TheOxford Companion to Food (3rd edition) suggests that basbousa might have developed from a dish called ma'mounia, which was created around the 9th centuryAbbasid period.[6] Ma'mounia was made by cooking rice in fat and syrup. This recipe was later adapted to use semolina, with the batter being cooked first and then soaked in syrup.[7] According to food historianGil Marks it is possible that semolina syrup cakes evolved from toasted semolina sweets likesuji halva, as pastries and puddings in the middle east typically used semolina.[8]
A recipe for revani (Ottoman Turkish:روانى) can be found in the 1844 Ottoman Turkish cookbookMelceü't-Tabbâhîn, it calls for baking a mixure of semolina, butter, sugar, and eggs in an oven then soaking it in sugar syrup and cutting it in "baklava shapes."[9][10][11]
An 1890 Ottoman Turkish to English dictionary by British lexicographerJames Redhouse definedrewani (Ottoman Turkish:رواني) as "A kind of sponge-cake", it also definedrewaniji as a seller of said cake.[12]
Basbousa is the most common name for this dessert in the Middle East but it may be named differently depending on the region; it is often called "hareesa" in the Levant.[14][17] Note that "harissa" in North Africa is aspicy red sauce.[18] It is a popular dessert offered in many sweets bakeries in the Middle East and especially popular duringRamadan.
Vegan basbousa (egg replaced by apple sauce)
Şambali is also referred to as "Damascus dessert" or "Damascus honey".[19]Şam in Turkish means "Damascus".[20]
Basbousa is believed by some derive its name from a colloquial Arabic expression meaning "just a kiss" (بس بوسة).[21][22][23]
The Turkishrevani is derived from the Persian word for oil or butter (روغن).[24][25] However, some claim thatrevani is derived from "Revan"; the Turkish name forYerevan, and that the dessert was made to commomerate the Ottoman conquest of Yerevan by SultanMurad IV.[26][27][16]
Many variations of syrup-soaked semolina paste can be found in the Middle East; common ingredients include coconut,rose water, citrus, among many others.[28]
Some denser versions also include eggs, modern versions includebaking powder.[8]
Some common versions are:
Pastūsha (sometimes stylized aspastūçha) is a variant of basbousa that originated inKuwait in the 2010s.[29] Like basbousa, it is made fromsemolina soaked in sweetsyrup. It is characterized by the addition of finely groundpistachios and orange flower water.
Hareesa nabaqia (Levantine Arabic:الهريسة النبكية) originates from the city ofAl-Nabek, Syria, and is coated insmen (clarified butter) and pistachios.[46][47]
Şambali: Similar torevani, made with syrup, yogurt and semolina, it is popular in Greece andİzmir.[19][48][49]
^Food Culture in the Middle East. Brill. 2012.ISBN9789004215030.Semolina-based syrup desserts are characteristic of Arab cuisine in Egypt and the Levant.
^Davidson, Alan (2014). "Ma'mounia".The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press.ISBN9780199677334.A sweet dish of grain cooked with fat and sugar or honey, named after the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833).{{cite book}}:Check|isbn= value: checksum (help)
^Davidson, Alan; Jaine, Tom; Vannithone, Soun (2014).The Oxford companion to food (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-967733-7.
