Balat Jahannam, Hell’s Tile

The name means hell’s tile, and the reason is fire. A mixture of semolina, sugar and orange blossom water is poured onto a large stone slab heated over a fire, and it cooks on contact. Qatr syrup goes over it, then natural food dye turns the pale yellow into pink and white. It is cut into squares or triangles. It belongs to Homs; no other city makes it.

How it cooks on the stone

The stone is heated over the fire first. Cooking starts the moment the batter lands, and the work is measured in seconds: the maker spreads the mixture across the stone and lifts it straight off. No oven, no tray, no waiting. The cooked sheet is wetted with syrup, coloured, and cut into geometric pieces. The face that met the stone stays dark, and one of the accounts of the name comes from exactly that.

Three accounts of the name

The first is the burning heat of the stone; the surface the batter falls on is hell itself. The second is the shape: a flat sheet looks like a floor tile, and the fire red of the bottom layer completes the picture. The third is another name used in some quarters — zahr as-sabi, the baby’s back; the flat shape and the pink red colour bring a newborn to mind. The sources pass on all three and choose none.

Its other names

Some quarters call it al-ghabiba. Outside Homs few have heard the name at all. Inside the city particular families make it and the recipe stays with them; heating the stone and lifting at the right moment is a skill that has to be learned.

When and where to eat it

It is a Sweets Thursday sweet, and it is around all year. The sweet shops of Homs sell it by the kilo, already cut and laid out on a tray. A fresh piece breaks at the edge; one that has stood turns hard. The syrup is heavy, and plain coffee alongside works well.