Halawet el jibn
Halawet el-jibn is a Levantine dessert made of a semolina and cheese dough, filled with qishta. Its origins are somewhere from central Syria. It is found in other regions in the Levant and the Middle East notably Tripoli, Lebanon, and has been brought by Syrian immigrants to other countries such as Turkey and Germany.
History
The exact origin of the dessert is disputed. It is often claimed to have originated in the Syrian cities of Homs and Hama, and there is a long standing debated among the inhabitants of both cities over which city invented it.The time period of its invention is also debated, its commonly believed to have been invented during the 19th or 20th centuries.
Syrian author Khayr al-Din al-Asadi described halawet el-jibn in his book "Comparative Encyclopedia of Aleppo", which was completed in 1971 and published posthumously in 1981. Al-Asadi described the dessert as a sweet made from sweet cheese, semolina, and samneh, and noted that it was popular during spring, when cheese was in season.
Ingredients
This dessert is primarily made of a semolina and cheese dough, a sugar syrup locally called ʾaṭər, and orange flower water or rose water. It is normally filled with cream or clotted cream and decorated with pistachio. Rose petal jam can be used as a garnish as well.Arabic ice cream is a common topping for halawet el-jibn during summer.