This post is dedicated to Mahmoud Abboud. Giddo. The King. Happy 90th Birthday. You carried our family through poverty, war in Lebanon and adversity – Almost 70 years of marriage, 7 kids, a successful immigration to sunny Australia, 21 grandkids and 6 great grandkids later – you have made it to 90.  Grateful to bask in your sunlight smile – being your granddaughter is a great honour.

On the topic of exceptional legacies, today’s recipe explores the ancient art of Turkish delights. Turkish delight dates back to the 1700’s in Istanbul invented by a confection connoisseur named Bekir Effendi.

Turkish delight treats were a staple in my childhood. My Giddo would smile joyfully and hand us Turkish delight treats when we would visit him. I can’t believe how easy this recipe is, and how fun it is to decorate!

This recipe is for the paleo/ keto warriors out there. It’s sugar free! All of my recipes are sugar free, you may need to try the mixture and add extra if you feel it needs extra  sweetness.

Note: I didn’t use red food colouring because of the question mark around the effects of colours and flavours, so this recipe is without the traditional red & healthier that way.

Ingredients:

2 cups of water

2 tablespoons of gelatine

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

2 tablespoons of tapioca starch + 1 teaspoon to dust

1/3 tsp of lemon juice

4 generous tablespoons of rosewater

Garnish: Pistachios, rose petals / rosebuds

1 cup of xylitol

Silicone moulds

Instructions :

1. Place Xylitol and 1 cup of water into a saucepan over medium heat and bring the xylitol to boil to dissolve & add the lemon juice once boiling.
2. Take off the heat
3. Bloom the gelatine in a cup separately in 3 tablespoons of water. Blooming gelatine is the process of allowing the gelatine to interact with water before use. Set aside for a few minutes.
4. Once ready, add the gelatine, cream of tartar & tapioca starch in a large saucepan with 1 cup of water. Turn on the heat below the saucepan. Whisk continuously until lumps dissolve.
5. Begin to pour the xylitol water into the whisked mixture slowly, continue to whisk as you pour.
6. On Medium heat, whisk very gently until the solution becomes more clear than opaque (it doesn’t need to be completely clear).
7. Add 2 tablespoons of rosewater.
8. Try it with a spoon. Does it need extra sweetness for you? if yes add more xylitol, if not continue on..
9. Pour the mixture into the silicon moulds, leave on the counter to cool for 20 minutes.
10. Add 3-4 pistachios per mould. If you leave the mixture to cool for 10 minutes you might be lucky to sink the pistachios to the mid way but many will float.
11. Place the filled silicon moulds into the fridge overnight
12. The next day, Carefully remove the delight pieces from the silicone moulds. the bottom may be a little stuck, so you’ll need to do this slowly.
13. Cut the Turkish delight into smaller serving size pieces
14. Lightly dust the delights with 1 teaspoon of tapioca starch and optionally decorate with rosepetals or rose buds.

Serve up and enjoy.

My next step, is to chocolate coat. Then we’re REALLY in business 😉

Happy Birthday Giddie

xx

Reem

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