Grape Khabeesa or Grape Malban

Ingredients

• 12 cups strained grape juice
• 1 cup whole wheat flour or white flour (you can mix both together)
• 1/4 cup ground anise
• 2 tablespoons ground fennel
• 1/2 cup black pine nuts (qareesh)
• 1/2 cup toasted sesame

Method

1. Pick sweet grapes, wash them, and dry them well from any water.
2. Squeeze them by hand or with an electric juicer, then strain out the seeds and bits of peel.
3. Squeeze the peels again on their own, as they still contain some juice, then strain that juice as well.
4. Set aside about 1 cup of the juice, and put the rest on the stove until it comes to a boil.
5. In a bowl, mix the cup of juice you set aside with the whole wheat flour, white flour, or a mixture of both.
6. Add the anise and fennel, and mix well, making sure there are no lumps in the mixture.
7. Add this mixture to the boiling grape juice on the stove, stirring from time to time to prevent the juice from burning or lumps from forming. Let it boil over medium heat.
8. Add the sesame and pine nuts, stirring.
9. When the juice thickens, remove it from the heat and let it rest for 15 to 30 minutes.
   Timers: 30 min
10. Prepare clean cloths or plastic trays, line them with food-grade nylon, and pour the thick mixture onto them in a layer no thicker than 1/4 cm.
11. Let them cool, then place them in the sun until they dry completely (from 3 days to 2 weeks depending on the weather), so that the malban can be easily removed from the cloths or trays.
12. Once the malban, or grape khabeesa, is completely dry, remove the nylon or cloth, cut it, and store it in tightly sealed bags.
13. To make traditional malban with pistachios, click How to Prepare Aleppo Pistachio Malban