Basbousa
Basbousa is a traditional Indian recipe for a classic yoghurt and semolina flour cake that's soaked in a rose water and honey syrup before being served as a dessert with coffee and which makes an excellent treat for Diwali. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Indian version of: Basbousa.
prep time
40 minutes
cook time
50 minutes
Total Time:
90 minutes
Serves:
10–12
Rating: 
Tags : Milk RecipesBaking RecipesCake RecipesIndian Recipes
In essence Basbousa is an Arabic dessert. It was brought to North Africa and is a common dessert in Egypt and Somalia. The Moguls brought the dish to India. In the Middle East it is more typically known as Hareesa or Ravani and is served as a Ramadan dessert.
Ingredients:
210g semolina flour
250ml natural yoghurt
100g butter, softened
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g sugar
120ml honey
4 tsp rose water
2 tsp lemon juice
18 blanched whole almonds, to garnish
Method:
Cream together the butter and 100g sugar until pale and fluffy. Work in the yoghurt and vanilla extract until the mixture is blended then add the semolina flour and baling powder. Mix the ingredients with a wooden spoon to yield a loose, sticky, dough. Cover and set aside to rest for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, combine the honey, remaining sugar an half the rose water in a pan. Heat gently for 10 minutes to form a syrup. Take off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and remaining rose water and mix thoroughly.
When the dough has rested, turn into a greased baking dish. Level the top with a spatula then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180°C and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven (the cake will only be partially cooked at this stage) and cut into squares with a sharp knife. Press an almond into the centre of each square you made.
Heat your grill (broiler) to medium and place the cake under the grill, cooking for about 8 minutes, or until the top is coloured a golden brown (take care the basbousa does not burn).
Remove from under the grill and pour over the honey syrup. Set aside to cool so that the honey soaks into the cake.
When completely cooled, divide into squares and either transfer to a serving dish or store in an air-tight box. Like many Arabic desserts this tastes better if allowed to mature over night and consumed the following day.
Serve with strong coffee and whipped cream or yoghurt.