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<\/a>\nThis is sellou (\u0633\u0644\u0651\u0648, aka sfouf or zmita), a unique unbaked Moroccan sweet made from toasted flour and ground almonds, sesame seeds, sugar or honey, cinnamon, and anise; as you\u2019d expect, recipes vary from family to family. At Nablus Sweets, 6812 5th Ave, Brooklyn, I spotted a huge brown mountain of it and purchased a small knoll, broken here into two little hillocks. It\u2019s soft in texture, somewhere along the cookie<\u2013>brownie continuum but drier, crumbly but crunchy from nuts. Simply break off a chunk and enjoy, perhaps with a cup of tea.<\/p>\n
If your knowledge of Middle Eastern\/Mediterranean sweets is informed primarily by honey drenched baklava and kanafeh, give this one a try (available particularly around Ramadan); I highly recommend it.<\/p>\n
Ramadan Mubarak! Instagram Post 5\/20-22\/2020 Three posts from last year\u2019s celebration of Ramadan which concludes this year on May 23. (Click on any image to view it in high resolution.) This is sellou (\u0633\u0644\u0651\u0648, aka sfouf or zmita), a unique unbaked … Continue reading <\/a>
\nLittle Egypt Restaurant, 66-28 Fresh Pond Road, Ridgewood, featured a special dessert coinciding with Mother\u2019s Day last year: Om Ali (you might see umm ali), \u0623\u0645 \u0639\u0644\u0649. The phrase translates as \u201cAli\u2019s mother\u201d and of course, fables abound as to its name. Essentially Egypt\u2019s answer to bread pudding (only better if you ask me), it\u2019s made with phyllo dough, milk (and occasionally, richer dairy considerations) and sugar, sometimes elevated with raisins, nuts, and cinnamon. There are legions of recipes for this traditional Ramadan treat; that day, our delightful version came with sour cream and ground nuts on the side for garnish, ad libitum.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nOn a visit last year to Tashkent Market at 713 Brighton Beach Ave in Brooklyn, I picked up some nishallo (aka nisholda), an exceedingly sweet dessert that\u2019s native to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan and prepared exclusively during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Made primarily from sugar, whipped egg whites, and water, it\u2019s a dead-on ringer for Marshmallow Fluff (as you\u2019d expect from the ingredients) if perhaps a bit classier because of a touch of star anise and\/or licorice root. It makes its appearance as part of iftar, the evening meal that breaks the daily fast. Frequently used as a dip for the flatbread naan, it\u2019s particularly appropriate after 17 hours of abstention from eating because its high sugar content jumpstarts the metabolism.<\/p>\n
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