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Basbousa bel Loz

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 6

Ingredients

3 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup blanched almonds
2/3 cup butter
1 cup semolina
To garnish: whole blanched almonds, eishta (the rich cream from water buffalo’s milk, page 407), or clotted or whipped heavy cream

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring water, sugar, and lemon juice to the boil in a pan. Simmer for 8 minutes.

    Step 2

    Chop the almonds finely and fry them in the hot butter together with the semolina until they are a beautiful golden color.

    Step 3

    Add the hot syrup slowly, stirring constantly, over low heat until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and cover the pan. Let it cool a little.

    Step 4

    Pour into individual greased molds and flatten out on top. Turn out immediately and serve warm. Decorate each portion with an almond or a dollop of cream.

Cover of Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Easter Food, featuring a blue filigree bowl filled with Meyer lemons and sprigs of mint.
Reprinted with permission from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, copyright © 2000 by Claudia Roden, published by Knopf. Buy the full book on Amazon or Bookshop.
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