Maamoul ( ar, معمول ) is a filled
butter cookie made with
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 ...
flour. The filling can be made with dried fruits like figs or
dates
Date or dates may refer to:
*Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'')
Social activity
*Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner
**Group dating
*Play date, an ...
or
nuts
Nut often refers to:
* Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, or a collective noun for dry and edible fruits or seeds
* Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt
Nut or Nuts may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Com ...
such as
pistachios
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 ...
or
walnuts and occasionally
almonds
The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of th ...
.
Maamoul are usually made during the
Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
holiday,
Purim
Purim (; , ; see Name below) is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jews, Jewish people from Haman, an official of the Achaemenid Empire who was planning to have all of Persia's Jewish subjects killed, as recounted in the Boo ...
, and a few days before
Eid
Eid as a name may refer to:
Islamic holidays
An Eid is a Muslim religious festival:
* ''Eid Milad un Nabi'', alternate name for Mawlid (, "Birth of the Prophet"), the date of observance of the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad
* Eid al ...
(then stored to be served with
Arabic coffee
Arabic coffee is a version of the brewed coffee of ''Coffea arabica'' beans. Most Arab countries throughout the Middle East have developed distinct methods for brewing and preparing coffee. Cardamom is an often-added spice, but it can alternative ...
and chocolate to guests who come during the holiday).
It is popular throughout the
Arab world
The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
, especially in the
Arabian peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
.
They may be in the shape of balls, domed or flattened cookies. They can either be decorated by hand or be made in special wooden moulds called ''tabe''.
[
]
Variations
The cookies can be filled with nuts (commonly used nuts are pistachios, almonds or walnuts) or dried fruits, most commonly orange-scented date paste.
In Turkey, maamouls are referred to as Kombe and are usually consisted of crushed walnuts, ginger and cinnamon for the filling.
Etymology
The 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 ...
word ( ) is derived from the Arabic verb (, meaning to "to do".
Customs
While ma'amoul are consumed all-year long, they are most associated with Eid Al-Fitr
, nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast
, observedby = Muslims
, type = Islamic
, longtype = Islamic
, significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan
, dat ...
or iftar
Iftar ( ar, translit=Iftar Ramadan, إفطار رمضان), also known as (from , , 'breakfast'), (), is the evening meal with which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset. They break their fast at the time of the call to prayer (a ...
as meals in celebration for the ending of 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. ...
's fasting. For Christian Arabs as well, ma'amoul is also part of the Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
celebrations.
See also
References
Further reading
* Farah, Madelain, ''Lebanese Cuisine: More than 200 Simple, Delicious, Authentic Recipes'': London: 2001
* Smouha, Patricia, ''Middle Eastern Cooking'', London 1955 ASIN: B0000CJAHX
* Roden, Claudia, ''A New Book of Middle Eastern Food'': London 1986
* Roden, Claudia, ''The Book of Jewish Food'': New York 1997, London 1999
* Uvezian, Sonia, ''Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen: A Culinary Journey Through Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan'': 2004 ,
* Joan Nathan, ''The Jewish Holiday Kitchen'': New York 1988
* ''Joan Nathan's Jewish Holiday Cookbook'': 2004 ,
External links
*
{{Cuisine of Lebanon
Cookies
Hanukkah foods
Lebanese desserts
Levantine cuisine
Mizrahi Jewish cuisine
Rosh Hashanah foods
Sephardi Jewish cuisine
Arab desserts
Stuffed desserts
Arab pastries
Easter food
Semolina dishes
Lenten foods
Jewish cookies