Type | Dessert |
---|---|
Place of origin | Ottoman Empire |
Region or state | Maghreb |
Main ingredients | dough, honey and orange blossom water |
Shebakia (Arabic: شباكية) or Chebakia, also known as Griwech or Griouech, is a Maghrebi pastry made of strips of dough rolled to resemble a rose, deep-fried until golden, then coated with a syrup made of honey and orange blossom water and sprinkled with sesame.[1][2][3] It is typically consumed during Ramadan and religious celebrations.[1][4] Chebakia is from the Ottoman 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 of Ramadan.[8][6] Although it is sweet and is often paired with coffee and tea, Moroccans also eat chebakia with spicy food such as harira.[6]
Similar pastries include the Cartellate and the Fazuelos, though the latter are constructed differently, and are thinner, less dense and from different regions.