RAMADAN RECIPES | Makrout by Treats Homemade

The holy month of Ramadan is coming to an end and Eid al Fitr is just around the corner, so to celebrate we’ve put together a recipe series highlighting the wealth and breadth of culinary traditions across the Middle East and North Africa. We’re featuring recipes by fabulous home cooks, chefs and cookbook writers from across the region, who have shared some of their favourite recipes for this special time of year for you to enjoy at home.

Today we’re heading to North Africa, where bakeries and home cooks alike all across the region are busy preparing for Eid Al Fitr, including baking delicious makrout biscuits just like these! These sweet treats are stuffed with a fragrant date paste spiced with cinnamon, and traditionally they are deep fried before a decadent soaking in syrup or honey infused with geranium water.

We’re so lucky to be able to share a very special recipe for Tunisian Makrout with you today, thanks to Nesrine Toujani of Treats Homemade, who has preserved her grandmother’s recipe and is sharing it with us all to enjoy at home.

Makrout | V | Makes approximately 50

Makrout, or Makroudh, is a popular North-African recipe of semolina based cookies, usually prepared for the celebration of Eid al Fitr. These diamond shaped cookies are semolina based and are stuffed with dates. The recipe I share here is my grandmother’s, God save her soul, who was an expert in traditional Tunisian cuisine.

NOTES

• Nesrine’s favourite way to make makrout is in the oven, eliminating the need for the traditional deep-frying step.
• If you can’t source geranium water, you could try using orange blossom water in its place.
• The makrout dough requires resting for 3 hours, so this is one to plan ahead.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE DATE FILLING

• 100g date paste
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• Approximately 2 tsp olive oil

FOR THE GERANIUM WATER SYRUP

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• Lemon juice to taste (approx 2 tsp)
• Geranium water to taste (approx 1 tbsp)

FOR THE DOUGH

• 500g medium semolina
• 180ml vegetable oil
• 1⁄2  tbsp ghee or clarified butter
• 1⁄2  tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground orange peel (optional)
• 75g plain flour
• Approximately 200ml warm water (you may need to add more or less, depending on the quality of the semolina you are using)

METHOD

FOR THE DATE FILLING

1. Process the cleaned and pitted dates into a paste.
2. Add ground cinnamon and mix. 
3. Add olive oil slowly and gradually, until you have a smooth, thick and mouldable paste. You may not use all the oil. 
4. Divide the date paste into four and roll each piece into a thin rope (roughly the thickness of a finger) and set aside to stuff the makrout later.

FOR THE GERANIUM WATER SYRUP

1. Put the water and sugar in a large pan.
2. Bring it to a boil over medium heat.
3. When it starts to boil, add lemon juice and geranium water.
4. Let the syrup boil for a few minutes, then set aside to cool completely.

FOR THE DOUGH

1. In a large bowl, mix the semolina with the salt and powdered orange peel.
2. Add the vegetable oil and the ghee or clarified butter, mix until well combined.
3. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rest for at least 3 hours.
4. Add a little warm water then add the flour and mix well.
5. Add more water gradually until you obtain a smooth, firm dough. Do not knead.
6. Divide the dough into 4 pieces, and roll each into a log, roughly four times as thick as the ropes you rolled with the date filling.
7. Make a deep indentation with your finger that runs the length of the dough log, and place the date rope inside.
8. Close the dough around the filling, pinching the join shut with your fingers, then roll out carefully until it forms a smooth log.
9. Flatten the log gently, then cut diagonally at roughly 1 inch intervals to form diamond shapes.
10. Place the makrout diamonds on a baking tray covered with baking paper.
11. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C, for roughly 20-25 minutes, until they reach a nice golden colour.
12. As soon as you take them out of the oven, soak the makrout in the cold syrup for about 10 minutes.
13. Transfer the makrout to a sieve with a bowl placed underneath to drain the excess syrup.
14. Leave to drain and cool completely before you transfer your makrout to an airtight container. Enjoy!

Hi! I am Nesrine Toujani, a Tunisian living in the UK. I am an engineer, wife, and mom, with a particular passion for cuisine and baking.

I created Treats Homemade, a food blog, where I share Tunisian family recipes, that I try to make famous and more accessible to my non-Arabic-speaking readers by translating them into English and French. As well as traditional recipes from Tunisia, I also make French pastries, desserts and celebration cakes. You can also find my recipes on Instagram!

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