t is amazing how many ways there are to start a day. And of course I'm talking food, not sex or meditation. I am forever indebted to the French: coffee and croissant provide both kick and indulgence. Once in a blue moon I allow myself a guilty pleasure of full English. Quite often I get a craving for natto, misoshiru or or ochazuke. When I have enough time, I fix myself a heart-warming congee with mushrooms and seaweed. When I get in the rut with muesli and yoghurt, it is time to try something new. After all breakfast means "breaking the fast", returning from slumberful abstinence to the world of palate pleasures.This time I was inspired by a blog about Syrian food. Mamouniyeh or mamounia (مامونية) is a breakfast cereal common in Aleppo in the North of the country. It is very easy to cook.
- Melt a knob of butter in a pan, scoop out the froth. This is how you get ghee that this recipe calls for but may be hard to come by in our area.
- Gently roast 2 tbsp pine nuts until golden brown. Scoop them out and put on a plate.
- In the same butter fry half a cup of coarse semolina on small fire for about 3-5 minutes.
- Add four cups of water and 4-6 tbsp sugar. Let boil until thickens constantly stirring.
- Serve with the roasted pine nuts, grilled Halloumi cheese and, if so wish, a sprinkle of cinnamon.
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Thank you so much for this recipe! I am from the South in the U.S., and we eat grits for breakfast. My husband and I live in Italy (there are of course no grits to be found here). My grandmother shipped us a package of grits, along with other American food, to enjoy. This morning I made grits for breakfast. My husband told me it was very similar to a breakfast dish he had growing up. He is from Aleppo, Syria. This recipe was a perfect find! It helps us to combine our many cultures together. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome! :-) So happy I could add a bit more joy to your marital bliss.
ReplyDeletei was recently at a Syrian restaurant in Montreal that served a version of this with pistachios and the semolina bake. we felt we had died and gone to heaven!
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