Shab-E-Barat recipes

BASBOUSA

Basbousa is a typical Middle Eastern dessert, very popular in Egypt. It is a dense, semolina-based moist cake, gooey with a fragrant simple syrup. Some recipes add coconut, while others add a cream filling, but in its most basic form, basbousa is a semolina cake drizzled with syrup and decorated with nuts.

Ingredients

2 cups semolina

¾ cup butter or ghee

1 cup yoghurt

¼ cup orange juice

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

Zest of one orange

Peeled slivered almonds for decoration

To make the syrup —

2 cups sugar

1 cups water

1 tbsp lemon juice

Method

For the syrup — 

Place the sugar, water and lemon juice in a pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

For the base —

 Mix the semolina, ghee, yoghurt, juice, sugar, baking powder, and orange zest in a pot until homogeneous. Brush a baking dish with ghee. Pour the batter into the baking dish. Level the surface using a wet hand. Use a wet line to make cuts in the pattern that you like. Decorate with peeled almonds. Bake on the bottom rack of a preheated oven at 180° until golden brown (about 30-35 minutes). Take out from the oven and allow it to cool for 5 minutes. Drizzle with sugar syrup (the amount depends on how sweet you want the basbousa to be). Decorate with ground pistachio. Serve once at room temperature.

MOONG DAL HALWA

Ingredients

2 cups yellow mung daal

2 cups thickened milk

2 cups sugar

¾ cup melted ghee

½ tsp cardamom powder

3 tbsp chopped nuts

2 cups hot water

Method

Wash and soak mung daal in hot water for 2 hours. Drain the water completely and dry grind the daal to a paste without adding water. Heat ghee in a pan. Add ground paste and fry in medium heat till it becomes golden brown. Add milk and cook until thick. Add sugar and mix well. Cover and cook for 5 minutes on low flame. Add cardamom powder and chopped nuts, mix well. When the halwa starts to leave the sides of the pan, remove and garnish with nuts. Serve warm or chilled.

POTATO HALWA

Ingredients

2 cups potato, boiled, peeled and mashed

1 cup full cream milk

1½ cup sugar or as per taste

¼ tsp cardamom powder

¼ cup ghee

¼ cup mixed nuts, chopped

Method

Heat ghee in a non-stick pan. Add mashed potatoes. Fry on low heat till it turns slightly golden in colour. Add milk, sugar, cardamom powder and mix well. There should not be any lumps. Stir continuously until halwa turns dry. Add mixed nuts and mix well. Cook for another 2 minutes.

Garnish with nuts and rose petals and serve.

PUMPKIN HALWA

Ingredients

2 cups pumpkin grated, blanched

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup mawa

2 tbsp cashews or pistachio chopped

1 pinch cardamom powder

½ cup milk

Method

Heat ghee in a pan. Fry the nuts till golden and keep aside. To the same pan, add grated pumpkin. Fry for 4-5 minutes or till the raw smell goes off. Pour the milk and cardamom powder. Cook until milk is absorbed. Add sugar and cook till the sugar melts and the halwa thickens. Add mawa and half of the fried cashews. Mix well and stir continuously for a minute. Remove from heat, garnish with rest of the cashews and serve.

POPPY SEEDS HALWA

Ingredients

1 cup poppy seeds soaked overnight

¼ cup ghee

2 cups milk

¼ cup cashew nuts

¼ cup almonds

¼ cup pistachios

¼ cup sugar

Method

Drain the poppy seeds and grind with very little water to a thick paste. Heat ghee in a non-stick pan. Fry the nuts until brown. Remove from pan. In the same pan, add poppy seeds paste and sauté for about 12-15 minutes or until it turns light brown. Reduce heat and add milk. Cook and stir continuously, till it begins to thicken. Add fried nuts and sugar. Mix well and cook for another few minutes. Transfer into a serving bowl, garnish with fried nuts and serve hot.

COCONUT MAWA BARFI

Ingredients

2 cups desiccated coconut

1 cup mawa, grated or crumbled

½ cup milk

1 cup sugar

1 tsp ghee

2 tbsp chopped almonds

2 tbsp chopped pistachios

Method

Grease the pan with ghee. Add mawa, sugar and put on low to medium heat. Add milk and allow the mawa to melt completely. Add coconut and mix well. Cook on a medium heat until the mixture turns thick and begins to leave the sides of the pan. Grease the tray and transfer the mixture to it. Allow it to cool. Cut into barfi shapes. Garnish with chopped nuts and serve.

SHEERMAL

Sheermal is a mildly-sweet, saffron-flavoured naan popular in India and Pakistan. While this Moghul delight is traditionally prepared in a tandoor, it can also be comfortably prepared in a tawa in the convenience of your own kitchen. Using warm milk and spices in the dough gives it a really rich flavour. Do not forget to brush the sheermal with a little ghee before serving.

Ingredients

2 cups plain flour

¼ tsp saffron strands

¼ cup ghee

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp cardamom powder

½ cup milk

Salt to taste

Method

Combine the saffron and 1 teaspoon of hot water in a small bowl, mix well and keep aside. Combine the flour, ghee, sugar, baking powder, cardamom powder, saffron water mixture and salt in a deep bowl and knead into a soft dough using milk. Cover the dough with a wet muslin cloth and keep a side for 30 minutes. Divide the dough into 10 equal portions. Roll a portion of the dough into 4" thick circle using a little plain flour for rolling. Prick the rolled dough with fork. Heat a griddle and place the sheermal over it and cook it on one side till it puffs slightly and then turn over. Cook it on the other side till it puffs a little and then roast it on an open flame till it turns golden brown from both the sides. Brush each sheermal with a little ghee and serve immediately.

RUMALI ROTI

Ingredients

2 cups plain flour

Pinch of baking soda

1 tsp ghee

Milk for kneading

Salt to taste

Method

Combine the flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl and knead into a soft dough using enough milk. Keep aside for 1 hour. Knead again, divide into 10 to 15 portions and roll out each portion very thinly. Place a wok upside down on a flame. Stretch the roti a little on all sides and heat on an upside-down wok till done. Serve hot.

Photo: Shahrear Kabir Heemel

Food: Selina Parvin

Styling: RBR