Hamza Recipe

Who else is excited about Ramadan? Ramadan is around the corner and I’m excited to share this hamza recipe with y’all. This is one of my favorite desserts during Ramadan. If you love Thiakry or Degue you’ll love hamza. 

Hamza is an African dessert made from pearl couscous and yogurt. The yogurt can be homemade or a mixture of store bought dairy. In this recipe, I’ll be making the yogurt using store bought dairy. So anyone can recreate this recipe because the ingredients are readily available.

This recipe is easy to make and it’s worth trying. Keep in mind that there are many ways of making hamza. It is a popular dessert across West Africa but also North Africa and other parts of the world.

So here’s my way of making hamza 😊

Let’s go over the ingredients needed

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup of Pearl couscous
• 2 tbsp of Butter
• 1/3 cup of Sugar
• 2 cups of Sour cream
• 3 cups of Yogurt (plain or vanilla flavor)
• 1 cup of Coconut milk
• 1/4 cup of Evaporated milk 
• 1 tsp of Vanilla extract
• 1 tsp of Orange blossom water “fleurs d’oranger”
• Nutmeg

Now let’s get started

Making the Yogurt 

• Firstly, in a mixing bowl combine yogurt, sour cream and sugar. Mix well until you get a creamy consistency.
• Then, the coconut milk and evaporated milk. Mix very well. I like to use a whisk for this process.
• Add the the orange blossom water and the  vanilla extract. If you prefer a non-alcoholic vanilla, try this one.
• Grate some nutmeg. I prefer whole nutmegs instead of the powdered nutmeg.
• Stir and do a taste test. Add more sugar if needed!
• Lastly, refrigerate while the couscous cools down.

Tip: add less evaporated milk if you want a thicker texture in the end. Because once you add the couscous and refrigerate, it thickens even more.

Prepping the couscous

When making the couscous, you need to give it enough time to cool down. The cooling process might take 30 minutes or more depending on the quantity of couscous.  Pearl couscous can be found in most grocery stores. However, I prefer using this organic one. It is more convenient for me to order online and support small businesses.

• Bring some water to a boil
• Cook 1 cup of couscous for 12 minutes
• Strain the couscous
• Add 2 tbsp of butter and mix well
• Lastly, let it cool down completely

Let’s combine everything 

• Gradually combine the cooled down couscous to the yogurt mixture and mix well
• Then refrigerate. Hamza is best served cold. 

Hamza is also delicious served with some fruits. So feel free to add your favorite fruits!

I hope you enjoy this recipe! Thank you for reading 😊

Checkout the video version of the recipe here !

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