Ingredients
Dried fruit
- 500 gdried apricots
- 200 gdried figs, chopped
- 150 graisins or sultanas
- 100 gdried prunes, stoned
- water, for soaking
Nuts
- 100 gblanched almonds
- 80 gpistachios
- 80 gpine nuts, optional
- 50 gwalnuts, chopped
To cook
- 250 gsugar
- 400 mlwater
- 1 teaspoonground cardamom
- 1 teaspoonground cinnamon
- a pinch of saffron threads
- juice of 1 lemon
- 3 tablespoonsrosewater
- 2 tablespoonsorange blossom water
To serve
- small dishes
- extra chopped pistachio
Directions
- Put all the dried fruit in a large bowl. Cover it generously with cold water. Leave it overnight to plump up. Drain it and keep every drop of the water. Preparing the nuts takes a moment. Pour boiling water over the almonds. The skins slip off after a few minutes.
- Chop the walnuts roughly by hand. Leave the pistachios entirely whole. Crush the saffron threads in a small bowl. Use the back of a spoon to grind them. Add a tablespoon of warm water. Let it steep for at least ten minutes. Put the soaked fruit in a heavy pot.
- Add the soaking water and the fresh water. Add the sugar to the pot as well. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Let it cook for about thirty minutes. Stir it well every few minutes. Crush about half of it against the pan.
- Leave the rest in recognisable pieces. Add the cardamom and the cinnamon. Add the steeped saffron and its liquid. Stir them through the pot thoroughly. Use it generously rather than sparingly. Reducing it takes real patience. Let it cook uncovered for another thirty minutes. Stir it every five minutes without fail. Judging when it is done is the whole skill.
- Stir in the almonds, pistachios and walnuts. Add the pine nuts if you are using them. Add them for the last ten minutes only. Long cooking makes nuts soft and dull.
- Keep a few pistachios back for the top. Finishing it is done off the heat. Take the pot off the heat entirely. Squeeze in the juice of the lemon. Stir in the rosewater and orange blossom water. Add them off the heat so they do not evaporate.
- Taste it and adjust the lemon. Spoon it into clean jars while warm. Let it cool and then seal them. It keeps three weeks in a cool place. Spoon a little into each dish. Scatter chopped pistachio over the top.
Technique
- Libya makes an Eid sweet called debyaza, the same word in a different spelling, but the Libyan dish is built on pumpkin where the Hijazi one is built on dried apricot.
- The Hijaz sits on the pilgrimage routes to Mecca, and its food reflects centuries of settlement by pilgrims from India, the Levant, Turkey and North Africa.
- The soaking water from the dried fruit carries a great deal of flavour and goes into the pot as the cooking liquid.
Substitutions
- Unsulphured apricots are darker and more concentrated in flavour than the bright orange kind.
- Any combination of dried fruit works according to what is available.
Variations
- Some cooks crush the fruit to a smooth paste and others leave it in pieces.
- A version with more nuts is made for larger gatherings.
- Debyaza in Libya is the related Eid sweet made with pumpkin.
History
A Hijazi Eid al-Fitr sweet from Mecca and Jeddah, cooked in advance and offered to visitors.
Frequently asked questions
What is Debyazah?
Debyazah is a dessert from Saudi Arabia: dried apricot and fruit compote cooked with nuts, served in small dishes. A Hijazi Eid al-Fitr sweet from Mecca and Jeddah, cooked in advance and offered to visitors.
How long does Debyazah take to make?
Debyazah takes 30 minutes plus overnight soaking of preparation and 1 hour of cooking. The recipe makes about 1.2 kg. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Debyazah?
Yes, within limits. Unsulphured apricots are darker and more concentrated in flavour than the bright orange kind. Any combination of dried fruit works according to what is available.
What is the most important thing to get right in Debyazah?
Leave the rest in recognisable pieces. Add the cardamom and the cinnamon. Add the steeped saffron and its liquid. Stir them through the pot thoroughly. Use it generously rather than sparingly. Reducing it takes real patience. Let it cook uncovered for another thirty minutes. Stir it every five minutes without fail. Judging when it is done is the whole skill.
