Turkish Delight

This month’s recipe is a popular Middle Eastern dessert that is suited to this festive season.

Ingredients

• 4 cups (or a kilo) of brown sugar – you can replace it with white or raw sugar or a mix of brown and white.
• 4.5-5 cups of water.
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice.
• 1 cup ( or 250 grams) of cornflour.
• 2 teaspoons of ground cardamom.
• A teaspoon of vanilla or rosewater.
• 3-4 pieces of mastic (see below for description)
• 90 grams of gelatin or a vegetarian alternative like agar agar.
• Pistachios, walnuts or your preferred other nuts. I prefer pistachios and use the knife to cut them into smaller pieces.
• Fine coconut or a mix of icing sugar and cornflour for coating. I use coconut.

Method

• Pour the sugar into a pan and add 2 cups of water and lemon juice and mix well on medium heat.
• I add a few pieces of mastic to the syrup mix while boiling. Mastic is a resin obtained from the mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus). Traditionally, mastic was used in the Middle East as chewing gum. When chewed, the resin softens and becomes a bright white and opaque gum. The flavour is bitter at first, but after some chewing, it releases a refreshing pine/cedar-like flavour. You can buy it from any Middle Eastern grocery.
• Stir the mixture frequently until it starts to boil, foams (forms bubbles) and becomes thick. To test if it is ready, you can drop a small amount of the hot syrup into a bowl of cold water. If it coagulates /becomes a clot, it is ready. Take it off the heat and leave aside.
• Mix the cornflour with another 2.5-3 cups of water in a separate pan until it becomes a smooth mixture. Add the gelatin (or the vegetarian alternative) to the mixture and stir continuously on low heat until it changes to a thick paste.
• Now start pouring the sugar syrup slowly and gradually into the starchy mix, stirring constantly on low heat.
• Continue to cook the mix on low heat after pouring the syrup fully for another 30-40 minutes stirring constantly until the mixture is thickened sufficiently.
• Take the mixture from the heat, add ground cardamom and rosewater or vanilla, mix well.
• Pour the mixture into a baking dish or deep tray, pre-lined with baking paper and oiled lightly, add pistachios, walnuts or any other nuts you like on top (or top and bottom), refrigerate and let it sit for a few hours.
• When set, take it out and flip it over a surface sprinkled with cornflour, then cut it into small squares, about 2.5-3cm, using a knife or a pizza cutter.
• Coat each piece with coconut or a mixture of icing sugar and cornflour. I prefer the coconut. Then pack in a jar with ample coconut to cover the pieces.
• Serve your Turkish Delight with coffee or tea and enjoy.