Rghaif M3aslin

This is a very famous and traditional sweet appetizer Moroccans often cook for Eids. The look and taste of these beauties brings back childhood memories of the smell of Eid mornings and the return of my dad’s Eid prayer at the Masjid. No one would have breakfast until his return as he himself along with all who participate in this religious duty, do not have anything to eat until after the Eid prayer. Alhamdulillah that it’s always prayed very early Eid morning 😉

I thank Allah swt that growing up in UK didn’t deprive me from my traditional foods and Islamic roots, because it is a true gift, a gift worth sharing and being thankful for.

Rghaif M3aslin is the Moroccan name for these sweets, if I had to try to describe them in english the only thing I can relate them to is a Moroccan style fried bread, a type of honey parata, because they are made in a similar way to parata’s except with oil instead of butter before frying and then dipping into boiled honey and sprinkling with roasted sesemi seeds or sliced/crushed almonds

Now the key ingredient to this dish is the popular ma2 zahr, this in english is Orange Blossom water, many Moroccan sweets are made with this ingredient, so if you are someone like me who is Moroccan and love making and eating Moroccan sweets but your husband don’t like the taste of Orange blossom water… then your kind of stuck lol!

I tried putting just a little and not tell him it was in it but he could still taste it and catch me out 😉 I’m sure he’s not the only one that isn’t keen on the taste as I know my older brother didn’t like it either, maybe it’s a man thing! I don’t know. But here is a solution that I do every Eid that’s just as tasty and irresistibly addictive, (that’s why it’s only allowed on eids, where we are allowed to indulge abit… slightly).

Moroccan Honey Sweet (Parata)

On this occasion I didn't fill the rghaif with any nut filling, this is a plain version making it much quicker and easier but just as scrumptious. I used roasted sesemi seeds to garnish with but this isn't your only option, many garnish with sliced almonds or some crushed pistachio.

1kg of plain all purpose flour makes between 50-60 pieces. In the video below I made 1 kilo of dough but only used half for this recipe and saved the other half for another dish. 1/2 kg of dough will make between 30-40 roughly speaking which is more than enough if your only catering for your immediate family. Although another great thing about this recipe is that it keeps for ages if you should have any left over 😉   

Servings 50

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 1 kg All purpose white flour
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup of Oil
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg

For the rest of the procedure you will need

• oil for frying
• Sesemi seeds or nuts you will garnish with
• 1 jar of pure honey
• 1 cap full of yellow colouring
• 1 cap full of vanilla essence

Instructions

• Make a soft dough from the flour, egg, .salt, vanilla extract, baking powder, cinnamon & nutmeg. (you can mix all the wet ingredient together with the pint of warm water before adding a little at a time into the dry ingredients. I didn't get to do this on the video;( sorry)
• knead the dough from any air bubbles and then smother in oil and leave to stand for a few mins
• shape the dough into small balls and place in a greased tray.
• When you have finished making your balls cover with clingfilm or a plastic bag and leave for a further 20-30 mins
• Place a dough ball on a greased smooth and flat surface and smooth out into a thin circle, the pastry should be thin enough to see through onto the surface you are working on.
• Then fold the top of the circle onto the middle of the circle, then pick up the bottom bit of the circle and overlap it onto the top of the first fold making a very long rectangle.
• then repeat the above process this the other 2 sides, folding it neatly into a square shape.
• Empty 1 jar of pure honey into a saucepan and add the vanilla essence and yellow colouring, then put over a medium heat to boiling point and then turn off. When you stir the mixture it should be very thin.
• Deep fry your rghaif squares in preheated hot oil before until very light brown in colour before dipping into the heated honey mixture.
• Make sure the honey gets to cover the entire square, side and corner
• then place in a drainer or a suitable container.
• When you have repeated this process and completed your batch of honey rghaif, sprinkle with your desired nuts or in this case roasted sesemi seeds and place in a presentable dish 😉
• The video below will make things much easier to understand but I'm so sorry about my blinking kitchen light that decided to break down on me last minute. I tried to use this to my advantage to make the first half of my video look like it was set in the olden days... 😉