Halwa Chebakia

حلوى شبَّاكية

“Rose-scented honey pastry — sold by the kilo in the medina.”

Prep 1h · Cook 30 min · Serves 30 pieces · Difficulty Hard · Origin: Fes, Morocco

Halwa Chebakia (also simply called chebakia or griouech) is the archetypal Moroccan honey sweet — flower-shaped fried pastry soaked completely in warm honey infused with rose water, then showered with sesame seeds. Unlike the home-baked chebakia served at Ramadan, the medina confectioners (halawiyyin) sell these by weight in enormous brass trays in their shop windows, glistening under the lights. You point and they scoop. Prices are per 100g. The honey never stops dripping.

Ingredients · Serves 30 pieces

• plain flour500 g
• ground cinnamon1 tsp
• ground sesame (toasted)1 tsp
• ground aniseed1 tsp
• saffron, dissolved in warm waterpinch
• olive oil60 ml
• white vinegar1 tbsp
• rose water1 tbsp
• egg1
• as neededwarm water
• for deep fryingoil
• honey400 g
• rose water (for honey)2 tbsp
• for coatingsesame seeds

The Recipe

1. 1.Mix flour with all dry spices. Add olive oil, vinegar, rose water, saffron water and egg. Mix, adding warm water gradually, until a smooth pliable dough forms.
2. 2.Roll out thin. Cut into rectangles. Create 4 parallel cuts in each rectangle, leaving edges intact.
3. 3.Thread and pinch the strips into a flower or lattice shape.
4. 4.Fry in oil at 170°C for 3–4 minutes until deep golden.
5. 5.Heat honey with rose water in a wide pot. Immediately dip hot pastries into warm honey for 2 minutes.
6. 6.Remove, drain, and coat generously with sesame seeds. Cool on a rack.

Chef's Tips

• Rose water in the honey gives halwa chebakia its distinctive floral, perfumed quality — use it generously.
• The honey must be warm but not hot when dipping — it should be liquid enough to penetrate the pastry.