Tu banner alternativo

Basbousa

In this article, we will explore the fascinating world of Basbousa. From its origins to its evolution today, this topic has been the subject of constant interest by researchers, academics and enthusiasts. Basbousa has impacted various areas of society in multiple ways, from politics and economics to popular culture and entertainment. Along these lines, we will delve into the different aspects that make Basbousa such a relevant topic today and its role in shaping the contemporary world.

Tu banner alternativo
Not to be confused with Harissa, a North African chili paste.
Basbousa
Basbousa topped with walnuts
Alternative namesHarisa
TypeDessert
Region or stateMiddle East, Balkans and North Africa
Serving temperatureCold or warm
Main ingredientsSemolina or farina, syrup
  •   Media: Basbousa

Basbousa (Arabic: بسبوسة, romanized: basbūsah) is a sweet, syrup-soaked semolina dessert popular throughout the Middle East and North Africa.[1] The semolina batter is baked in a sheet pan,[2] then sweetened with sugar syrup and typically cut into diamond (lozenge) shapes or squares.

History

The Oxford Companion to Food (3rd edition) suggests that basbousa might have developed from a dish called ma'mounia, which was created around the 10th century. Ma'mounia was made by cooking rice in fat and syrup. This recipe was later adapted to use semolina, with the batter being cooked first and then soaked in syrup.[3]

Another take on its origin suggests that basbousa was first made during the 16th century in the Ottoman Empire, likely in what is modern-day Turkey, to celebrate the conquest of Irevan (modern day Yerevan).[4][5]

Names

Look up sambali, revani, basbousa, هريسة, or namoura in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Basbousa in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa, East Africa topped with almonds

It is found in the cuisines of the Middle East, the Balkans and North Africa under a variety of names.[6]

Basbousa is the most common name for this dessert in the Middle East but it may be named differently depending on the region; it is often called "hareesa" in the Levant.[7][11] Note that "harissa" in North Africa is a spicy red sauce.[12] It is a popular dessert offered in many sweets bakeries in the Middle East and especially popular during Ramadan.

vegan basbousa without eggs or milk uncle lous kitchen
Vegan basbousa (egg replaced by apple sauce)

Şambali is also referred to as "Damascus dessert" or "Damascus honey".[13] Şam in Turkish means "Damascus".[14]

Basbousa is believed by some derive its name from a colloquial Arabic expression meaning "just a kiss" (بس بوسة).[15][16][17]

Variations

Cream-filled basbousa, Libya

Many variations of syrup-soaked semolina paste can be found in the Middle East; common ingredients include coconut, rose water, citrus, among many others.[18]

Some denser versions also include eggs, modern versions include baking powder.[9]

Some common versions are:

  • Pastūsha (sometimes stylized as pastūçha) is a variant of basbousa that originated in Kuwait in the 2010s.[19] Like basbousa, it is made from semolina soaked in sweet syrup. It is characterized by the addition of finely ground pistachios and orange flower water.
  • Basbousa bil ashta: a Levantine and Egyptian variation of basbousa filled with qishta (milk clotted cream) in the middle.[20]
  • Vegan basbousa: Basbusa is also available in vegan form using apple sauce to bind the base mix together instead of dairy and eggs.
  • Basbousa eem tapuzim: Israeli variation from the coastal region, it is flavored with orange juice.
  • Basbousa bil tamr: Libyan variant of basbousa where date spread is being added between two layers of the basbousa.[21][22]
  • Tishpishti or tichpichtil is a Sephardic Jewish variant.[23][24] The name derives from the Turkish phrase "Tez Pişti," meaning "cooked quickly."[25]
  • Qizha pie: Palestinian variant of basbousa flavored with nigella seeds paste called Qizha.[26]
  • Revani: Turkish variation, typically flavored with citrus juice.[10][27]
  • Hilbeh: Palestinian variant of basbousa flavoured with fenugreek seeds.[28]
  • Anise hareeseh (Arabic: هريسة يانسونية): Levantine anise flavored variation especially popular among Palestinians.[29][30][31]
  • Shendetlie is an Albanian honey and walnut cake.[32][33]
  • Kalb el louz is an Algerian semolina cake made with almond flour[34][9][35]
  • Hareesa nabaqia (Levantine Arabic: الهريسة النبكية) originates from the city of Al-Nabek, Syria, and is coated in smen (clarified butter) and pistachios.[36][37]
  • Şambali: Similar to revani, made with syrup, yogurt and semolina, it is popular in Greece and İzmir.[13][38][39]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Sudan's Sweet Guilty Pleasure: Basbousa". The Ethnic Store Ltd. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
  2. ^ "Arabic Dessert". Archived from the original on 2015-02-08. Retrieved 2015-01-14.
  3. ^ Davidson, Alan; Jaine, Tom; Vannithone, Soun (2014). The Oxford companion to food (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-967733-7.
  4. ^ Umphlet, Caroline (2022-06-22). "If You Haven't Tried this Egyptian Sweet, You're Missing Out - Basbousa Recipe". Arab America. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  5. ^ Antonopoulos, Paul (22 September 2025). ""They are stealing our cuisine": Turks outraged over Greek sweets on Taste Atlas - But what's the truth? Greek City Times". Greek City Times. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  6. ^ Abitbol, Vera (2019-09-25). "Syria: Basbousa". 196 flavors. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  7. ^ a b Datian, Christine Vartanian (15 February 2024). "Recipe Corner: Syrian Nut Cake (H'risseh)". The Armenian Mirror-Spectator. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  8. ^ "Kalon prama or Shamali | Cyprus Food Museum". Cyprus Food Museum. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  9. ^ a b c Marks, Gil (17 November 2010). "Tishpishti". Encyclopedia of Jewish Food. HMH. ISBN 978-0-544-18631-6. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Revani (Turkish Semolina Cake) Recipe - Guy Ben Harosh". Asif Culinary Institute. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  11. ^ "النمورة حلوى من التراث الفلسطينى بالفيديو لابو جوليا" [Namoura, a Palestinian heritage dessert, video by Abu Julia]. Gomhuria (in Arabic). 25 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  12. ^ Kleiman, Evan (4 October 2024). "At the world's largest Syrian refugee camp, food…". KCRW. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  13. ^ a b "İzmir'in ayaküstü tatlısı: Şambali". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  14. ^ "Tureng - şam - Turkish English Dictionary". Tureng. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  15. ^ "Recipe: Spinach Basbousa". TimesKuwait. 17 April 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  16. ^ ""صوابع زينب" و"أم علي".. ما السر وراء الأكلات ذات المسمى الأنثوي؟" ["Zainab's Fingers" and "Umm Ali"... What is the secret behind dishes with feminine names?]. Kelmetna (in Arabic). 26 September 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  17. ^ "A 'Kiss From the Past': Semolina Cakes". Asif Culinary Institute. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  18. ^ Ottolenghi, Yotam. "Semolina, Coconut & Marmalade Cake". TASTE. Retrieved 14 September 2025. Contains excerpts from Jerusalem: A Cookbook
  19. ^ "Aunt Zaneb's Semolina Cake Recipe". Easy Recipes. 2021-10-09. Archived from the original on 2022-02-28. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
  20. ^ Mansour, Nermine (25 Apr 2025). "Basbousa Bel Ashta (Semolina Cake With Ashta Cream Filling)". Serious Eats. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  21. ^ "Basbousa bil tamr | Traditional Cake From Libya". Taste Atlas. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  22. ^ "Libyan Cuisine". Libyan Heritage House. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  23. ^ "Tishpishti (Citrus Semolina Cake)". Washington Post. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  24. ^ רשליקה - Rashelika - ניחוח המטבח הירושלמי ספרדי המסורתי. 1999. pp. 82-87
  25. ^ "Tishpishti - Recipe". Foodish – by Anu – Museum of the Jewish People. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  26. ^ Berger, Miriam (28 March 2019). "Is the world ready for this Palestinian dish?". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  27. ^ Post-Gazette, Arthi Subramaniam Pittsburgh (3 May 2016). "Find a piece of heaven in the syrup-drenched revani". The Virgin Islands Daily News. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  28. ^ el-Haddad, Laila. "Fenugreek Olive Oil Cake (Saniyit Hulba)". The Washington Post.
  29. ^ "تعرفى على طريقة تحضير اليانسونية الفلسطينية( هريسة اليانسون) - جريدة المساء" [Learn how to prepare Palestinian yansooniyeh (anise harissa)]. Al Gomhuria (in Arabic). 17 April 2025. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  30. ^ "طريقة عمل اليانسونية". Jordan Records (in Arabic). 27 March 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  31. ^ "اليانسونية الفلسطينية" [Palestinian anise]. alwasat.ly (in Arabic). 5 Feb 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  32. ^ Selami, Rezarta (17 February 2012). "Shendetlie, un dolce tipico albanese al miele". Albania News (in Italian). Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  33. ^ Webb, Lois Sinaiko; Cardella, Lindsay Grace; Jacob, Jeanne (14 September 2018). International Cookbook of Life-Cycle Celebrations. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-1-61069-016-4.
  34. ^ "Mediterranean desserts tickle taste buds in Paris". Arab News. 16 April 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  35. ^ "From Algeria, a Camden Street Ramadan Treat". Dublin InQuirer. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  36. ^ Raslan, Farah. "Pistachio Hareesa Nabqia Recipe - Farah Raslan". Asif. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  37. ^ "مذاق يتوارثه الأجيال.. "الهريسة النبكية" تحتفظ بجاذبيتها في ريف دمشق - فيديو" [A taste passed down through generations... "Nabkiya Harissa" retains its appeal in the Damascus countryside - video]. Roya News. 29 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  38. ^ "Σάμαλι, το απόλυτο νηστίσιμο γλυκό! | ΣΥΝΤΑΓΗ". Gastronomos.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  39. ^ "Şambali | Traditional Dessert From İzmir | TasteAtlas". Taste Atlas. Retrieved 5 October 2025.

Works cited

  • Davidson, Alan (2014). Oxford companion to food. : Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199677337.
Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia