Eid Al Adha mubarak to all my fellow brothers and sisters in Islam. May Allah guide us to the Straight Path and be pleased with us.
Dubbed the Iraqi Fudge, Diheena (الدهينية) is an ancient recipe developed through the ages. Like many ancient arts, the specialists make it best. Nowadays you have to dodge bullets of idolators in Najaf just to get a taste of Diheena, so you can try this home made version instead.
This recipe was requested by a reader and I am happy to deliver. Instead of the combination of butter and oil, it is more traditionally made with ghee, or clarified butter. The liquid ingredients are boiled briefly with the sugar before the flour and cardamom are whisked in. Sprinkled with walnuts and shredded coconut both over the top and base, this is a treat indeed.
Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 Tbsp date molasses
2 cups flour
1 tsp cardamom powder
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup walnuts
Method:
Preheat oven to 340F.
Butter the bottom and sides of a 9" by 13" baking dish.
Sprinkle with half the shredded coconut.
Spread the roughly chopped walnuts over the base of the dish; set aside.
In a saucepan, heat to a boil the milk, butter, oil, sugar, and date molasses.
Simmer on a low boil for ten minutes.
Whisk in the flour and cardamom.
Pour the batter in the dish over the walnuts.
Sprinkle the surface with the remaining coconut.
Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.
Allow to cool completely before attempting to cut into squares and serve.
صحة و عافية
7 comments:
Yay!! I am so excited to try this! Do you use the same coconut that you use for the Iraqi coconut macaroons? It's definitely a treat, I recently found out I am expecting my second baby, Alhamdulillah, inshallah he or she will make me crave diheena!!
This one's for you, Denise :)
Yes I always use the same unsweetened shredded coconut.
Congratulations for the baby, may Allah grant you both a safe delivery.
Thank you and inshallah, we still have quite a long time to go. That's what I have been doing wrong. I have been using the coconut I find at the local grocery store. Inshallah the next time I go to the Halal store I will get some of this coconut and try to make it. We already have date syrup my husband likes it with tahini. Me not so much. I am so excited to try this!
Date molasses with tahini is the Iraqi version of peanut butter and jelly; so nostalgic! If you don't like date molasses you can replace it with carob molasses or even honey.
It's the tahini I don't like... Lol. I love of dates and date syrup!
Salam sister, I made this for the Prophet's birthday and it came out so good! My husband told me it was the best one that I have made! He said the only thing is when he goes to Abu Ali's in Najaf they can give it to him straight out of the oven. I don't know how I told him it needs to settle a little. We have a new Iraqi bakery in town and I don't know what he does to the diheena but it's not so good, it tastes almost like water or like its missing the fat. They only thing I did different was use a whole cup of butter instead of the oil because we use corn and I wasn't sure if that would mess it up. Thanks for posting!
Wa Salam dear Denise, that's amazing; good work!
My dear sister I have heard fatwas that make commemorating our beloved Prophet's birthday haram as he did not celebrate it nor did the Sahaba. In fact none celebrated the Prophet's birthday until the shiite Rawafidh started to. The reasoning is that it is haram to celebrate any bithdays or ritualistic occasions such as anniversaries and the like because it promotes excess, self-absorption, and frivolity which the shaitan thrives upon to lead people astray. The only two ritual/annual occasions to celebrate are the two Eids. Other than that Muslims are encouraged to celebrate accomplishments, such as khatim Quraan, graduation, wedding, bithing, etc. I hope you accept this advice from me and my Allah guide you and me and all the Umma to the Sirat.
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