 | |
| Type | Dessert |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Ottoman Empire |
| Region or state | Maghreb |
| Main ingredients | dough,honey andorange blossom water |
Shebakia (Arabic:شباكية) orChebakia, also known asGriwech orGriouech, is aMaghrebi pastry made of strips of dough rolled to resemble a rose, deep-fried until golden, then coated with a syrup made ofhoney andorange blossom water and sprinkled withsesame.[1][2][3] It is typically consumed duringRamadan and religious celebrations.[1][4] Chebakia is from theOttoman desserts culture.[5]
Chebakia is made using yeast spiced with anise, cinnamon, and saffron.[6] The dough is made from ground sesame seeds mixed with flour and maybe squeezed through a pastry tube or twisted by hand to achieve the flower-like shape.[6][7] It is then fried like a donut. The pastry is often produced in large batches at the start ofRamadan.[8][6] Although it is sweet and is often paired with coffee and tea, Moroccans also eat chebakia with spicy food such asharira.[6]
.jpg)
Similar pastries include theCartellate and theFazuelos, though the latter are constructed differently, and are thinner, less dense and from different regions.
The names of Chebbakia, and its size, shape and exact ingredient may vary by region. In Algeria[1] and inFez,Morocco, it's known asgriwech (Moroccan Arabic:ڭريوش orAlgerian Arabic:قريوش). InRabat, asmkherqa (مخرقة). InSalé, asEl-qli (القلي). InOuezzane aslahlou (الحلو), and in some other Moroccan region askliwech (كليوش).[9][10]
The origin of this pastry is likely Ottoman, due to its similarity to Eastern pastries such asbaklawa in former Ottoman areas, and meshbek inSyria also known aszalabiyeh.[11]
In Morocco, a folk origin story claims that chebbakia was invented by an ambulant pastry merchant, who fell in love with a beautiful girl he saw every day at her window, and decided to make honeyed pastries in the shape of her window (Arabic:شباك,shubbak), to give her as a gift.[11]
| Sweet |  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Savory |
| ||||
| Companies | |||||
| Lists | |||||
| See also |
| ||||
