Chebakia (الشباكية)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Chebakia cutter or fluted pastry wheel
• •Rolling pin
• •Heavy 24-28 cm frying pot
• •Wide shallow saucepan for honey
• •Spider skimmer
• •Cooling rack set over a tray
• •Frying thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Toast the sesame

   Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring often, until they turn golden and smell nutty, 5 to 7 minutes. Cool them completely. Grind 100g of the sesame to a fine meal and keep the remaining 50g whole for finishing. Crush the mastic with the sugar if using, and bloom the saffron threads in 2 tbsp warm water for 10 minutes. These small aromatics steer the whole pastry, so start honest.

2. 2

   Make the dough

   In a wide bowl, mix the flour, ground sesame, anise, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, yeast, and crushed mastic. Make a well and add the egg, olive oil, melted butter, vinegar, 2 tbsp orange blossom water, and the saffron water. Add the lukewarm water little by little, kneading as you go, until you have a firm dough that is smooth, dense, and not sticky. It should feel closer to pasta dough than bread dough.

   Do not pour in all the water at once. Flour and sesame drink differently. La balance est dans les yeux (the scale is in the eyes): stop when the dough can roll thin without cracking.
3. 3

   Rest the dough

   Divide the dough into 4 pieces, rub each lightly with oil, cover, and let rest for 45 to 60 minutes. Do not wait for it to double; chebakia is not bread. The rest relaxes the dough so the slits stretch and fold without tearing.

4. 4

   Roll and cut

   Roll one piece of dough at a time on a lightly floured surface to about 2mm thick, thin enough that the shadow of your fingers almost shows through. Cut rectangles about 8 x 10cm with a fluted pastry wheel. In each rectangle, cut 4 long slits inside the border, leaving the edges attached so you have 5 connected strips. Keep the cut pieces covered while you work.

5. 5

   Shape the flowers

   Lay one rectangle across your hand. Slip your index finger under the 1st, 3rd, and 5th strips, leaving the 2nd and 4th strips below, so the dough alternates over and under your finger. Pinch the two short ends together, then turn the shape gently through itself and open it into a flower. This shape is not decoration alone; it makes little channels so the oil crisps the folds and the honey enters them later.

   The first few will be crooked. Let them be. By the tenth one, your hands will understand what your head was making too complicated.
6. 6

   Warm the honey

   Put the honey in a wide shallow pot and warm it over low heat until loose and glossy. Stir in the remaining 1 tbsp orange blossom water and keep it warm. Heat the frying oil in a heavy pot to 170-175°C. Use a pot deep enough that the oil sits well below the rim. The heat matters: too fierce and the sesame darkens before the dough cooks; too low and the pastry drinks oil.

7. 7

   Fry to amber

   Fry 5 or 6 chebakia at a time, without crowding the pot. Turn them gently with a spider or two forks until deep amber and crisp at the edges, about 4 to 6 minutes per batch. Let the oil return to temperature between batches. Lift each piece and pause over the pot just long enough for excess oil to fall back.

8. 8

   Soak in honey

   Move the hot chebakia directly into the warm honey. Press them under gently, turn them, and let them soak for 5 to 8 minutes, until the glaze clings and the folds look lacquered. This is the point of the dish: warm pastry and warm honey meeting at the right moment.

9. 9

   Finish with sesame

   Lift the chebakia from the honey and set them on a rack over a tray. While they are still sticky, scatter the reserved whole toasted sesame over every piece. Let them cool completely before storing, or the tin will trap moisture and soften the pastry. Serve with harira, dates, mint tea, and enough pieces that the plate can travel down the table.

Chef Tips

• •Smell the sesame before you buy it. If it smells dusty or bitter, leave it. No gesture rescues tired seeds in a pastry built on sesame.
• •Use saffron threads and bloom them; the powdered yellow stuff belongs nowhere near this dough. If you can't find mastic, leave it out rather than replacing it with perfume.
• •Keep the honey warm, not fierce. Warm honey enters the folds; overheated honey turns harsh and can dull the orange blossom water.
• •Do not crowd the frying pot. Chebakia needs room to open and color evenly, and the oil temperature falls fast when the pot is packed.
• •Chebakia teaches the hands. Make one tray slowly, then the rhythm comes. What was given to me, I give on: fold, fry, honey, sesame, repeat.

Advance Preparation

• •Make chebakia 3 to 7 days before Ramadan begins. Once fully cool, keep it in airtight tins at room temperature for 2 to 3 weeks.
• •Toast and grind the sesame up to 3 days ahead, then keep it sealed so the aroma stays fresh.
• •The dough can be made the night before and chilled, well wrapped. Bring it back to cool room temperature before rolling, or it will fight you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 47g)