Tunisian Food Sweets

Makroudh: Tunisian Date-Filled Semolina Pastries Recipe

Name: Makroudh (Tunisian Date Pastries)
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 110 min
Ingredients: 500 g coarse semolina; 1/2 tsp fine sea salt; 150 ml olive oil (or half olive, half sunflower oil); 150 ml warm water (added a little at a time); 1 tbsp orange blossom water; 350 g date paste (or soft pitted dates, blended); 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 pinch ground cloves; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 tbsp orange blossom water; 300 g sugar; 200 ml water; 1 tbsp lemon juice; 1 tbsp orange blossom water; sunflower oil (for deep frying)

Crisp semolina pastry wrapped around spiced date paste, cut into diamonds, fried and dipped in orange blossom syrup. Tunisia’s favourite sweet for Eid.

Makes

Calories

150 kcal each

Cuisine

Tunisian

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Plate of Tunisian makroudh, diamond-shaped fried semolina pastries filled with date paste and glossy with syrup, with a glass of mint tea

On this page: What is it · History · What you need · Step by step · Serving & storage · Recipe card

Makroudh are small Tunisian pastries made from semolina dough wrapped around a ribbon of date paste. They are cut into diamonds, fried until crisp and dipped in syrup, so they are crunchy outside and soft and sticky inside.

They are sold by the kilo in pastry shops and markets all over Tunisia, and they are on every table at Eid. We bought them often during our winter there; making them at home is easier than it looks.

Plan about an hour and a half, including resting the dough.

What Is Makroudh?

Makroudh (also makrout or maqrout) is a pastry of coarse semolina rubbed with oil, bound with a little water and orange blossom water, and filled with date paste spiced with cinnamon. The surface is pressed with a patterned mould or scored with a knife before cutting.

Most are fried and then soaked in syrup or honey. A baked version exists too; it is drier and less sweet but keeps longer.

The pastry should be crisp and sandy, never doughy, and the date layer should run through the middle of every piece.

A Little History

Tray of homemade Tunisian makroudh in paper cases with a teapot and glasses of tea for Eid

Makroudh is most closely linked with Kairouan, the old holy city in central Tunisia, where it has been made for centuries and is still sold in shops that specialise in nothing else. The same pastry is made across Algeria, Morocco and Libya under similar names.

Dates and semolina are two of the oldest staples in Tunisian cooking, and makroudh brings them together. Families make large batches before Eid al-Fitr at the end of Ramadan, and for weddings and other celebrations.

Today, Kairouan makroudh is one of Tunisia’s best-known sweets, and boxes of it are a classic gift.

Planning a trip, or just back from one? Our Tunisian food guide covers what to eat, and the Tunisia travel and food guide covers where to stay and what to explore.

At a glance

Makes

Calories

150 kcal each

Protein

2 g

Course

Sweet, Snack

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Why it works

01 Only a handful of pantry ingredients

02 Crisp outside, soft date middle

03 Keeps for a week in a tin

Pile of diamond-shaped Tunisian makroudh date pastries glistening with syrup on a copper tray, seen from above

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What You Need

Exact amounts are in the recipe card

For the Dough

coarse semolina
fine sea salt
olive oil, or half olive, half sunflower oil
warm water, added a little at a time
orange blossom water

For the Filling

date paste, or soft pitted dates, blended
ground cinnamon
ground cloves
olive oil
orange blossom water

For the Syrup

sugar
water
lemon juice
orange blossom water

To Fry

sunflower oil, for deep frying

Ingredients for makroudh: coarse semolina, date paste, olive oil, orange blossom water, cinnamon, sugar, lemon and water

Step-by-Step Instructions

Make the syrup first so it can cool, then the filling, then the dough. Shaping takes a little practice; the first log is always the slowest.

Sugar syrup with lemon simmering in a small saucepan for makroudh

1. Make the syrup

Put the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until slightly syrupy. Stir in the orange blossom water and leave to cool until just warm.

Date paste kneaded with cinnamon and rolled into thin ropes for makroudh

2. Make the date filling

Knead the date paste with the cinnamon, cloves, olive oil and orange blossom water until smooth and soft. Divide into 4 pieces and roll each into a rope about 1.5 cm thick.

Tip: If the paste is too firm to roll, warm it for a few seconds in the microwave or knead in a teaspoon of water.

