Λουκούμια (κουραμπιέδες) του γάμου. Πηγή: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qurabiya#/media/File:Kourabiedes_platter_2008_01_08.jpg
Loukoumia were offered as a treat on festive occasions, mainly at weddings and on nameday celebrations.
Name - Recipe
Λουκούμια του γάμου. Kourabiédes made of semolina and almond filling.
Version A:
1 kg semolina
450gr unsalted butter
1½ glasses water for kneading
1 cinnamon stick
5-6 cloves
For the filling:
3 cups of almonds or pistachio nuts, coarsely ground
1 tsp of cinnamon, coarsely ground
, or 1 tbsp of ground cinnamon or almonds
1/3 cup melted butter (optional, to hold the nuts together).
Rosewater and icing sugar for sprinkling
Version B
Semolina
Pork fat
Almond nuts
Sugar
Version A:
In the previous evening, in a pan, heat the butter and as it is heating up add the semolina gradually. Let it cool down for a while and then rub it together with your fingertips. Cover it and place it aside. In the following morning, boil the water with the cinnamon and cloves and knead the dough until it is soft. Let the dough cool down. Prepare the filling by adding all the ingredients and mixing well. After the dough has cooled down, cut it into equal pieces. Make balls and on each ball make an indentation in the center with your thumb. Add a spoonful of the filling and fold the dough over the top. Give the loukoumia an oval or round shape. Place them on a baking tray and bake for 25-30 minutes. When baked and cool, dip them in rose water or just sprinkle them with rose water, then roll them in icing sugar. (MANRE 2006, 62)
Version B:
In the previous evening, in a pot, combine the semolina and the pork fat and set aside. On the following day, press the mixture with a wooden spoon and when the semolina does not lift, the mixture is ready to use. Knead the semolina and add the almonds. Place them on a baking tray and bake in a medium temperature oven for 30 minutes. Serve with icing sugar. (Polyxeni Rotsidou, 70 years old)
Baking in the oven.
Nowadays, pork fat has been replaced with butter, as described in Version A of this recipe.
In the old days, the recipe required to combine the semolina with pork fat to puff it up (Version B).
Loukoumia are stored in a cool place.
Functional and symbolic role
"I am referring to a very nice wedding treat, which has recently started to be accepted by young couples, offering it to their guests on the most beautiful and happiest day of their lives. It is a very nice, traditional and pure treat that won me over, I am eating it with pleasure. This treat or sweet is made of genuine flour dough, enriched with roasted almonds and ofcourse sugar. The flour dough is not laden with excess fats or buttersthat would make you disgusted. And it has the appropriate "smells", spices like cinnamon and others in very even amounts. It is indeed a nice treat that makes you enjoy eating it, without thinking you've consumed a bunch of butter, which the other types of treats have. It is possible to store them for some time. They are even lower in cost compared to other wedding treats, which can be twice the cost or more.
Unfortunately, most couples today at their weddings offer as a treat, usually, the well-known "loukoumia" or "mamoulia" or whatever they call them. They are sweets containing a mudfilling made from pistachios or a combination with almonds. Their dough is full of various butters and fats that sometimes make you sick. Most of the time I don't eat these, mainly because of the muddy filling as well.
Young couples insist on offering these because of their high price tag as well, so they can tell others what an expensive treat they offered at their weddings. But I, and I believe many others, prefer the traditional-style kourabiedes or the ones from Athienou as a treat at weddings. " (Testimony of Adamos Kombou, newspaper "Phileleftheros", Sun, 27 Sep 2009)
Loukoumia were offered as a treat on festive occasions, mainly on weddings and on nameday celebrations.
Additional information and bibliography
In Skala (Larnaca), although the same method is followed, they are considered tastier because when the loukoumia are baked and sprinkled with icing sugar, they are then smoked with special aromatic incense. They leave the censer to burn for several hours in the same room where they keep the loukoumia. This incense gives a delicate aroma and additional flavour to the loukoumia. The loukoumia were served at weddings and festivities (Michaelides 1983, 147).
Michaelides, A. (1983). Larnaca, the old Skala, Nicosia.
Phileleftheros newspaper, 27 Sep 2009.
Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment, Department of Agriculture (2006). Cyprus traditional preparations, Press and Information Office, Nicosia.
Oral testimony: Polyxeni Rotsidou, 70 years old from Famagusta. Recording: Christina Gregoriou, October 2010. Edited by Stalo Lazarou.
Christina Gregoriou/ Stalo Lazarou, Varvara Yangou, Eleni Christou
Λουκούμι του γάμου με περιτύλιγμα, όπως προσφέρεται σήμερα. Πηγή: Στάλω Λαζάρου.
Λουκούμι του γάμου. Πηγή: Στάλω Λαζάρου.
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