Chebakia

Chebakia is the Ramadan pastry. The dough is flavoured with anise, sesame, cinnamon, orange flower water and a little saffron, rolled thin, cut into strips, and then folded and pinched through slits by hand into a shape that opens out into a rosette when it fries - which is the skilled part and the reason women make it in groups in the weeks before the month, hundreds at a time. It is deep fried until golden, dropped straight into hot honey and left to absorb it, then lifted out and rolled in sesame seed. The result is crisp, sticky, heavily perfumed and very sweet, and it is eaten with harira at the breaking of the fast, the sugar and the soup being the standard pairing. It keeps for weeks in a sealed tin, which is why it is made in quantity. Outside Ramadan it is sold year round but the bulk of it is made in one month.

The main sights

• A folded rosette - dough cut and pinched by hand so it opens out in the fryer.
• Honey steeping - fried and then dropped straight into hot honey to soak.
• Made in groups - women producing hundreds at a time before Ramadan.
• Paired with harira - the standard combination at the breaking of the fast.

When to go

Ramadan for the full context; sold all year. An hour.

Practical notes

It is very sweet and very sticky. Cheap versions use glucose syrup rather than honey and taste of it. Sesame is a common allergen. Ramadan means daytime pastry shops may be closed.

Nearby

Every pastry shop and medina stall in the weeks before Ramadan.