Recettes

Balah El Sham

Balah el sham is fried choux pastry soaked in syrup, and it is one of the desserts Egyptians most associate with childhood. It is piped into short lengths through a star nozzle, fried until golden and ridged, then dropped into cool sugar syrup, which seeps into every groove. The name translates from Arabic as Levant dates, and it contains no dates at all. It is called that for its size and shape, and Sham for the Levant region where it originated. It is eaten across much of the Middle East and in parts of Eastern Europe under other names, and the closest familiar comparison is churros, with one important difference: churros are rolled in cinnamon sugar, while balah el sham is submerged in syrup. Choux is the technique, and it is the same pastry used for éclairs and profiteroles. Flour is cooked into hot liquid until it forms a ball and turns glossy, then eggs are beaten in off the heat, one at a time. What is unusual here is that it is fried rather than baked, which gives a crisp ridged shell around a hollow, airy centre. It is often split and filled with cream, custard, mascarpone, chocolate or nuts, and pistachios on top are standard. It can be eaten hot or cold.

★★★★★Les mieux notées

50 minMediumEgypt

Recette de FoodChef · Africook

Egusi Pudding

Ground melon seeds mixed with meat stock, fish and seasoning, then steamed in a water bath until set into a firm savoury pudding. It is Nigerian, and it is a different use of egusi from the soup that the seed is best known for. Egusi is the seed of a melon grown across West Africa for the seeds rather than the flesh. Shelled, the kernels are pale and mild, and they are around half oil and a third protein, which is what makes this dish work at all, ground egusi has enough fat and protein to set into a solid pudding when steamed, in the same way a custard sets. The construction is a direct relative of moi moi, the steamed bean pudding, and the technique is the same: a wet, seasoned mixture poured into moulds and cooked in a water bath, traditionally wrapped in plantain or banana leaves, now often in ramekins or foil. The leaves flavour the pudding as it steams, which foil does not. The bain-marie is not optional. Direct heat would set the outside and curdle the mixture before the middle cooked; surrounding it with water holds the temperature down and gives an even, moist set throughout. The source's nutritional discussion of egusi has not been carried across, though the oil and protein content is genuinely what makes the technique possible.

1 hr 40 minMediumNigeria · African

Recette de Blessing · Africook