Pistachio Basbousa ( Semolina Cake )

Basbousa is traditional Middle Eastern sweet cake.  It is make with semolina, sugar, eggs , yogurt as main ingredients along with any fruit or nut flavors. Baubosa is featured in Arab Cuisine, Turkish Cuisine, Israeli Cuisine and many more. Basbousa is a name given to this cake in Arabic, it is called Shamali in Armenian and  Revani in Persian. Basbousa is particularly popular dessert among the Egyptian Coptic Christians for fasts, such as Great Lent and the Nativity Fast, as it can be made vegan. 

I saw this recipe long time ago in a Indian  cookery show, and made it plain and simple with out any flavor. Few days ago when I choose to bake Cakes  for this month's Blogging Marathon, I wanted to try Basbousa by adding some flavors / nuts. The is a very simple and little crunchy cake that  can be made in just 30 minutes. This recipe goes to week 3, day 3 of Blogging Marathon 95 under the theme " Make them Cakes ". Here goes the recipe.......





Ingredients:


Semolina / Sooji  1 cup
Eggs 3
Sugar 1/2 -3/4 cup according to your taste
Yogurt 1 cup
Butter 3/4 cup
Baking powder 2 teaspoons
Baking soda 1/8 teaspoon
Salt 1/4 teaspoon
Vanilla extract 1 teaspoon
Pistachio  1/2 cup


Preparation:


Grind pistachio along with 1 tablespoon into course powder.
Preheat oven on 350 degrees F.
In a mixing bowl add semolina, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and 1/2 of pistachio powder.
Combine everything well.
Melt butter and add to semolina mixture along with yogurt and eggs.
Mix everything well.




Grease non stick pan and add rest of the pistachio powder and spread.
Now pour the semolina batter into baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.
Let the cake cool down a bit to transfer to a serving tray.
Garnish with pistachio powder and serve.





Check to see what my fellow bloggers are cooking for Blogging Marathon 95.




9 comments:

Suma Gandlur said...

A classic dish from the Arab world. That pistachio addition should have made this cake more delicious.

Swati said...

Loved the addition of Pistachios in traditional Basbousa!! The cake looks so tempting!!

MySpicyKitchen said...

This cake has been on my to bake list for ever!! This version has bacis ingredients. I should try it. The recipe I bookmarked had too many ingredients. Addition of pistachios is so nice.

Priya Suresh said...

Such a highly rich looking basbousa, pistachios makes this cake more catchy and attractive as well.

Gayathri Kumar said...

Pistachios add such a beauty to the delicious cake. Iafe an eggless version long back and still remember how good it tasted

Pavani said...

That is a lovely middle eastern cake. Looks stunning with that golden brown crust and the yummy pistachios peeking through.

Srivalli said...

This is surely an excellent cake to make, looks so good Sushma

Chef Mireille said...

love your pistacchio twist to this traditional dessert. - that's what I love about foods each person can add their own unique twist to classic recipes

Priya Srinivasan - I Camp in My Kitchen said...

I m yet to try the regular basbousa this pistachio one looks super delicious!!! This cake has been in my list for ages now, better make itsoon! Lovely share dear!