Nammoura Recipe

Nammoura or Basbousa is a traditional Somali sweet cake. It is made of cooked semolina or farina soaked in simple syrup. Coconut is a popular addition. The syrup may also optionally contain orange flower water or rose water. Other than Somalia and neighboring countries, it is also eaten in the former countries of the Ottoman Empire.
For the Syrup

2 cups of sugar

1 cup of water

1 juice of half lemon

1 cinnamon stick

In a medium size quart, add the sugar, water, juice of half a lemon and the cinnamon stick, bring to a boil, lower the heat and cook for about 10-15 minutes.

For this recipe, the syrup needs to be hot when poured over the Nammoura.


For the Nammoura

  1 & 1/2 cups of  semolina flour

1 cup of yogurt

1 stick of melted unsalted butter

1 cup of sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp of vanilla extract

1/4 cup of Tahini paste

1/4 cup of almonds

In a large bowl, combine the semolina, the yogurt, the butter and sugar.  Mix all the ingredients well.  Add in the vanilla extract, and the baking powder.  You can add the coconut flakes at this point if using.

Spread the tahini paste in a medium, you can use butter to butter the bottom of the pan if you don’t have tahini.  Pour your mixture and spread evenly.  Cut the mixture into squares and top with almonds in each square.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.  As soon as the Nammoura comes out of the oven pour over the hot syrup immediately.

Let the Nammoura cool off completely, cut into squares, serve with tea or coffee.

Enjoy!

More Recipes from the Hummus Blog:   

Ghorayeba"Shortbread Cookies"
Traditional arabic hot pudding with kiri 
Colored Pudding
Broiled Filo Rounds
Date Bake    
Creamy Semolina Pudding 

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Freekeh with chicken recipe

Similar to the popular dish riz a’djaj (poached chicken served on rice), this recipe uses toasted freekeh wheat with its distinctive nutty taste. The wheat is cooked slowly like a risotto with chicken stock, minced meat, spices and onion until it is soft and flavoursome. The dish is then piled high onto a serving platter and served with poached chicken pieces, Syrian truffle (if available), pine nuts and almonds. 

Serves 6
Preparation 20min
Cooking 2hr 15min
Skill level Easy

By
Ayman Abbassi

Ingredients

2 cups freekeh
1 medium free range chicken (about 1.5 kg)
½ brown onion, quartered
3 cinnamon sticks
4 bay leaves
6 cardamom pods
salt
2 tbsp clarified butter (ghee) or olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
300 g minced lamb or beef (optional)
1 tsp baharat
butter
½ cup almonds
½ cup pine nuts
4–6 small Syrian truffles, peeled and sliced (optional)
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Cook's notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Instructions

Wash the freekeh and remove any burnt grains or stones.
 
Put the chicken in a pot and cover with water. Add the brown onion, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, cardamom and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes or until cooked through.
 
Remove the chicken from the pot (leaving a light stock) and set aside until cool enough to handle. 
Remove the skin and break the meat into large pieces, removing the bones.
 
Bring the chicken stock back to a slow simmer. Heat the ghee or olive oil in a large saucepan and add the red onion. Fry until beginning to soften, then add the lamb or beef, if using, and cook until browned. Stir in the freekeh. Add the baharat and 1 heaped teaspoon of salt and stir through. Add 1 litre of hot chicken stock and bring to the boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 40 minutes.
 
Melt a little butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the almonds and cook until lightly toasted. Remove from the pan and repeat with the pine nuts. Remove from the pan and add another knob of butter. When it melts, add the truffles, if using, and coat with butter. Add the chicken pieces, ground cinnamon and 500 ml of hot stock. Bring to the boil, reheating the chicken.
 
Spoon the freekeh onto a large serving plate. Place the chicken and truffles on top and scatter with the nuts.

More from the Hummus Recipes Kitchen:

Baked kibbeh (kibbeh bil sayneeyeh)
Moroccan vegetables with halloumi
Lamb and apricot kofta kebabs 
Spiced koftas with lemon and houmous
Spicy Kofte
Lamb Chops with Tahini Sauce Recipe