Ingredients
Flour
- 500 gplain flour
Nuts and seeds
- 300 gblanched almonds
- 250 gsesame seeds
- 100 gwalnuts, optional
Fat and sweet
- 250 gbutter or smen, melted
- 200 ghoney
- 150 gicing sugar, or to taste
Spice
- 2 tspground cinnamon
- 1 tspground anise seed
- 1 tspground fennel seed
- ½ tspground mastic, optional
- a pinch of salt
To finish
- whole fried almonds
- icing sugar
To serve
- with mint tea
- at Ramadan, or to a new mother
Directions
- Spread the flour in a dry pan or a wide oven tray. Toast it over a low heat, or in a 160°C oven, stirring every few minutes. Take it to a deep golden brown, the colour of light sand, which takes 40 minutes to an hour. Toast it properly and slowly. Never let it colour unevenly or catch, because a burnt patch turns the whole batch bitter.
- Stir it constantly once it starts to take colour, when it moves quickly. It is ready when it smells nutty and biscuit-like rather than of raw flour. Sift it, and do not skip this. Toasted flour lumps, and sellou should be a fine powder before the fat goes in.
- Set it aside to cool completely. Now toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan, stirring constantly, until golden and fragrant. Grind about two-thirds of the sesame and leave the rest whole for texture. Fry the almonds in a little oil until golden, drain them, and set a handful aside whole for the top. Grind the rest of the almonds coarsely.
- Grind them coarsely rather than to a paste, because sellou wants a slightly gritty texture rather than a smooth one. Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly before any fat goes near them. Now warm the butter and honey together until liquid but not hot.
- Pour them into the dry mixture and work it through with your hands. Work it with your hands rather than a spoon, so you can feel when the fat has reached every part of the powder. Add the melted butter gradually and stop when it holds together in a squeezed fist but is still crumbly. Too little fat and it will not hold; too much and it is greasy and heavy.
- Taste it and adjust the sugar and cinnamon. Press it down hard, because sellou is meant to be dense and compacted rather than loose. Let it stand for a day before eating, which lets the flavours settle and the texture firm.
- Serve it in small spoonfuls with mint tea. It keeps for several weeks in a sealed container at room temperature, which is why it was made for travel and for Ramadan nights.
Technique
- Zmita generally means the plainer version without almonds, and sellou the enriched one.
- Gum mastic and orange blossom water are common additions.
- It is extremely calorific, which is precisely the point of it.
Substitutions
- Butter in place of smen, which is milder and easier to find.
- Ground anise from a jar, though whole seeds ground fresh are better.
Variations
- Zmita, the plainer version.
- With gum mastic and orange blossom water.
- With more honey and less sugar.
History
Also called zmita or slilou, this unbaked energy sweet is prepared for Ramadan and for new mothers, and keeps for weeks without refrigeration.
Frequently asked questions
What is Sellou?
Sellou is a dessert from Morocco: unbaked mound of toasted flour, ground almonds, sesame, honey and butter. Also called zmita or slilou, this unbaked energy sweet is prepared for Ramadan and for new mothers, and keeps for weeks without refrigeration.
How long does Sellou take to make?
Sellou takes 30 min of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes about 1 kg. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Sellou?
Yes, within limits. Butter in place of smen, which is milder and easier to find. Ground anise from a jar, though whole seeds ground fresh are better.
What is the most important thing to get right in Sellou?
Spread the flour in a dry pan or a wide oven tray. Toast it over a low heat, or in a 160°C oven, stirring every few minutes. Take it to a deep golden brown, the colour of light sand, which takes 40 minutes to an hour. Toast it properly and slowly. Never let it colour unevenly or catch, because a burnt patch turns the whole batch bitter.
