AI-generated image
Sakhana
Wheat and date molasses soup
Sakhana (سخانة): Omani warm wheat, milk and date molasses soup
In Oman, and especially in Dhofar, sakhana is ladled out at Ramadan iftar after the dates and water, a thick, sweet, warming soup of cracked wheat cooked in milk with date molasses and cardamom. It is halfway between a porridge and a drink: smooth, gently sweet, the colour of milky coffee, with soft grains of wheat through it. Serve it hot in small bowls or cups, before the main meal, or as a comforting breakfast on cool mornings. Adding the milk at the start is a frequent error, since it can catch and scorch during the long cook; soften the wheat in water first. Chef's tip: a spoonful of ghee stirred in at the end gives the soup the silky finish Omani grandmothers insist on.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 5 ½ oz coarse cracked wheat or coarse bulgurrinsed
- 3 ¼ cups water
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 pinch saffron threads (optional)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tbsp ghee
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Fresh ingredients (1)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Put 5 ½ oz coarse cracked wheat or coarse bulgur and 3 ¼ cups water in a heavy pan, bring to the boil, then simmer over a low heat for 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until the grains are soft and have swollen and most of the water is absorbed.
20 minStep 2: Pour in 2 cups whole milk, add 1 tsp ground cardamom, 1 pinch saffron threads if using, and 1 pinch salt, and bring back to a gentle simmer, stirring along the bottom so it doesn't catch.
5 minStep 3: Simmer for 10–15 minutes, stirring often, until the soup is creamy and thick enough to coat a spoon. For a smoother soup, blitz briefly with a stick blender.
13 minStep 4: Stir in 4 tbsp date molasses (dibs) or date syrup and 1 tbsp ghee, taste and add a little more syrup if you like it sweeter. Serve hot.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 290 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 8 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sakhana take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
- What can I use instead of ghee?
- Butter, same amount (keep the heat a little lower, butter burns sooner).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Kartoshka cakeCocoa and cake crumb truffles
Soviet cafés and school canteens sold these knobbly brown 'potatoes' for a few kopecks, and they began as a thrifty way to use up sponge and biscuit trimmings at the bakery. Crumbs are bound with butter and sweetened condensed milk, flavoured with cocoa and vanilla, shaped into little potatoes, rolled in cocoa and finished with two dabs of pale butter cream for the sprouts. They are fudgy and dense like a brownie truffle, need no oven, and children love making them. Traditional bakers added a spoonful of rum, an optional extra for adult batches only; this version is alcohol-free with vanilla. The usual slip is coarse crumbs, which make the potatoes crack, so blitz them as fine as sand. Chef's tip: chill the shaped potatoes for at least 20 minutes so they hold their shape and slice cleanly.
Russian
Undu walaluFried urad dal rings in treacle
Walalu means bangles, and these dark, sticky rings of fried urad dal soaked in kithul treacle are a sweet that Sinhala families bring out for Avurudu and for special almsgivings, often made in large batches by an aunt known for her steady hand. A thick, fluffy paste of ground black gram is piped into loops and fried until crisp, then plunged straight into warm treacle, so the rings stay crunchy on the outside while drinking up the syrup. They taste a little like a darker, smokier jalebi, with a toffee finish from the palm treacle. Watery batter is what ruins them; it spreads into flat blobs, so grind the soaked dal with as little water as possible and beat it until light. This recipe uses no asafoetida, so it is naturally gluten free. Chef's tip: pipe the rings onto small squares of baking paper and lower them into the oil paper and all; the paper peels away in seconds.
Sri Lankan
Apple & pear puree
A smooth, naturally sweet puree of gently stewed apple and pear, one of the first foods for babies of 4–8 months. The fruit cooks in a little unsweetened apple juice, so nothing else is needed. Serve it lukewarm; any leftover keeps covered in the fridge for a day, or freezes well in small pots.