Samak wa-Aqrāṣ (Molded Marzipan Fish & Discs)

Ingredients

• raṭl sugar
• raṭl sweet peeled almonds
• musk
• raṭl good pure honey
• ūqiya rose water
• ūqiya starch
• pistachios
• saffron

Instructions

1. Pound one and a half raṭl of sugar with half a raṭl of sweet peeled almonds and perfume with a little musk.
2. Boil half a raṭl of pure honey with an ūqiya of rose water and skim the froth; add an ūqiya of starch dissolved in rose water and stir until it begins to thicken.
3. Add the pounded sugar and almonds and beat well with an iron rod until it sets; take off the fire and let it cool on a smooth slab.
4. Press into carved wooden molds to form fish and discs (or chickens, lambs, and other figures), and arrange the fish in a dish with the discs around it.
5. Set peeled pistachios on the discs, and optionally tint the fish with saffron dissolved in rose water.