In Lebanon, a family keeps alive the tradition of a forgotten Beirut dessert

In a shop in a working-class neighborhood of Beirut, Hassan al-Makari lines up containers of mfatka, a sweet treat that is gener ;reuse and perfumed, typical of the Lebanese capital whose tradition it perpetuates.

“I have been working here for 50 years, but we have specialized in mfatka for 30 years,” says the 73-year-old in his modest shop with its aging decor.

Mfatka is a dessert made with rice, turmeric, sesame cream, sugar and pine nuts.

Hassan al-Makari originally sold other pastries, but faced with the growing popularity of mfatka, he decided to focus solely on this specialty, which he prepares with his cousin.

“We start by adding turmeric, the main ingredient, then tahini (sesame cream), sugar and rice (…) We cook everything slowly,” he explains.

Hassan al-Makari prepares mfatka dishes in his shop in Beirut, on August 29, 2024 in Lebanon © AFP – ANWAR AMRO

Hassan al-Makari lets the rice soak overnight and begins preparing the dish at 5 a.m., which takes him about four hours and requires regular stirring.

He recalls that his father started making mfatka even though he initially thought no one would pay for a dish that was usually cooked at home.

Inside the shop, plastic containers filled with the dessert, which is eaten with a spoon, await customers who order from the busy street.

Imane Chehab, 55, has come to get mfatka for her mother, who used to make it herself.

“She's too old now to stir it (…) It's a very laborious job,” said the woman, who works in human resources.

Samir Makari pours tahini to prepare mfatka in his shop in Beirut, Lebanon on August 29, 2024 © AFP – ANWAR AMRO

It is a “traditional specialty for us Beirutis,” she adds.

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Shops like Hassan al-Makari's “represent the old face of Beirut that we cherish and want to always keep in mind,” she says.

– “Heritage” –

A few blocks away, Samir al-Makari, 35, is carrying on the family tradition.

Samir al-Makari mixes mfatka dough in his shop in Beirut, Lebanon, on August 29, 2024 © AFP – ANWAR AMRO

In a modern shop that also sells Arabic pastries like baklava, he is busy behind the counter, stirring mfatka in a copper cauldron.

He then weighs and mixes the sugar, tahini and pine nuts in another container.

In the past, mfatka was prepared only once a year, on the last Wednesday of April, during a celebration where families gathered on Beirut's public beach, the father and son recall.

Samir al-Makari holds a handful of pine nuts for mfatka in his shop in the Lebanese capital, August 29, 2024 © AFP – ANWAR AMRO

This tradition, known as “Job's Wednesday”, refers to this biblical figure also mentioned in the Koran under the name of Ayoub, and known for his great patience, explains Samir.

According to legend, the preparation of mfatka requires as much patience as that of Job.

On the walls of the shop, run by Samir and his brother, there are photos of their father and grandfather at work.

Samir al-Makari packs mfatka in a plastic container at his store in the Lebanese capital, August 29, 2024 © AFP – ANWAR AMRO

Samir explains that he sometimes prepares mfatka twice a day depending on demand, and that some customers take it outside Beirut to introduce it to those who are not familiar with it not.

Hassan al-Makari, for his part, says he is happy that his children continue to keep this tradition alive.

The mfatka is part of “our heritage” and has been passed down in the family “from generation to generation,” he says.

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