AI-generated image
Bouza
Bouza: Tunis's silky sorghum and hazelnut cream for Mawlid, topped with nuts
On the morning of Mawlid, the Prophet's birthday, Tunis families make large bowls of creamy pudding and send small ones to neighbours, and bouza made from sorghum flour with roasted hazelnut paste is one of the best loved. The sorghum gives a fine, slightly earthy cream; the hazelnuts make it taste almost like praline. It is poured into glasses, left to set and decorated with a thick layer of chopped nuts, pistachios and sometimes sugared almonds. Make it the day before so it chills firm. Chef's tip: whisk the sorghum flour into cold liquid before it goes near the heat, or it seizes into lumps you cannot whisk out.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
To decorate
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Fresh ingredients (2)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Toast 4 oz skinned hazelnuts in a dry pan over a medium heat for 6–8 minutes, shaking, until golden throughout. Cool for 5 minutes.
8 minStep 2: Grind the hazelnuts in a food processor for 4–5 minutes, scraping down, until they become a smooth, runny paste.
5 minStep 3: In a heavy pan whisk 3 ½ oz sorghum flour and 2 tbsp cornflour into the cold 2 ½ cups water until perfectly smooth, then whisk in 1 ¾ cups whole milk, 4 oz sugar and the hazelnut paste.
Step 4: Set the pan over a medium-low heat and stir constantly with a whisk for 20–25 minutes, until the cream thickens to the texture of a thick custard that coats a spoon heavily. Keep scraping the base; a common mistake is leaving it for a minute, which scorches it.
25 minStep 5: Take it off the heat, stir in 1 tsp orange-flower water and pour into glasses or small bowls. Cool, then chill for at least 4 hours or overnight, until set.
Step 6: Just before serving, cover the tops generously with 1 ⅜ oz pistachios, 1 ⅜ oz toasted almonds and 2 tbsp pine nuts.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 19 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does bouza take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of cornflour?
- Arrowroot or potato starch, same amount.
- What can I use instead of whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
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
Baklava
The famous layered pastry: crisp sheets of buttered fillo sandwich a filling of almonds, pistachios and cashews spiced with cinnamon, cardamom and saffron. After baking, the hot baklava is soaked in a syrup of sugar, honey, lemon, rose and cardamom and decorated with almond and pistachio flakes. Cut into 40 diamonds; serve with fresh cream or ice cream.
Custard sauce
Proper pouring custard made the easy way with custard powder. It's thick, smooth and lightly sweet, just right with apple pie, crumbles, fruit salad and trifle. Serve it warm, or chill it for trifles.
British
Chocolate sauce
A thick, glossy chocolate sauce made from store-cupboard cocoa and milk, ready in under 10 minutes. Pour it hot over vanilla ice cream, or let it cool and spread it on cakes and puddings.