Coarse semolina being rubbed with olive oil in a wide bowl for makroudh dough

3. Make the semolina dough

Mix the semolina and salt in a wide bowl. Pour in the oil and rub it in with your fingertips for 3 to 4 minutes, until every grain is coated and the mixture feels like damp sand. Cover and rest for 30 minutes. Then sprinkle in the orange blossom water and enough warm water, a little at a time, to bring it together into a soft dough. Do not knead it.

Tip: Rubbing in the oil and letting it rest is what makes the pastry crisp and sandy. Kneading develops gluten and makes it tough.

Semolina log filled with date paste cut into diamond-shaped makroudh on a board

4. Shape and cut

Take a quarter of the dough and shape it into a log about 3 cm thick. Press a deep groove along the top, lay a date rope inside and pinch the dough over it to enclose it completely. Roll gently to seal, then flatten to about 2 cm high. Score the top with a knife or press with a makroudh mould, then cut on the diagonal into diamonds about 4 cm long. Repeat with the rest.

Fried makroudh lifted from hot oil into a pan of warm syrup

5. Fry and soak

Heat the frying oil to 170°C. Fry the makroudh in batches for 5 to 6 minutes, turning once, until deep golden. Lift out with a slotted spoon, drain for a few seconds, then drop into the warm syrup for 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a rack to drain and set.

Tip: Hot pastries into warm, not hot, syrup keeps them crisp. If the syrup is too hot they turn soggy.

Serving & Storage

Serving

Serve makroudh at room temperature with mint tea, Tunisian tea with pine nuts or strong coffee. Arrange them in paper cases for a festive tray at Eid.

For a less sweet finish, dip them in warm honey instead of syrup and sprinkle with a few sesame seeds.

Storing Leftovers

Once completely cool, keep makroudh in an airtight tin at room temperature, layered with baking paper.

Makroudh	up to 1 week
Freezer, unsoaked	up to 2 months
Syrup	2 weeks in the fridge

To freeze, fry but skip the syrup. Thaw, warm in the oven at 160°C for 5 minutes, then dip in warm syrup.

Makroudh (Tunisian Date Pastries)

Crisp semolina pastry wrapped around spiced date paste, cut into diamonds, fried and dipped in orange blossom syrup. Tunisia’s favourite sweet for Eid.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine Tunisian

Pin Recipe

Prep Time 50

Cook Time 30

Rest 30

Total Time 1 50

Servings pieces

Calories 150

Equipment

Large wide bowl
Small saucepan
Deep pan or fryer
Kitchen thermometer
Sharp knife
Slotted spoon

Ingredients

Dough

500 g coarse semolina
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
150 ml olive oil or half olive, half sunflower oil
150 ml warm water added a little at a time
1 tbsp orange blossom water

Filling

350 g date paste or soft pitted dates, blended
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground cloves
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp orange blossom water

Syrup

300 g sugar
200 ml water
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp orange blossom water

To Fry

sunflower oil for deep frying

To bake instead of fry: brush the diamonds with olive oil, bake at 190°C for 20 to 25 minutes until golden, then dip in warm syrup or honey.

Use coarse semolina, not fine. Fine semolina gives a dense, cakey pastry.

Instructions

Put the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until slightly syrupy. Stir in the orange blossom water and leave to cool until just warm.
Knead the date paste with the cinnamon, cloves, olive oil and orange blossom water until smooth and soft. Divide into 4 pieces and roll each into a rope about 1.5 cm thick.
Mix the semolina and salt in a wide bowl. Pour in the oil and rub it in with your fingertips for 3 to 4 minutes, until every grain is coated and the mixture feels like damp sand. Cover and rest for 30 minutes. Then sprinkle in the orange blossom water and enough warm water, a little at a time, to bring it together into a soft dough. Do not knead it.
Take a quarter of the dough and shape it into a log about 3 cm thick. Press a deep groove along the top, lay a date rope inside and pinch the dough over it to enclose it completely. Roll gently to seal, then flatten to about 2 cm high. Score the top with a knife or press with a makroudh mould, then cut on the diagonal into diamonds about 4 cm long. Repeat with the rest.
Heat the frying oil to 170°C. Fry the makroudh in batches for 5 to 6 minutes, turning once, until deep golden. Lift out with a slotted spoon, drain for a few seconds, then drop into the warm syrup for 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a rack to drain and set.