146 – Sellou (Sfouf) Recipe – Ramadan Special

Ingredients :

• 200 grams of flour
• 125 grams of roasted almonds – you can also buy raw blanched almonds and roast them or fry them your self but I prefer to buy them already roasted to save time
• 100 grams of sesame seeds
• 125 grams of honey
• 75 grams of powdered sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoon of anise powder
• 2 teaspoon of cinnamon powder
• a pinch of salt
• ¼ teaspoon of ground mastic gum
• 113 grams of butter (1 stick)
• Secret Ingredient 1: 125 grams of roasted peanuts
• Secret Ingredient 2: ½ teaspoon of cardamom powder

Directions :

Browning the flour:
1- preheat your oven to 350 degrees F
2- place the flour in a baking pan and spread it evenly
3- cook the flour in the oven for about 30 minutes
4- To avoid smoke in your house, and for the flour to cook evenly and not burn, you need to stir it every 5 minutes until it is done
5- You will notice that the color of the flour will start changing and the flour is done when it has a deep golden brown color
6- Sift the flour – use a spoon to break the flour lumps
7- Let the flour cool down before using it.

Preparing the other ingredients:
1- while the flour is cooking, you can actually start roasting the sesame seeds in a skillet on medium-low heat. Stir frequently so they do not burn.
2- This will take about 20-30 minutes. remove the seeds from the heat when they darken and become fragrant – you can taste them, they should have a nutty flavor.
3- Using a food processor, mix the roasted peanuts and the roasted almonds together.
4- If you prefer sellou to have a fine texture, then mix the nuts until you get a powder. I personally prefer my sellou to be crunchy, so I only half mix the nuts to keep solid parts.

Mixing the dry ingredients:
1- Now that we are ready, we are going to mix all the dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, spices, sesame seeds, almonds, and peanuts).
Note: If you want to give a gift to your friends, you can place some of the sellou mixture in an airtight canister and just tell them to add melted butter and honey to their taste!
2- You can also do this for yourself, as this powder can be preserved for 2-3 months if you place it in an airtight container and in the fridge. Then all you have to do is add honey and melted butter when you want some sellou!

Last step:
1- add the melted butter and honey.
2- Mix well using both hands until all the butter and honey are incorporated into the powder mixture.
3- Now, if you want to preserve the moist sellou, just put it in an airtight container and place in the fridge for up to 1 month. Just make sure to bring it to room temperature before serving.
4- Serve the sellou in little cups, or shape a dome out of it, cover it with powdered sugar and decorate roasted almonds.
take a spoon and enjoy this amazing treat!