Apart from its social solidarity aspect, the Sacrifice Feast is a great occasion for the Muslim World to have family visits and enjoy nice food. Also considering vegetarians, we are providing two traditional recipes for the ones who want to host friends and have a taste of Arabic kitchen.

Kaak d’Essaouira are wreath-shaped Moroccan cookies flavored with anise, sesame seeds and orange flower water. They take their name from the coastal city of Essaouira.

Sharbat is a very common drink in the Arab World as well as in Iran and India. It is prepared from fruits and flower petals which is sweet and served chilled.

Kaak d’EssaouiraThe dough for Kaak d’Essaouira is easy to make. Begin by mixing the dry ingredients in a bowl: ? 4 cups flour (500 g) ? 1/2 cup sugar (120 g) ? 2 teaspoons baking powder ? 1/4 teaspoon salt ? 2 tablespoons sesame seeds ? 1 teaspoon anise seeds ? 1 teaspoon ground aniseNow add the wet ingredients, but don’t stir them in yet: ? 1/2 cup vegetable oil ? 1/2 cup orange flower water ? 1 teaspoon vanillaIn the next step you’ll also need: ? approximately 1/2 cup water

Use your hands to mix in the oil, orange flower water, vanilla and as much of the 1/2 cup of water as necessary to form a dough that’s easy to shape but not sticky. Knead the dough just until it’s smooth.

Divide the dough into portions about the size of large walnuts. Shape each piece into a ball, and then roll each ball back and forth on your work surface to make a rope as thick as your small finger.

The ropes of dough can be decorated. Either prick the length of each rope with a fork, or score the top of each rope as shown here. If scoring, use a small, sharp knife and cut shallow diagonal slits about 1/8″ apart along the top.

Fold the rope into a wreath-shape, twisting and pinching the ends together to seal. Transfer the wreath to a greased baking sheet, and repeat with the remaining dough.

Let the folded dough rest for 30 minutes on the baking sheet. You can see here that the dough has risen a bit.

Preheat an oven to 350° F. Bake the cookies for about 30 minutes, or until golden and crunchy. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool.

Be sure the cookies are completely cooled before storing in an airtight container.

For detailed instructions visit: http://moroccanfood.about.com/od/tipsandtechniques/ss/how_to_make_kaak_essaouira.htm

Orange Sharbat ? 16 medium oranges ? sugar to taste ? 1 teaspoon orange blossom water ? water (or seltzer) and ice cubes ? sprigs of fresh mint, to garnish

Squeeze the juice from the oranges and sweeten to taste with the sugar. Add the orange blossom water and mix well. Serve diluted with ice cold water and garnished with mint.For more info: http://www.ummah.net/family/recipes/orange.html