Basbousa () is a sweet, syrup-soaked
semolina
Semolina is coarsely milled durum wheat mainly used in making couscous, and sweet puddings. The term semolina is also used to designate coarse millings of other varieties of wheat, and sometimes other grains (such as rice or corn) as well.
Etymo ...
cake that originated in Egypt.
The semolina batter is baked in a sheet pan, then sweetened with
orange flower water
Orange flower
Orange flower water, or orange blossom water, is a clear aromatic by-product of the distillation of fresh bitter-orange blossoms for their essential oil.
Uses
This essential water has traditionally been used as an aromatizer i ...
,
rose water
Rose water ( fa, گلاب) is a flavoured water made by steeping rose petals in water. It is the hydrosol portion of the distillate of rose petals, a by-product of the production of rose oil
Rose oil (rose otto, attar of rose, attar of rose ...
or simple syrup, and typically cut into diamond (lozenge) shapes or squares. The dish has also spread within most areas of the former
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
,
and is generally featured in
Middle Eastern cuisines,
Greek cuisine
Greek cuisine (Greek: Ελληνική Κουζίνα) is the cuisine of Greece and the Greek diaspora. In common with many other cuisines of the Mediterranean, it is founded on the triad of wheat, olive oil, and wine. It uses vegetables, oli ...
,
Azerbaijani cuisine
Azerbaijani cuisine ( az, Azərbaycan mətbəxi) refers to the cooking styles and dishes of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The cuisine developed significantly due to its diversity of agriculture, from abundant grasslands which historically allowed f ...
,
Ethiopian cuisine
Ethiopian cuisine ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ምግብ "Ye-Ītyōṗṗyā məgəb") characteristically consists of vegetable and often very spicy meat dishes. This is usually in the form of ''wat,'' a thick stew, served on top of ''injera'' ( ...
, and many others.
Names
![Basbousa2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Basbousa2.JPG)
It is found in the cuisines of the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
, the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
and the
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
under a variety of names.
*
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: هريسة ''harīsa'' (meaning mashed or crushed), نمورة ''nammoura'', بسبوسة ''basbūsah''
*
*
*
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: ραβανί (''ravani''), ρεβανί (''revani''), σάμαλι (''samali'')
*
*
*
Macedonian and
*
*
*
Basbousa is the most common name for this dessert in the Middle East but it may be named differently depending on the region; It is often called "hareesa" in the Levant. Note that "harissa" in North Africa is a
spicy red sauce. It is a popular dessert offered in most sweets bakeries in the Middle East and especially popular in
Ramadan
, type = islam
, longtype = Religious
, image = Ramadan montage.jpg
, caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
.
Variations
Pastūsha (sometimes stylized as pastūçha) is a variant of basbousa that originated in
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
in the 2010s.
Like basbousa, it is made from
semolina
Semolina is coarsely milled durum wheat mainly used in making couscous, and sweet puddings. The term semolina is also used to designate coarse millings of other varieties of wheat, and sometimes other grains (such as rice or corn) as well.
Etymo ...
soaked in sweet
syrup
In cooking, a syrup (less commonly sirup; from ar, شراب; , beverage, wine and la, sirupus) is a condiment that is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars ...
. It is characterized by the addition of finely ground
pistachio
The pistachio (, ''Pistacia vera''), a member of the cashew family, is a small tree originating from Central Asia and the Middle East. The tree produces seeds that are widely consumed as food.
''Pistacia vera'' is often confused with other sp ...
s and orange flower water.
Basbousa bil ashta – a
Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...
ine variation of basbousa filled with ashta cream in the middle.
Vegan Basbousa – Basbusa is also available in vegan form using apple sauce to bind the base mix together instead of dairy and eggs.
See also
*
Arab cuisine
Arab cuisine ( ar, المطبخ العربي) is the cuisine of the Arabs, defined as the various regional cuisines spanning the Arab world, from the Maghreb to the Fertile Crescent and the Arabian Peninsula. These cuisines are centuries old an ...
*
List of Turkish desserts
This is a list of desserts from Turkish cuisine.
See also
* List of desserts
*
*
References
{{Lists of prepared foods
*
Turkish desserts
Turkish cuisine () is the cuisine of Turkey and the Turkish diaspora. It is largely the ...
*
Hurma
*
Melomakarono
The melomakarono ( el, μελομακάρονο plural: μελομακάρονα, ''melomakarona'') is an egg-shaped Greek dessert made mainly from flour, olive oil, and honey.
Along with the kourabies it is a traditional dessert prepared pri ...
References
Works cited
*
{{dessert-stub
Cakes
Egyptian cuisine
Levantine cuisine
Ottoman cuisine
North African cuisine
Turkish desserts
Arab desserts
Arab pastries
Greek desserts
Armenian desserts
Semolina dishes
Albanian cuisine
African cuisine