I had seen lots of pictures and travel shows about ancient monuments in the middle east region, of temples and castles carved out of mountain faces. But nothing prepared me for the sight of Queen Hatchepsut's Temple at Luxor. Carved into the face of barren hill it is a splendid structure that has stood the test of time still showing the world the ambition of the queen who built it. Although many parts of the building especially the statues and wall carvings inside were destroyed by her stepson after he took over as the king, you can't miss the grandeur of the temple even after over 3000 years. You have to be there to really appreciate it.
I got to try various kind of dessert in Egypt. I thought we the Bengalis have a sweet tooth. Well the Egyptians also have a thing for sweets. The desserts are often filled with nuts and more nuts and very sweet. One of the most common dessert is a dish called Basbousa. I looked around the net for a recipe that would match the stuff I ate in Cairo and I found this one the closest to what I tasted. I found this recipe at http://mideastfood.about.com/od/dessertssweetspastries/r/basbousa.htm
Basbousa is made with Semolina (i.e. Suji). It is a cake soaked in a lovely lemony sugar syrup. You can find it almost everywhere and I have been told that it is popular especially over cups of Arabian Coffee. So here goes todays installment of flavors of Egypt
Basbousa
For the syrup:
Sugar - 2 1/4 cup
Water - 1 1/2 cup
Lemon Juice - 2 1/2 to 3 Tablespoons
Honey (optional) - 1 teaspoons
For the Cake:
Semolina - 2 Cups
Sugar - 1 Cup
Butter - 1 Stick
Whole Milk - 1 cup
Baking Powder - 1 tablespoon
Baking Soda - 1 tablespoon
Vanilla Extract - 1 1/2 teaspoons
Eggs - 2
Salt - 1 pinch
Almond (blanched and halved lengthwise) - 15 to 20
Whipped Cream (optional)
Heat the water and sugar in a saucepan until the sugar is well dissolved. Add the lemon juice and boil the syrup. Once the syrup starts to boil, add the honey (if using) and keep boiling the syrup over low heat for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a square baking dish/cake pan (about 9"X12").
Cream the butter and sugar until the butter is nice and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and vanilla and continue beating until everything is well incorporated.
In a separate bowl mix the baking soda, baking powder, salt and semolina.
Add the semolina mixture to the egg-butter mixture alternately with the milk until everything is mixed into a nice smooth batter.
Pour the batter into the baking dish and Smooth the top with spatula/knife. Score the top of the batter diagonally from right to left and then from left to right to make diamond shape. Place an almond half (cut side down) in the center of each diamond. Bake the cake for 25 minutes (until a toothpick pierced in the center comes out clean).
As soon as you take the cake out of the oven, pour the prepared syrup on the cake until the cake can't absorb any more of the syrup. Allow to cool for half an hour before serving. If you want. you can serve Basbousa with a dollop of whipped cream. Have it with a nice cup of Java.
Enjoy!!!!!
I got to try various kind of dessert in Egypt. I thought we the Bengalis have a sweet tooth. Well the Egyptians also have a thing for sweets. The desserts are often filled with nuts and more nuts and very sweet. One of the most common dessert is a dish called Basbousa. I looked around the net for a recipe that would match the stuff I ate in Cairo and I found this one the closest to what I tasted. I found this recipe at http://mideastfood.about.com/od/dessertssweetspastries/r/basbousa.htm
Basbousa is made with Semolina (i.e. Suji). It is a cake soaked in a lovely lemony sugar syrup. You can find it almost everywhere and I have been told that it is popular especially over cups of Arabian Coffee. So here goes todays installment of flavors of Egypt
Basbousa
For the syrup:
Sugar - 2 1/4 cup
Water - 1 1/2 cup
Lemon Juice - 2 1/2 to 3 Tablespoons
Honey (optional) - 1 teaspoons
For the Cake:
Semolina - 2 Cups
Sugar - 1 Cup
Butter - 1 Stick
Whole Milk - 1 cup
Baking Powder - 1 tablespoon
Baking Soda - 1 tablespoon
Vanilla Extract - 1 1/2 teaspoons
Eggs - 2
Salt - 1 pinch
Almond (blanched and halved lengthwise) - 15 to 20
Whipped Cream (optional)
Heat the water and sugar in a saucepan until the sugar is well dissolved. Add the lemon juice and boil the syrup. Once the syrup starts to boil, add the honey (if using) and keep boiling the syrup over low heat for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a square baking dish/cake pan (about 9"X12").
Cream the butter and sugar until the butter is nice and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and vanilla and continue beating until everything is well incorporated.
In a separate bowl mix the baking soda, baking powder, salt and semolina.
Add the semolina mixture to the egg-butter mixture alternately with the milk until everything is mixed into a nice smooth batter.
Pour the batter into the baking dish and Smooth the top with spatula/knife. Score the top of the batter diagonally from right to left and then from left to right to make diamond shape. Place an almond half (cut side down) in the center of each diamond. Bake the cake for 25 minutes (until a toothpick pierced in the center comes out clean).
As soon as you take the cake out of the oven, pour the prepared syrup on the cake until the cake can't absorb any more of the syrup. Allow to cool for half an hour before serving. If you want. you can serve Basbousa with a dollop of whipped cream. Have it with a nice cup of Java.
Enjoy!!!!!
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