Monday, March 11, 2013

Traditional Recipe of Ballakume / Receta Tradicionale e Ballakumeve


"Dita e Veres" on March 14th (translated in English - Summer Day) it's a traditional holiday/fest of my birth-town Elbasan. This fest has a traditional desert called Ballakume. It has a very special and delicious taste that can be found only in Elbasan(the traditional one of course) I'm posting the traditional family recipe inherited from generations. I couldn't post the recipe as I usually do(step by step with pics) because this desert was prepared in my hometown and I couldn't make it since I'm busy will school and exams.  Hope you try them and let me know as soon as possible if you do, because I am really curious :)

Se shpejti po afron "Dita e Veres" (me 14 Mars), nje feste shume e dashur e vendlindjes sime - Elbasanit ! Dhe sigurisht posti per receten e Ballakumeve te famshme nuk do te mungonte ne blogun tim ! Nuk munda ta postoj kete recete sic ndodh perhere te bej (hap pas hapi me foto) sepse kjo embelsire u pergatit ne qytetin tim te lindjes, ne Elbasan dhe nuk munda te shkoj pasi jam e zene me shkollen dhe provimet. Ketu do te gjeni receten tradicionale te ballakumeve (recete e gjyshes sime trasheguar prej brezash) Shpresoj ti provoni ne shtepite tuaja dhe me vini ne dijeni si ju dolen pasi jam shume kurioze :)


Ingredients for traditional Elbasan's ballakume:
  • 1 kg sugar 
  • 1 kg without a fist cornflour (that fist will be replaced with a fist of wheat flour, plus have some extra cornflour in hands) 
  • 7 normal eggs (or 8 small ones)
  • 500 gram old cow/ship butter (matured) 
  • fire ash (finje)
Steps you should follow : 
  • Preheat oven - 180 grade Celsius
  • Melt the butter and filter it 
  • In a bowl mix together the warm(not hot) melted butter with sugar for 20-30 minutes until the batter is homogeneous
  •  Add the eggs one by one until they finish, beating each of them for 5 minutes 
  • Add the flour fist by fist while you're mixing the batter. Mix it until you have a homogeneous batter 
  • Add 2 spoons of fire ash (finje) to a glass of water and wait for the ash to precipitate at the end of it. fill the half of an empty egg shell with water from what's left on top of glass, and add it to the batter. then keep blending them together until a homogeneous mass it's created
  • After the blending, take some batter and put on the hot stove to see if it's ready. If it melts, it's not so add some flour to it. Try the same, until the batter it's ready (so the batter wont melt into hot stove)
  • Dye the pan(in which you'll bake ballakume) with butter and flour, or put baking sheet
  • Divide the batter into balls, make sure to put them apart each-other
  • Bake ballakume for about 45 minutes or until golden brown 
  • Bon Appetit 

Perberesit per ballakumet tradicionale Elbasanase  : 
  • 1 kg sheqer 
  • 1 kg pa nje grusht miell misri (ai grushti zevendesohet nga nje grusht miell gruri, plus miell misri ekstra)
  • 7 kokrra mesatare veze (ose 8 te vogla) 
  • 500 gr gjalpe lope i vjeter / ose dele
  • hi zjarri (finje) 
Hapat qe duhen ndjekur : 
  • Ndiz furren ne temperature 180 grade celcius
  • Tret gjalpin dhe kulloje nga mbetjet
  • Ne nje tas rrih gjalpin e vakur (duhet te jete I vaket dhe jo I nxhete) me sheqerin per 20-30 minuta derisa te behet mase homogjene
  •  Shton nje nga nje vezet deri sa te mbarohen duke e rrahur secilen per 5 minuta 
  • Shto miellin grushta-grushta duke e rrahur nderkohe me rrahesen elektrike derisa te kemi nje mase homogjene
  • 2 luge gjelle hi zjarri futen ne nje gote me uje dhe presim derisa finja(uje+hi zjarri) te bjeri ne fund dhe uji te kthjellohet, dhe nga ky uje mbushim nje levozhge vezeje te cilen e shtojme ne brum dhe e rrahim serish derisa masa te jete homogjene
  •  Pas perzierjes, per te provuar nese brumi eshte gati, marim nje copez te vogel e hedhim mbi sobe per te pare nese shkrin. Nese hapet, brumit i duhet shtuar pak miell. Bejme proven serish derisa te brumi te mos shperhapet ne siperfaqen e nxehte
  • Lyejme tepsine ku do pjekim ballakumet me gjalp dhe miell ose vendosim leter furre
  • E ndajme brumin ne topa duke lene hapsiren e duhur mes tyre
  • I pjekim ballakumet per rreth 45 minuta ose te kene marre nje ngjyre te bukur te arte
  • JU BEFTE MIRE 

Ballakume while baking (photo taken from Albanian Cooking Blog - Ballakume Elbasani)
Ballakumet duke u pjekur (fotoja e marre nga blogu shqiptar i gatimit - Ballakume Elbasani)

♥ Kiki ♥

5 comments:

  1. can you name a substitute for fire ash?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Don't melt the butter, leave the butter out on the counter until it is very soft, enough that a finger will sink in easily. The idea is to break down the salt enzymes without melting, you'd want it to "melt" when you're mixing it with sugar. That's why ballakume takes so much mixing. Best ash to use is from beech tree, but any similar will be just fine, no ash? No worries, use whole milk, organic, or even raw where possible.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Don't melt the butter, leave the butter out on the counter until it is very soft, enough that a finger will sink in easily. The idea is to break down the salt enzymes without melting, you'd want it to "melt" when you're mixing it with sugar. That's why ballakume takes so much mixing. Best ash to use is from beech tree, but any similar will be just fine, no ash? No worries, use whole milk, organic, or even raw where possible.

    ReplyDelete

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