Moroccan meat dish with dried prune

 An easy and quick way to prepare Moroccan Chebakia

Chebakia or Shebakia, also called M'kharqa, is a fried Moroccan cookie coated with honey and sesame. A small delight served during Ramadan and very greedy at the tasting. It is very recognizable by the shape of the flower form. 

The dough is cut into rectangles which are practiced, using a roulette, four nicks forming five tongues which are then entangled with the skill to give the characteristic shape of this pastry. Chebakia is fried in oil, then soaked in honey, and finally rolled in sesame seeds.

The ingredients and preparation methods may vary depending on the traditions of each region in Morocco. 

In this blog, we will present two different recipes for Chebakia: one will be prepared with almonds and the other one without but with eggs besides there is a small difference in the used ingredients, preparation, and the explanation of how to shape the Chebakias.

The first recipe: Chebakia with almonds

1. Preparation: 30 min
2. Cooking: 40 min
3. Rest: 15 min
4. Serving: 6 people
5. Origin: Morocco

Almonds Chebakia recipe

Moroccan Chebakia ingredients:

• 1 kg of all-purpose flour

• 180 g ground roasted sesame

• 100 g melted butter

• 100 ml of olive oil

• 100 g almond powder

• 100 ml of orange blossom water

• 2  tablespoons vinegar

• 2 tablespoons anise powder

• 1 bag of baking powder

• 1 pinch of salt

• A pinch of saffron threads

• Sesame seeds for decoration

• Oil for frying 

• 1 kg of honey

• Few orange blossom water to add to honey

How to prepare the Moroccan Chebakia?

1. In a large bowl, pour the melted butter with olive oil, orange blossom water, vinegar, roasted sesame, almond powder, and spices as well as salt. Mix well.

2.  Add the flour and yeast. Using your hands, work everything very well until you have a homogenized paste. It must be smooth but not very soft.

3. If the dough is too liquid, add a little flour to correct it. If on the contrary, it is too friable, add a little orange blossom water.

4. Then cover your dough with clingfilm and let it rest in the fridge for 15 minutes.

5. After 15 minutes of rest, take out your Moroccan Chebakia paste from the fridge and spread it on your worktop using a rolling roller. Spread it to get a thin dough but easily manipulable. You can first divide your dough into several pieces.

6. Use a small notched wheel or roulette wheel to form rectangles of 5 cm long on about 4 cm wide. Make 4 cuts along the length of these rectangles.

7. Form your Moroccan Chebakias: gently detach each hand from the rectangle with your hands. Pinch the two ends of the rectangle and stretch it all in order to obtain a form like a flower.

8. In a large saucepan, heat the oil. Also, heat the honey in a bain-marie and add to it a few of orange blossom water.

9. Then fry the Chebakias until they get a brown color on both sides. Take them out of the oil bath and dip them gently in the honey to cover them. Take them out of honey and decorate them by sprinkling them with sesame seeds and putting them in a box.

10. Repeat the same steps until you finish.

The second recipe for Moroccan Chebakia

Ingredients:

1. 1 kg of flour
2. 200 g butter
3. 2 eggs
4. 1 bag of baking powder
5. 50 g sesame grains
6. 1 tablespoon orange blossom water
7. A pinch of saffron threads
8. A pinch of salt
9. 1 teaspoon cannel
10. 1 tablespoon vinegar
11. 1 teaspoon  Arabic gum
12. 50 g anise powder
13. Frying oil
14. Few orange blossom water to add to honey

Procedure:

1. Melt the saffron in a glass of water and put it aside. In a big bowl, mix flour, salt, and chemical yeast.

2. Make a well and pour the melted butter, orange blossom water, vinegar, Arabic gum, and egg. Work all with the palm of your hand, and gradually incorporate the flour and anise.

3. Add the saffron water step by step the dough always working it until it is smooth and easy to flatten.

4. Divide this dough into medium balls and leave them to rest for a while covered with clingfilm, for about 15 minutes, then flatten one of them with a roller at 1 mm thick, cut with the roulette a rectangle of 5 cm in length over 4 cm of width. Cut 3 cutouts, and take the two ends from the top of the rectangle. Turn them over and pass them through the middle slot.

5. Put the Chebakia obtained in a tray and repeat the operation until you finish.

6. Then fry them in hot oil, let them brown, drain, and dive into molten honey in which we add a few orange blossom water. Finally, decorate them with sesame grains.

How to serve Chebakia?

As we said before, Chebakia is prepared for Ramadan occasion, and it is served with Moroccan soup, called Harira,  and you may eat it as a sweet and dessert after a meal on the other days. 

Tips!

- You may prepare the dough one day before and let it rest the whole night covered with a cling film in the refrigerator and then in the morning take it out from the fridge, let it rest for a while, and then begin to shape your Chebakia.

- You should conserve your Chebakia in a closed box in order to keep your Chebakia crispy and at the same time soft.

Enjoy your Chebakia 

Good Appetite!

😊