Makroudh
A diamond-shaped semolina pastry, its name literally meaning diamond or lozenge, genuinely contested between Algeria and Tunisia rather than owned by one country: some sources trace it to Algeria's Mzab oases and Sétif region, while Tunisia's Kairouan hosts its own annual national makroud festival, running since 2008, reflecting a real and strong Tunisian claim too, with a smaller presence in Morocco, Libya, and Malta. Real makroudh rolls semolina dough, sometimes enriched with butter-cooked semolina, into logs filled with date paste, though Kairouan's older, more traditional filling uses fig paste, cuts them into diamonds, fries or bakes them, and finishes by soaking in a honey syrup often scented with orange blossom.
⚠ Contains: Gluten, Dairy. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 3 cups semolina
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 cups date paste (or fig paste)
- Oil, for frying
- 1 cup honey
- 1 tbsp orange blossom water
Steps
- Mix the semolina with melted butter and rest 20 minutes, then work in the warm water to form a firm dough.
- Roll the dough into logs, and press a channel down the center of each.
- Fill the channel with date or fig paste and fold the dough over to seal into a log.
- Cut the filled logs into diamond shapes.
- Fry until golden (or bake at 190°C/375°F), then soak briefly in warm honey syrup mixed with orange blossom water.