked - approx.1 hour.
The mixture is cooked when it is thick enough to coat the spoon. Cool it slightly, pour into individual bowls and refrigerate.
Serve chilled, decorated with the almonds.
This is also one of the festive desert prepared upon the arrival of a new baby to the family.
More To Come
