Rose Water

Something between pudding and cake, basbousa is popular throughout the Middle East. It’s always drenched in sugar syrup and often topped with fresh whipped cream. Rose water (sold in small bottles at Middle Eastern stores; it keeps indefinitely) is an odd ingredient, a lovely flavor that can quickly become overpowering. Use it judiciously.

This wonderful, heartwarming winter drink is hot milk thickened with the starchy ground bulb of an orchid called Orchis mascula. This was sold by street vendors from the large copper urn in which it was made. The stone-colored powder called sahlab (salep in Turkish and Greek) is expensive and not easy to find. I have often bought it in Middle Eastern markets only to discover that it was a fake or adulterated mix. Cornstarch is an alternative which gives a creamy texture but not the same special flavor.

In Egypt, vendors sold crates of rose petals, in their season, for making rose water and rose jam. Certain varieties of rose, such as the wild eglantine of Turkey and Syria, are the best for jam-making. I have not been able to make a good one with the roses from my garden. The petals remained tough under the tooth.

These glorious pastries have a melt-in-the-mouth shell and a variety of fillings of dates or nuts—walnuts, pistachios, or almonds. See the variations for these. My mother always had a biscuit tin full of them to offer with coffee. In Syria and Lebanon they make them with semolina instead of flour. An uncle told us of a baking competition organized by a dignitary in Aleppo many years ago. The maker of the best ma’amoul would get a prize, the equivalent of about two pounds, to be paid by the dignitary. Hundreds of ma’amoul poured into his house, certainly more than two pounds’ worth, and enough to keep him eating happily for months.

This is a modern version of dondurma kaymakli without sahlab. Mastic and rose water give it an exotic allure. The mastic, a resin exuded from the lentisk tree, is sold in small, hard, translucent lumps, like crystals. It must be pounded or ground to a fine powder with a pestle and mortar, together with a pinch of sugar.

A friend described the flavors of a pudding she tasted in an Iranian restaurant, and I applied them to the classic crème caramel. It is magnificent.

This intriguing rice pudding made with water—not milk—called zerde in Turkey and sholezard in Iran, has a delicate flavor and pretty, jellylike appearance.

Another Ramadan specialty in Egypt is a cream made of sheets of dried pressed apricots (amareldine) soaked, then boiled in water. I was in Cairo during the Ramadan month a few years ago and saw hundreds of bowls of this tart-tasting fruit cream offered free at street parties. The sheets of amareldine available these days do not have the pure taste they once had—perhaps due to preservatives. It is better to use natural dried apricots. Pistachios or almonds and thick cream are optional embellishments. Sometimes cornstarch is used to give the cream the texture of jelly. For this, see the variation.

A mixed dried fruit salad with nuts is a favorite in Egypt during Ramadan, the month-long fast, when Muslims fast during the day and eat after sunset. All through the day, people, hungry and listless, are hardly able to work, and dream of what they would like to eat. At nightfall, when the sky is a cherry red, the cannons boom through the cities signaling the end of the fast, and the muezzins sing it out from all the minarets. The silent city suddenly comes alive with the clatter of spoons and plates, glasses and jugs, and with the sound of relieved hunger and laughter, of music and merry-making. The longed-for dishes wait on tables, trays, and the floor, piled high with ful medames, falafel, and bamia, meatballs and kebabs, khoshaf and apricot cream (following recipe). Every family has its favorite combinations of dried fruits.

You need to use large dried apricots for this famous Turkish sweet. The cream used in Turkey is the thick kaymak made from water buffaloes’ milk (see box below). The best alternatives are clotted cream and mascarpone.

Egg yolks give this version of rice pudding a wonderful creamy texture. It has a delicate taste of rose water and mastic. The mastic—unfortunately labeled “gum mastic”—has nothing at all to do with the waterproof filler called mastic, nor with the glue called “gum arabic” sold in the building trades. It is an aromatic resin from trees that grow on the Greek island of Chios. It comes in tiny translucent grains. Be careful not to use too much as it results in a bitter taste. You must pound and grind the grains with a teaspoon of sugar to a fine powder in a pestle with a mortar. A few drops of vanilla essence are an alternative flavoring if you cannot get gum mastic. The pudding is addictive, homely, comfort food. A brittle caramel topping turns it into a more glamorous option.

In Morocco, this is the most popular sweetmeat. The almond stuffing is colored green to give the semblance of pistachios, which are considered more prestigious. Use slightly moist dates such as the Tunisian Deglet Nour or Californian varieties.

This strikingly colorful dessert pairs tart rhubarb with rich Greek-style yogurt. Use a light colored honey that won't dull the rhubarb's bright hue. If you are using regular yogurt, start this recipe the night before so that it can strain overnight.

Turkey is a paradise for street-food fans, and when Feniger travels there, she especially loves nibbling on the airy doughnuts soaked in syrup that are offered by many vendors. She made them her own by lacing a basic cream-puff dough with cardamom and cinnamon. Dried rose hips steeped in the syrup add a little texture and tartness to the sticky, fragrant bites.

Rhubarb and strawberries usually meet in late-spring pies. This dessert plays on the combination's sophistication. When roasted, rhubarb becomes more intense in flavor and color while still retaining its shape. Rose water contributes a floral delicacy (use it sparingly; a little goes a long way), and strawberry sorbet imparts a cool note.

If strawberry shortcake hailed from the Middle East, it might taste like this. Toasting the almonds lets their essence permeate the cake, making it a lovely partner for strawberries that have been macerated in lemon juice and just a hint of rose water. A dollop of freshly beaten cream melds the two beautifully.

Ruggiero was served rose-scented candied peanuts and mint tea on the rooftop of the home of a Toubkal local. It turned out to be one of the best-tasting snacks she'd ever had.

The sweet, creamy comfort food is traditionally made with the short-grained "amber" rice favored by Egyptians; arborio makes a good substitute.

Angel food cake gets its ethereal fluffiness from whipped egg whites, which also keep it friendly to the waistline and healthy for the heart. The unused egg yolks may be saved for making such real indulgences as Crème Anglaise, custards, or lemon curd.

(Haj Pesteh) Peeling the pistachios really enhances the green color of these cookies—pistachio skins can be dark purple and may muddy the resulting color. Active time: 1 1/2 hr Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr