M'hancha (Moroccan Almond Pastries)

[Honeey]

M'hanncha (The Snake) (Moroccan Almond Pastries)


8 pastries



2 cups almonds
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon orange flower water (or more, to taste)
cinnamon
8 sheets filo pastry

Pound the almonds in a mortar with the sugar. Add the butter, flower water, and cinnamon. Pounding the almonds makes a smoother paste than simply grinding them.
Lay out a sheet of filo pastry. Using 1/4 cup of the almond paste, place about an inch thick sausage down the centre, roll the sheet around the stuffing and then then coil the sausage to form a snail's shell. Fry in butter until browned, then sprinkle with cinnamon and icing sugar before serving.

Variation: Use rose water instead of orange flower water.

[Anisa]

do you cook the pastry too?

[HOUDA-K]

Yes, you do cook the pastry when the filling is stuffed, on low heat in the oven, normally gas mark 4/5 for halwa.

Choukrane ~ H ~

I’ve never used orange water, always rose, or blossom water when making halwa.

And the final results is .....................



And an indiviual portion, looks like this :

[Anisa]

Yum yum

[_nadia_]

I prefer Middle Eastern halwa as opposed to North African. The only Moroccan cake I like is shebakkia, and that's in small doses and ONLY with harira

[HOUDA-K]

I disagree NA Halwa is the best ……..far better than the ME

[sweet_angel]

I love our moroccan halwas, k3ab, melousa, beriwats etc their lovely with Moroccan mint tea. My colleagues love them too i always bring some for them when its Eid or when we have a special occasion.