Ingredients – Crust
- 900 g coarse semolina
- 150 g fine semolina
- 550 g good quality butter at room temperature
- 125 ml rosewater
- 30 ml orange blossom water
- 1/2 cup milk (used on the second day)
- Equipment – maamoul molds bought from a Middle Eastern supply store
Ingredients – Fillings
Fillings are tricky to give amounts with, because it depends on how many types you want to make. Use these ratios as a guideline, and make less/more depending on how much you want to make
- 2 cups dates and 1/2 cup butter combined in food processor
- 2 cups coarsely ground walnuts and 1/2 cup sugar with 2 tbsp rosewater and 1/2 tsp orange blossom water
- 2 cups coarsely ground pistachios and 1/2 cup sugar with 2 tbsp rosewater and 1/2 tsp orange blossom water
- Try the combinations and adjust the sugar and aromatic waters as you like
Method
- Knead the coarse and fine semolina with the butter until incorporated
- Gradually add the orange blossom water and the rosewater until all added
- Knead for 30 minutes
- Rest for 12 hours, kneading it around 3 times in between
- Before you start using the dough, you must knead it one last time, this time you wet your hands with the 1/2 cup of milk and kneading until all the milk is used up
- Now your dough is ready, create a little ball of dough and make a hole in it, making the sides even
- Look at the picture that shows the stages of filling the maamoul. Fill with your desired filling. If you are using dates, they should be formed into individual balls to fill the dough
- Close the dough so that the filling is totally covered by dough
- Put in the maamoul mold and push firmly but not overly so, otherwise the dough will stick
- Put a cutting board and cover with a kitchen towel
- Strike the top tip of the mold on the kitchen towel to release the maamoul
- Repeat and when you have a tray full, put into an oven that has been preheated to 220 degrees Celsius
- It will take around 15 minutes to bake, but what you are after is the slightest colouring. You don’t want it to brown
- Remove, cool down and eat when warm or cold
