Assuming that every typical dish has a history behind it, starting from its name, I did some research on Kleeja, before publishing this article. To be honest, I have never tasted this dessert, let alone in Saudi Arabia, since the only thing I saw of the country was the Jeddah airport during a stopover. However, I definitely tasted something similar even if prepackaged, and not homemade.
The first thing that pops out when doing research on Kleeja is that it is a typical Iraqi dessert. You can imagine my disappointment since I asked my friend for a typical recipe of Saudi Arabia and not Iraq (the chapter on Iraq will be published in a future that I hope will be soon). I could not 'give the bad news to Aziz (my friend) telling him that he gave me a wrong recipe (he was very excited to participate to my crazy project). So I started looking for information in Arabic and guess what? It is also a typical dessert of Saudi Arabia and more precisely of the Al Qassim region, where tradition sets that in the morning after the wedding, the bride's family brings this biscuit to the groom's family (I would marry only to make people bring me food!). In the capital of the region, Buraidah, a Kleeja festival is even organized every year.
The origin of the word Kleeja is unknown, since there are those who claim that it is a word of Turkish origins, others of Persian origin and others that it is an Arabic word deriving from the word Kelyaja (which should mean a balance). The dessert is so old that it is mentioned in one of Ibn Battuta's notes (the Arabian Marco Polo).
But now let's see if the preparation is easy or difficult. Below you will find ingredients and preparation. The next post instead will be about where, how and when I met Aziz.
INGREDIENTS:
4 cups of flour (whole wheat) Stuffing ingredients:
1 cup of flour (patent) 1 tbs. black ground lemon
1 cup vegetable ghee 1 tbs. cardamom powder
1 cup of coffee 1 tbs. ginger powder
Sugar 1 tbs. cinnamon powder
Milk powder Sugar
Salt
Water
PREPARATION:
Mix the flour (both whole wheat and patent) in a large bowl, then add ghee and stir them until it is a unique blend.
Add sugar, powdered milk and salt and toss the ingredients well.
Knead the flour with water well "until the dough becomes soft .
Divide the paste into balls by the size you prefer.
Take the ball of dough and flatten it.
Fill it with 1 tbs. of stuffing, then make sure to refold the paste in order to let the stuffing be just inside it.
Cover the surface of the plate you will use to cook the biscuits with eggs, then put the biscuits on it.
Cook in the oven (medium temperature) for 3 hours.
SAHTEEN!
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