Two good to relishAwama is a traditional and common sweet in Lebanon. This is a fermented deep fried pastry balls sweetened with sugar syrup. An authentic dish, awama is served in mostly all Lebanese restaurants. IngredientsFlour 400gSemolina 200gYeast 1tspCorn flour 2tbspWater 450mlVanilla essence (few drops)For sugar syrupWater 500mlSugar 500gGarnishPistachio powder as requiredDry cherry to garnishMethodCombine flour, semolina, corn flour and yeast and mix well.Add vanilla essence to water and knead to a soft batter adding water gradually.Keep the batter covered with a lid and leave aside for two hours.Prepare a sugar syrup by boiling together water and sugar.Stir the batter again gently to remove excess bubbles.Deep fry in heated corn oil in a heavy bottom pan till golden brown.Strain and dip for 10 minutes in sugar syrup till the awama balls soak sugar syrup.Serve garnished with pistachio and dry cherry.Lebanese macaroonsLebanese macaroons are a deep fried crunchy dessert that satisfies the need for something fried, sweet and crunchy all in one bite. Also known as macaroon khishsh. It’s great to make ahead of time and needs nothing else to accompany it to complete the flavour satisfaction. The Lebanese macaroon is very different from the French one. For one thing, the French macaroons are made from almond powder, egg whites and sugar whereas the Lebanese ones are made out of semolina, oil and some spices. Also, the French macaroon is baked in the oven while the Lebanese variation is fried in oil. It’s a very indulgent dessert. It has a very unique flavour which comes from the special ingredient — mahlab powder. Mahlab is an aromatic spice made from the seeds of a species of cherry, Prunus mahlab. The cherry stones are cracked to extract the seed kernel, which is about 5mm diametre, soft and chewy on extraction. The seed kernel is ground to a powder before use. Its flavour is similar to a combination of bitter almond and cherry. It is used in small quantities to sharpen sweet foods.It has been used for centuries in the Middle East and the surrounding areas as a flavouring for baked goods. In Greek American cooking, it is the characteristic flavouring of Christmas cake and pastry recipes. Thanks to renewed interest in Mediterranean cooking, it has been recently mentioned in several cookbooks.IngredientsFlour 200gSemolina 300gSugar 50gOlive oil 50mlMahlab powder 1tspGround aniseed 1tspYeast 1tspWater 400mlSalt (a pinch)Oil (to fry)For sugar syrupWater 500mlSugar 500gMethodCombine flour, semolina, sugar, mahlab powder and ground aniseed, yeast and salt.Add olive oil and water to make a soft dough and allow to rest for 10 minutes.Roll the dough to a cylindrical shape and cut equal portions using spatula.Take a cheese grater and place the divided dough on it and using finger roll towards self to give the grater impression on the dough.Repeat for each dough ball and deep fry over medium heat to golden brown colour.Dip in prepared sugar syrup till macaroons absorb the sugar syrup.Remove from sugar syrup and serve garnished with pistachio powder.
* Tarun Kapoor is executive chef at Doha’s Horizon Manor Hotel. Send your feedback to: exe.chef@horizonmanor.com