My husband recently had a family reunion. His aunt kindly organised a weekend at her farm so all the extended family could attend. We decided that we would go for a night and Alexander could camp outside with daddy and I would stay indoors with Mr Goo (Alexander’s affectionate name for his little brother).
What to make, what to take? Aunty Judy thought we could bring along some biscuits. Jamie thought that meant Tim tams and I of course thought that meant anything to have with tea and coffee. I decided to make Basboussa with yoghurt. Another opportunity to make something I could photograph but not have to eat it all.
This recipe is one that my sister-in-laws’ mother shared with me. My mum never made it with yoghurt but after my brother married an Egyptian I was introduced to variations to the recipes that I grew up with. This is one of them.
2 cups semolina, (1 cup coarse and 1 cup fine semolina if you can get it)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup plain yoghurt
125g unsalted butter, melted
Syrup :
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
juice of half a lemon
a few drops of vanilla essence.
To make syrup: Combine sugar, water and lemon juice in a saucepan and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes until syrup thickens. Add vanilla and leave to cool.
For the Basboussa, combine semolina, sugar, baking powder, and yoghurt in a large bowl.
Add melted butter and mix. Transfer mixture into a greased tray, 30cm x 25cm, and press firmly. Cut into squares.
Bake at 180°C (350°F/Gas mark 4) for 40 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove Basboussa from oven and pour cooled syrup over hot Basboussa.
This turns out to be a big hit but after all the packing required to go anywhere, let alone away for the night, there was no time for photos before we left so I will have to make it again after all to get a photo…
Well, it has been quite a while since the family reunion but I have finally got a photo to attach to the blog.
