Khabeesa | Emirati Caradmom Semolina Pudding




بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِيم
السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته



One of my favourte spices is caradmom. Caradamom  has a wonderful one-of-a-kind flavor and you don't need to use much.Cardamom is a seed with a lovely sweet, warm aroma and flavor with a lemony layer and a eucalyptus-like kick. Used extensively in both Scandinavian and Indian cuisine, cardamom plays a starring role in both sweet and savory dishes. Indian cooking features cardamom in curries, garam masala, kulfi (Indian ice cream) and milk puddings. In Scandinavian cuisine, you'll find cardamom in everything from pickles and herring to sweet cakes and Aquavit. Cardamom is thought to have aphrodisiac effects, and, like caraway and aniseed, it's a wonderful breath sweetener and helps eradicate garlic or onion breath.

I was watching last week, which is rare I know, a show the other on the Fatafeat channel Samar bel Khaleeji where she presented a traditional breakfast sweet dish from the Emirates. I'm not that familiar with the cuisine from that region, but the dessert reminded me of tamina in a way. Intrigued, I continued to watch her prepare this aromatic and sweet delight. 

The first step in preparing this dish is much like the first step in preparing the Algerian tamina, which is served at special occasions like a birth of a child or the Mouled. But the process of cooking semolina in milk is the same process as in Assida, a semolina porridge. Both dishes, ones that the family loves ... so I figured glead the lily by adding in some saffron and cardamom. After the show, I decided to head to the kitchen and make this dish for the family for the afternoon tea. I had all the ingredients so it was easy.

As the semolina was browning, Ialready knew this dish was somthing that all the family would be in love ... in fact as the scent of caradmom and cashews hit the noses of my family they came to investigate what the lovely smell was! This dish is easy ... unique ... delightfully magically light yet rich in taste and very filling. A real taste of Arabia that is now apart of my Ramadan suhour.



active prep time: 5 mins | inactive prep time: 0min | cook time: 10 mins 
serves 4-6



FOR THE KHABEESA:
  • 1 liter - 4 cups whole milk
  • ½ cup fine semolina
  • pinch of salt
  • 3 TBS date sugar or honey (to taste)
  • 5 green cardamom pods, seeds crushed
  • knob of butter
  • 1/8 c desiccated coconut 
  • 1/8 c crushed cashew nuts
  • generous pinch of saffron threads
DECORATION:

Toasted coconut
Toasted cashews
Pearl sugars (optional)
Caramelized cashews

     

    GENTLY toast the semolina in dry pan until nutty and lightly browned. DO NOT BURN!
    POUR in the milk slowly, stirring constantly so there is no lumping.
    ADD in the rest of the ingredients.
    COOK on low heat for about 8m until the semoulina is swollen and cooked. Stir constantly.
    TURN out into a serving plate, then decorated as you like.


    Along with the Khabeesa I thought a traditional coffee would be go nicely...

    Semolina is also called farina or wheat of wheat. 

    Subsitute
    For gluten-free version use cornmeal or ground rice.

    Variation
    You could optionally use almond instead of cashews and/or add raisins when cooking.
    Optionally you could add an additional 1/8 cup of semolina and have the pudding be thick enough to pour into molds as I have done (see pictures)

    Emirati, Middle Eastern, pudding, breakfast, suhour, Ramadan


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    11 comments:

    1. This sounds delicious Heni and very interesting to learn about the gahwa ritual.

      ReplyDelete
    2. Heni

      I so enjoyed your post! I made khabeesa a year ago and I will never forget the fragrance wafting from the kitchen that day! I think I ate most of it too! Thanks for the post on coffee too; as a ritual it is one of my favorites and I like to wait to be in the middle-east to drink it this way; with a date, or not!

      ReplyDelete
    3. Thank you both!

      I also enjoyed making this wonderful dish - somehow i missed it on your blog Joumana but I will look for!

      somehow this two went together and I will be making it often for my family!

      ReplyDelete
    4. Looks very interesting and verrry Arabic! I love the decorations you have over their for sweet things - so pretty!

      ReplyDelete
    5. salem! merci Héni pour ce délicieux post qui m'a fait découvrir la khabeesa et le rituel du café!! merci de nous faire voyager si agréablement! bises! kouky

      ReplyDelete
    6. I am coming over, put the coffee on, It's been a while since i had a nice cup of turkish coffee with Hal..

      Love your coffee set... so beautiful .. I like the Artisana Oriental..
      (I think the email you sent me about my photo on another blog was for the khabbesa-thanks)

      ReplyDelete
    7. I remember 20 years ago I had this introduced by a family friend from Egypt. I've been looking for the recipe ever since but I've forgotten the name.

      Knew abt you from MMC :)

      Thanks.

      ReplyDelete
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    10. hummm quel délice, merci pour votre visite!
      bonne journée et ramadhan karim!

      ReplyDelete
    11. I was searching for some Emirati recipes and reached over here, tried it yesterday for breakfast and it was awesome... will be soon sharing it on my blog with due credits to you for sure... thank you for sharing... :)

      ReplyDelete



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