Ramadaan, day 1

So, it seems like this year’s Ramadaan is soooo much more peaceful for me than last year’s, as in the fact that there is no outside drama. I guess everybody is working on reining in their inner shaytaan while the big shaytaan is in chains. InshaAllah, we will all be successful in being our best, and the good habits of this month will hopefully spill over into the post-Ramadaan days and months…Ah, lovely mehru is hoping for some delectable recipes…but hey, you guys can share your treats too! Today, I was going to make some crepes, but mom told me it’s going to be too much work for the first day….and she was right: after salaat al ‘Asr, I fell asleep and only woke up about 30 minutes before the iftaar. So, clearly I was too zonked to make crepes. So, I made what mom was feeling for instead: Basbousa, those semolina cakes that are drenched in syrup. Yes, mehru, the recipe follows

Basbousa
Cake:
2 cups cream of wheat
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup sugar
3 TBsp melted butter
1 TBsp orange flower water
Blanched split almonds

Syrup:
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 TBsp orange flower water

Method:
Mix together cream of wheat, baking powder and sugar. Add in sour cream and melted butter, and mix with a spoon until well blended. Pat mixture into a greased pan, and then cut lines in the mixture in the shape of diamonds (I did it as squares, because I am lazy that way) and place a split almond in the middle of each almond (I skipped the almonds coz my mother didn’t want almonds for a change). Bake in a preheated 35o F oven for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Prepare syrup: dissolve sugar in water and orange flower water over medium heat. Boil till slightly thick. Pour over basbousa as soon as it is out of the oven, until no more syrup can be absorbed. Let cool, and serve with whipped cream if desired.