makes
30-40
prep
2 hours
cook
25 minutes
difficulty
Mid
makes
30-40
serves
preparation
2
hours
cooking
25
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
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Celebrating Eid
episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • cooking • 24m
G
episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • cooking • 24m
G
Ingredients
- 3 cups plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp instant yeast
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ⅓ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground mahleb or mahlepi (see Note)
- ⅓ tsp ground cardamom
- ⅓ tsp ground fennel
- ⅓ tsp ground cloves
- ⅓ tsp ground nutmeg
- ⅓ tsp fine salt
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 1 cup and 1 tbsp ghee, slightly melted
- 90 ml milk, warmed
- Icing sugar, to serve
For the agamiya (cooked honey) filling with walnuts
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 70 g honey
- 1 ½ tsp raw sesame seeds
- ⅔ cup finely chopped walnuts
For the malban (Turkish delight) filling
- 200 g rose-flavoured Turkish delight
- 100 g roughly chopped pistachios
OR
- 300 g pistachio and rose-flavoured Turkish delight
Resting time: 1 hour
Instructions
- Start with the kahk dough. In a large mixing bowl, combine the plain flour, baking powder, instant yeast, sugar, ground spices, salt and sesame seeds. Mix well to combine. Add the ghee and milk to the dry ingredients, then mix well to form a thick dough. Knead for 5-10 minutes, then cover with plastic wrap and rest for 1 hour before using.
- While the dough is resting, prepare the fillings.
- For the agamiya, melt the ghee in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, whisk in the flour until no lumps remain. Reduce the heat to low, then add the honey and sesame seeds, stirring on low heat until the mixture becomes very thick. Remove from the heat and stir through the walnuts. Stir until the mixture is almost a malleable dough-like texture. Allow to cool completely to room temperature, then roll into 1.5 cm balls and place on a plate until needed.
- To prepare the malban filling, form the plain Turkish delight into 1.5 cm balls, flatten and fill with a few chopped pistachios. Roll up again into a little ball. If using pistachio and rose-flavoured Turkish delight, cut and form in 1.5cm balls.
- When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 175˚C (155˚C fan-forced). Prepare 2-3 baking trays by lining with baking paper.
- Once the dough has rested for 1 hour, knead for 2 minutes, then divide into 2 cm balls. Flatten to 3-4 mm thick circles, then place a ball of your filling of choice into the centre and cover the filling with the dough. Gently roll in your hands until the filling is completely covered in the dough and no holes in dough are visible. Repeat until all the biscuits are filled.
- Use a kahk or ma’amoul mould of your choice to shape the biscuits. You can also use specialised pastry tweezers or a fork to imprint patterns on the dough. The imprints made by the moulds, tweezers or fork will help the icing sugar stay on the biscuits.
- Transfer the filled biscuits to the prepared baking trays, then bake for 25 minutes, or until very lightly golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once cool, dust with a generous amount of icing sugar. Assemble on serving platters and serve with tea or coffee.
Note
Mahleb, also known as mahlepi, is a spice blend made from the seeds of a specific type of cherry and can be purchased from Middle Eastern grocers.
Photography by Jiwon Kim.
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Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
Stream free On Demand
Celebrating Eid
