Makroudh

Ingredients

Dough

• 600 gcoarse semolina
• 200 gfine semolina
• 200 mlolive oil
• 150 mlwarm water
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tbsporange blossom water

Filling

• 500 gdate paste
• 2 tbspolive oil
• 1 tspcinnamon
• ½ tspground clove
• grated zest of 1 orange

To finish

• oil, for deep frying
• 400 ghoney
• 2 tbsporange blossom water
• sesame seeds, optional

Directions

1. Rub the olive oil thoroughly into both semolinas with your fingers until every grain is coated and the mixture feels like damp sand.
2. Rest that oiled semolina for 30 minutes before adding any water. Add the salt, orange blossom water and just enough warm water to bring it together into a firm dough.
3. Add the water sparingly. This dough should barely hold, and worked wet it turns tough. Press it together and stop. Kneading develops gluten, which is exactly what you do not want here.
4. Work the date paste with the oil, cinnamon, clove and orange zest until soft and rollable. Roll the date paste into long ropes about the thickness of a finger. Take a piece of dough and roll it into a flat strip about 6 cm wide.
5. Lay a date rope down the centre, fold the dough over it and seal, then flatten the log gently to about 2 cm thick. Press a wooden makroudh mould or a fork along the top to mark a pattern. Cut the log on a steep diagonal into diamonds about 4 cm long.
6. Heat the oil to 165°C (330°F) and fry the diamonds in batches for 4 to 5 minutes until pale golden. Keep the oil moderate. Meanwhile warm the honey with the orange blossom water until runny but not boiling.
7. Lift the hot diamonds straight from the oil into the warm honey and leave them 2 minutes. Hot pastry into warm honey is the rule. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and drain on a rack, sprinkling sesame over if you want. Cool completely before storing; they keep a fortnight in a tin.

Technique

• A baked version exists and is drier and less rich, brushed with honey after baking.
• Ready-made date paste is what almost everyone uses; whole dates need pitting and blending with a little water.
• Coarse semolina is essential and fine semolina alone gives the wrong texture entirely.

Substitutions

• Sugar syrup with lemon in place of honey.
• Fig or almond paste in place of dates.

Variations

• Baked rather than fried.
• Makroud el louz, made with almond paste and shaped into balls.
• Rolled in icing sugar instead of honey.

History

Kairouan is its acknowledged home; the date-stuffed semolina diamonds are sold in the streets around the Great Mosque and carried away by pilgrims and visitors.

Frequently asked questions

What is Makroudh?

Makroudh is a dessert from Tunisia: kairouan’s date-filled semolina diamonds, fried and soaked in honey. Kairouan is its acknowledged home; the date-stuffed semolina diamonds are sold in the streets around the Great Mosque and carried away by pilgrims and visitors.

How long does Makroudh take to make?

Makroudh takes 1 hr plus 30 min resting of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 40. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Makroudh?

Yes, within limits. Sugar syrup with lemon in place of honey. Fig or almond paste in place of dates.

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

Add the water sparingly. This dough should barely hold, and worked wet it turns tough. Press it together and stop. Kneading develops gluten, which is exactly what you do not want here.