Halise (Semolina cake with syrup)

This is another recipe we made during the cooking day in Illinois. My mom's birthday was Sunday and we made the Lebanese food that my mom had missed out on. I made pita bread, hummus, halise and as a family we made hushwey and salata (salad).
Although this dessert recipe I'm posting was very good when we made it in IL, I decided to try to make it healthier and see if it could still taste good with less sugar/calories. The recipe is supposed to be made with blanched almonds, but in the interest of time, mine are whole almonds.

There are many names for this type of dessert including Harese, Hareesa, Namoura, Sfouf, and Basbousa. I could not find this exact recipe anywhere on the internet. Most of the recipes have yogurt and baking soda and many have eggs.

Halise

Semolina cake with syrup

4 Cups Milk
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
2 Cups Cream of Wheat
1 Cup Butter
Blanched almonds
For Syrup:
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Water
1 Capful Lemon juice
1 Capful Orange Blossom Water


1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 baking pan.

2.In a medium sized pot add milk, sugar, cream of wheat and butter and cook on medium until cream of wheat is very stiff.

3.Spoon stiff cream of wheat into greased 9x13 pan, smooth top, then cut into 1"x1" diamonds or triangles.

4.Add one blanched almond to each triangle then bake in preheated oven for 50 to 90 minutes or until edges start to brown.

5.Meanwhile prepare syrup by adding sugar and water to small pot and cooking for 20 minutes on low stirring occasionally.
Then add lemon juice and orange blossom water and cook 5 additional minutes.
Refrigerate until cooled.

6.When edges of Halise are golden, remove pan from oven, re-cut same lines of triangles, then pour COLD syrup over top HOT Halise and enjoy.

Healthy Halise

(this recipe was also halved)

2 Cups milk
slightly less than 1/4 C honey
1 C whole wheat cream of wheat
1 Tbsp Coconut oil
1 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp Canola oil
almonds

For Syrup:
1/2 C water
just over 1/4 C sugar
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 capful lemon juice
1/2 cap rose syrup (grenadine)
1/2 capful orange liquor

Directions are the same except use an 8X8 sized pan.

In Pictures


Combine said ingredients into a pot and start stirring.

  Getting thicker

Should be stiff as below.

 Smooth down into greased pan.

 Cut into shapes and add almonds to top.

 Bake (Mine baked for about 50 minutes), then pour syrup over top.

 Eat!