Makroud recipe

Coarse semolina rubbed with fat until every grain is coated, rolled around a date log and drowned in warm honey the moment it leaves the oil.

2 hours and 45 minutesmedium9 ingredients

Ingredients

• 500 g coarse semolina
• 300 g date paste
• 150 g smen or melted butter
• 4 tbsp orange blossom water
• 400 g honey
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 150 ml warm water
• 1 pinch salt
• 1000 ml frying oil

How to make Makroud

1. Rub 500 g of coarse semolina with 150 g of melted smen and a pinch of salt for 5 minutes, until the semolina feels sandy and each grain is greased. Let it rest 30 minutes so the fat soaks in.
2. Work 300 g of date paste with 1 tablespoon of oil and 1 tablespoon of orange blossom water until it is smooth and pliable, then roll it into finger-thick ropes.
3. Sprinkle 150 ml of warm water mixed with 2 tablespoons of orange blossom water over the semolina, gathering rather than kneading. Over-kneading makes the makroud hard.
4. Take a fist of dough, flatten it into a strip, lay a date rope along the middle and close the dough over it to form a filled log.
5. Flatten the log lightly, press a pattern along the top with a wooden mould or the back of a fork, and cut it diagonally into lozenges about 4 cm long.
6. Fry the lozenges in oil at 160°C for 6 to 8 minutes, turning once, until deep golden. Hotter oil colours them before the semolina cooks.
7. Warm 400 g of honey with 1 tablespoon of orange blossom water without boiling it.
8. Drop the makroud straight from the fryer into the warm honey and leave them 2 to 3 minutes so they drink it, then lift them onto a rack.
9. Scatter sesame seeds over them and let them set for an hour before stacking.

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