I need recipe for Tunisian speciality called psisa.?

Question

Psisa is made from kind of pale brown powder. I have bought it in Tunisia, on market in Sousse medina, among other spices. It probably should be mixed with a little sugar, water, olive oil and some spices. And I need information which spices are used, because they are crucial for it's delicious, chocolate like taste. When it is prepared, psisa look like choclate cream, or dark-brown marmelade.

Answer 1

****EDIT: I also wanted to say that Bsissa can be a drink http://i32.servimg.com/u/f32/11/06/50/73...

Mix approximately 1-1½  soup spoon of powder bsissa for 1 water glass, and sweeten with sugar according to the taste.****

There are two things: Bsissa

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamie_hasse...  -finished and decorated

http://i24.servimg.com/u/f24/11/06/50/73... -finished but undecorated

http://i24.servimg.com/u/f24/11/06/50/73... - in powder form

Bsissa is served usually as a breakfast food, and also given to pregnant and lactating women. The first picture is actually my "show" bsissa from when my daughter was born (I had big bowls of it for myself in the kitschen - this was for the guests to taste).

To make Bsissa (three variations):

1.) Mix the dry ingredients (bsissa, sugar, sesame seeds  and almond powder).

Work into a flexible and soft paste with olive oil. It is not necessary that it is liquid. One must obtain a paste which is sticky in the hand.

2.)

1 kg of hazel nut

750 gr. of flour

1 can of condensed milk

250 gr. caster sugar

2 liters of water

Peel hazel nuts, roast them and crush them. You can use electric mixer. Add to the paste: 2 liters of water and pass to the sieve. Add the flour then filter once again.

3.)

500 gr. of flour or fine semolina

½ coffee spoon of table salt

1 liter and half of water

Butter, sugar

In a large pot pour one liter and half of water and mix with the flour. Add salt then put on fire.

Unceasingly stir up the assida with the medlek. When water evaporates and that the paste becomes hard. Add hot water gradually and stir up vigorously with the spatula to obtain a consistent mixture.

When you can roll up the paste around a spoon the assida is ready and you can withdraw it fire.

Zgougou is a pudding like dessert that is chocolaty in color. It is usually served during Mawlid. It is a pudding made from pine nuts of the Alep pine. It is served in bowls and covered with cream and topped with adornments (such as almonds, small candies, etc) http://images.jamiehassen.multiply.com/i...

Ingredients:

1kg pine nuts or zgougous Aleppo

500 grams of sugar

2 liters of water

750 grams sifted flour

*Pastry cream or Orange Blossom cream*

FOR ORANGE BLOSSOM CREAM

3 cans of water

A few drops of orange blossom water

1 box of sweetened condensed milk

4 egg yolks

Different dried fruits, or nuts or candy for garnish

Directions:

* Sort pine nuts carefully to remove all the stones, herbs, etc. You will need patience and good eyes

* Place the pine nuts in a large container and wash with water carefully to eliminate any further dirt

* Grind gables clean with a chopper

* Mix batter in 2 liters of water

* Pass the mixture through a very fine sieve. Press hard on the dough to get the maximum amount of juice. There must remain a dry dough that you can discard.

* Mix the sifted flour with the liquid black that you recovered

* On low heat, continue to mix well to prevent the formation of lumps

* Keep mixing constantly. The Assida will thicken gradually

* As soon as you feel your Assida thicken, add the sugar while continuing to stir so that your cream is still homogeneous

* As soon as it is quite thick, pour the mixture into small bowls

~~Now you can put you pastry cream or cream geranium on top

ORANGE BLOSSOM CREAM

* Mix sweetened condensed milk, 3 cans of water, egg yolks and orange blossom water

* Over low heat, bring to simmer, stirring until it thickens

~~For decorating everything is possible (pistachio nuts or toasted pine nuts or grated whole, chopped nuts, chocolate powder, sugared, etc). Get help from children, they love to participate.

Hope this helps.