Majoun & Mamoul

Majoun

• 1/4 oz. cannabis
• 1 cup chopped dates
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup ground walnuts
• 1 tsp. Ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp. anise seed
• 1 tsp. dried ginger
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup water (more if needed)
• 2 tbsp. melted butter or ghee

In a dry skillet, toast the marijuana over very low heat until it begins to release an aroma. Combine it with the dried fruit, walnuts, spices, honey and water, and cook until the ingredients are soft. Remove to a heavy bowl and mash this pulp until the ingredients are well blended; or put into a food processor and blend, using several short pulses.Add the butter and stir until well blended. Spoon into a jar and store in the refrigerator. Serve on crackers, eat by the fingerful, or use as a filling for mamoul.

Mamoul

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp. rose or orange flower water
• 1/4 cup milk
• Majoun

Preheat the oven to 350 deg. F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and butter, working them together with your fingers. Add the flower water and the milk, then mix and knead the dough until it is soft and pliable. Let the dough rest for a half-hour.

Roll a walnut-sized lump of dough into a ball. Flatten the ball in the palm of your hand. Fill the center of the patty with about 2 teaspoons of Majoun. Bring up the edges of the patty, poke down the filling, and pinch and smooth over the top to form a seamless ball again. Another traditional shape is the crescent, formed by folding the patty in half and pinching the edges to close it
.
Put the mamoul, smoothest side up, onto a large baking sheet. Flatten lightly, and make a pleasing pattern with a nut pick or fork. Bake for about 20 minutes; remove the mamoul from the oven before they begin to turn brown. Cool completely on a wire rack, then roll in confectioner's sugar. Store in an airtight container.

Quick Bhang

Anyone who has made the Indian beverage Bhang the traditional way knows it can be a tedious process. Being  a basically lazy person I decided to simplify it using modern technology. Follow your favorite recipe, there are quite a few available on the web. Here is a good one from holifestival.org

Flavoured bhang drink

Ingredients
2 cups water
1 ounce marijuana (fresh leaves and flowers of a female plant preferred)
4 cups warm milk
2 tablespoons blanched and chopped almonds
1/8 teaspoon garam masala (a mixture of cloves, cinnamon, and cardamon)
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/2 to 1 teaspoon rosewater
1 cup sugar

This is the traditional method of preparation:

Bring the water to a rapid boil and pour into a clean teapot. Remove any seeds or twigs from the marijuana, add it to the teapot and cover. Let this brew for about 7 minutes.
Now strain the water and marijuana through a piece of muslin cloth, collect the water and save.

Take the leaves and flowers and squeeze between your hands to extract any liquid that remains. Add this to the water.
Place the leaves and flowers in a mortar and add 2 teaspoons warm milk. Slowly but firmly grind the milk and leaves together. Gather up the marijuana and squeeze out as much milk as you can. Repeat this process until you have used about 1/2 cup of milk (about 4 to 5 times). Collect all the milk that has been extracted and place in a bowl. By this time the marijuana will have turned into a pulpy mass.

Add the chopped almonds and some more warm milk. Grind this in the mortar until a fine paste is formed. Squeeze this paste and collect the extract as before. Repeat a few more times until all that is left are some fibers and nut meal. Discard the residue.

Combine all the liquids that have been collected, including the water the marijuana was brewed in. Add to this the garam masala, dried ginger and rosewater. Add the sugar and remaining milk.

New Method

Bring the water to a rapid boil and pour into a clean teapot. Remove any seeds or twigs from the marijuana, add it to the teapot and cover. Let this brew for about 7 minutes. Place this mixture along with the remaining ingredients in a blender set to 'liquify'. Blend for several minutes, strain through a mesh coffee filter. Enjoy!