Basbousa () is a sweet, syrup-soaked

semolina Semolina is the name given to roughly milled durum wheat mainly used in making pasta 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 ma ...

dessert that is typically associated with Egyptian cuisine. Similar but slightly different dishes are also popular in the wider region. The semolina batter is baked in a sheet pan, then sweetened with sugar syrup and typically cut into diamond (lozenge) shapes or squares.

History

The ''Oxford Companion to Food'' (3rd edition) suggests that basbousa might have developed from a dish called ma'mounia, which was created around the 10th century. Ma'mounia was made by cooking rice in fat and syrup. This recipe was later adapted to use semolina, with the batter being cooked first and then soaked in syrup. Another take on its origin suggests that basbousa was first made during the 16th century in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, likely in what is modern-day Turkey, to celebrate the conquest of

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

Names

It is found in the cuisines of the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, the

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and the

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

under a variety of names. *, sq-definite, revanija *

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: , , * * *Cypriot

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

: shamali * * * * * * 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 many sweets bakeries in the Middle East and especially popular during

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

Variations

Pastūsha (sometimes stylized as pastūçha) is a variant of basbousa that originated in

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

in the 2010s. Like basbousa, it is made from

soaked in sweet

syrup In cooking, syrup (less commonly sirup; from ; , beverage, wine and ) is a condiment that is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a Solution (chemistry), solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars but ...

. It is characterized by the addition of finely ground

pistachio The pistachio (, ; ''Pistacia vera'') is a small to medium-sized tree of the Anacardiaceae, cashew family, originating in Iran. The tree produces nut (fruit)#Culinary definition and uses, seeds that are widely consumed as food. In 2022, world ...

s and orange flower water. Basbousa bil ashta: a

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

ine and Egyptian variation of basbousa filled with milk 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. Basbousa eem Tapuzim:

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i variation from the coastal region, it is flavored with orange juice. Basbousa bil Tamr: Libyan variant of basbousa where date spread is being added between two layers of the basbousa. Tishpishti or Tichpichtil is a Sephardic Jewish variant. The name derives from the Turkish phrase "Tez Pişti," meaning "cooked quickly." Qizha: Palestinian variant of basbousa with nigella seeds paste called Qizha. Hilbeh: Palestinian variant of basbousa flavoured with fenugreek seeds. Aflatoon:

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

n variant, made with

, eggs, dry fruits, powder milk, and sugar syrup.

References

Works cited * {{Turkish cuisine Cakes Egyptian cuisine Yemeni desserts Kuwaiti cuisine Ottoman cuisine Libyan cuisine Turkish desserts Arab pastries Israeli desserts Albanian cuisine Greek desserts Armenian desserts Semolina dishes

History

Names

Variations

See also

References