Sakhana

Ingredients

The wheat

• 400 gwhole wheat grains
• soaked overnight
• or cracked wheat
• for a shorter cook

The dates

• 400 gsoft dates
• pitted and chopped
• or 300 ml date syrup
• or to taste

The rest

• about 2 litres water
• 150 gghee or butter
• 1 teaspoonground cardamom
• a pinch of salt
• a pinch of saffron, optional

To serve

• extra ghee, to pour
• chopped nuts, optional
• at iftar

Directions

1. Soak it in the refrigerator if warm. Warm soaking water ferments readily. It takes about forty minutes only. Work against the side of the pot. It should be thick and quite smooth. Cover the wheat with cold water. Cover it by several centimetres.
2. Leave it overnight if you can. Refrigerate it in warm weather. Drain and rinse the soaked wheat. Discard all of the soaking water. Rinse it under fresh cold water.
3. Put the wheat in a heavy deep pot. Cover it well with fresh water. Use about five times the wheat volume. Add more water as it cooks down. Never let it boil right dry at all. Bring it up to a steady simmer. Keep it at a gentle simmer only. It should bubble slowly and steadily. Simmer it for about two full hours. Whole wheat needs genuinely long cooking.
4. Stir it every ten minutes or so. Stir more often as it thickens. Mash the grains against the pot side. Press them with the back of the spoon. That helps them break down faster. Stir the chopped dates into the pot.
5. Add them in after about one hour. Added too early they simply scorch. Add it near the end of cooking. Taste it and add more dates if wanted. It should be sweet but not cloying.
6. Stir the ghee into the porridge. Add it for the last thirty minutes. Stir the melted ghee in thoroughly. Stir the ground cardamom into it. Grind it fresh if you possibly can. Add it near the end of cooking. Stir a good pinch of salt into it.
7. Salt sharpens the sweetness considerably. It stops it tasting flat and cloying. Make it looser than you want it. A perfect hot texture goes stiff cold. Add hot water in to loosen it. Judge it while it is still hot. Spoon it into bowls while hot. Pour extra melted ghee over the top. Scatter chopped nuts over the top. A small bowl of it is quite enough.

Technique

• Wheat porridge catches on the base and burns very readily, and a burnt patch taints the whole pot — stir every ten minutes throughout the two hours, scraping the bottom each time, and stir more often as it thickens. That stirring is the main work of the dish.
• Whole wheat grains take about two hours even after an overnight soak, since they must break down entirely for the starch to thicken the pot. Soak them in the refrigerator in warm weather, since warm soaking water ferments and grows bacteria, and discard the soaking water.
• Cook it looser than you want it, since it thickens considerably as it cools and a perfect hot texture goes stiff when cold; judge the consistency while it is still hot and loosen with hot water.

Substitutions

• Cracked wheat cooks in about forty minutes rather than two hours, giving a slightly different texture — a genuine practical shortcut. Date syrup stands in for chopped dates and dissolves immediately, so add it near the end.
• Chopped nuts scattered on top are visible but tree nut allergy can be severe, so say clearly if you have used them.

Variations

• Add the dates after about an hour: added too early they scorch, and added too late they stay in pieces rather than dissolving into the porridge and sweetening it. No extra sugar is needed, since dates are extremely sweet already.
• Mash the grains against the side of the pot with the back of the spoon each time you stir, which helps them break down and builds the smooth texture — though some grain texture should remain, since this is not a completely smooth purée.
• Iftar breaks the daily Ramadan fast at sunset and sweet foods are traditional then because a long fast depletes blood sugar, which they raise quickly — a genuine practical reason. Dates and water break the fast first, this porridge follows, and a fuller meal comes later.

History

Sweet Omani porridge served at iftar; the wheat is soaked overnight then boiled slowly with dates.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sakhana?

Sakhana is a soup & stew from Oman: wheat porridge cooked with dates and butter, eaten during Ramadan. Sweet Omani porridge served at iftar; the wheat is soaked overnight then boiled slowly with dates.

How long does Sakhana take to make?

Sakhana takes 15 minutes plus soaking of preparation and 2 hours of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Sakhana?

Yes, within limits. Cracked wheat cooks in about forty minutes rather than two hours, giving a slightly different texture — a genuine practical shortcut. Date syrup stands in for chopped dates and dissolves immediately, so add it near the end. Chopped nuts scattered on top are visible but tree nut allergy can be severe, so say clearly if you have used them.

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

Put the wheat in a heavy deep pot. Cover it well with fresh water. Use about five times the wheat volume. Add more water as it cooks down. Never let it boil right dry at all. Bring it up to a steady simmer. Keep it at a gentle simmer only. It should bubble slowly and steadily. Simmer it for about two full hours. Whole wheat needs genuinely long cooking.