Magrood

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 gcoarse semolina
• 150 gfine semolina
• 180 gmelted ghee or butter
• 1 tspbaking powder
• a pinch of salt
• about 150 ml warm water
• 2 tbsporange blossom water

Date filling

• 500 gsoft dates, stoned
• 50 gbutter
• 1 tspground cinnamon
• ½ tspground cloves
• 1 tsporange blossom water
• grated zest of 1 orange

To fry

• oil, for deep frying

Syrup

• 300 ghoney
• 100 mlwater
• 1 tbsplemon juice
• 1 tbsporange blossom water

To serve

• with mint tea, at Eid or Ramadan

Directions

1. Pour the melted ghee over the semolina and rub it through thoroughly with your hands. Work it for several minutes until every grain is coated and the mixture feels like damp sand. That thorough coating with fat before any water is added is what keeps the dough short and crumbly.
2. Cover the greased semolina and leave it for thirty minutes to an hour. Now add the warm water gradually. Add warm water a little at a time, working it in gently until the dough just holds together when pressed.
3. Use as little water as possible, since a wet dough absorbs oil in the fryer and gives heavy greasy pastries. Do not knead it, since semolina has no gluten to develop and working it only makes it dense.
4. Use soft dates and check every one for stones, which is tedious and necessary. Blend or pound them into a thick paste with the butter, spices, zest and orange blossom water. If the dates are dry, steam them briefly first to soften them. Press the seam closed and flatten the log slightly, then cut it diagonally into diamonds.
5. Press a pattern into the surface with a carved wooden mould, a tabaa, or with the tines of a fork. The pattern helps the syrup cling to the surface as well as marking them as magrood. Heat the oil to about 165°C, which is moderate rather than hot.
6. Fry them at a moderate temperature, since the dough is dense and needs time for the heat to reach the middle. Hot oil colours the outside within a minute while the inside stays raw and gritty. Fry them in small batches for four to five minutes until deep golden. Do not crowd the pan, which drops the temperature sharply. Lift them out and let them drain for a moment only.
7. Warm the honey with the water, lemon and orange blossom water until it is thin and pourable. Now dip the hot pastries into the warm syrup for thirty seconds to a minute. Lift them out and set them on a rack to drain. Now let them rest for several hours before eating.

Technique

• The dough is semolina with no flour at all.
• Hot pastries go into warm syrup so the syrup is drawn in.
• They improve after resting for several hours.

Substitutions

• Butter in place of ghee.
• Sugar syrup in place of honey, which is common.

Variations

• Baked rather than fried, which is lighter.
• Made with a fig filling instead of date.
• Rolled in sesame seeds before frying.

Frequently asked questions

What is Magrood?

Magrood is a dessert from Libya: fried semolina and date pastries soaked in honey.

How long does Magrood take to make?

Magrood takes 1 hr plus 30 min resting of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 30. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Magrood?

Yes, within limits. Butter in place of ghee. Sugar syrup in place of honey, which is common.

What is the most important thing to get right in Magrood?

Use as little water as possible, since a wet dough absorbs oil in the fryer and gives heavy greasy pastries. Do not knead it, since semolina has no gluten to develop and working it only makes it dense.