[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":395},["ShallowReactive",2],{"recipe:masoub":3,"recipe:country:saudi-arabia":173},{"slug":4,"title":5,"nativeName":6,"pronunciation":7,"countrySlug":8,"region":9,"emoji":10,"summary":11,"intro":12,"story":13,"whyThis":14,"tips":19,"substitutions":26,"variations":43,"serveWith":53,"storage":55,"faq":56,"equipment":72,"baseServings":76,"prepMinutes":77,"cookMinutes":78,"difficulty":79,"course":80,"diet":83,"mainIngredients":85,"ingredients":90,"instructions":132,"nutrition":153,"images":161,"keywords":165,"publishedAt":171,"updatedAt":171,"authorSlug":172},"masoub","Saudi Masoub (Banana and Bread Pudding)","معصوب","mah-SOOB","saudi-arabia","Hejaz — Jeddah and Mecca","🍌","A Jeddah breakfast bowl of overripe bananas mashed into torn flatbread with cream, honey and ghee, scattered with nuts — sweet, warm and eaten with a spoon.","Masoub is what a Hejazi breakfast looks like when it wants to be sweet: black-spotted bananas crushed by hand into warm, torn flatbread until the two stop being separate things, loosened with cream, then finished with honey, a spoon of ghee and a scatter of pistachios. The texture sits somewhere between a thick porridge and a soft bread pudding — no baking involved, no eggs, just fruit and bread pressed together while the bread is still warm enough to soften. It tastes strongly of banana, mildly of cardamom, and heavily of whatever honey you use, so use one you like. Fifteen minutes, one bowl, and it is on the table.","Masoub belongs to the Hejaz, the western strip of Saudi Arabia along the Red Sea, and to Yemen just down the coast — the two claim it in parallel and neither claim is wrong. The dish moved with people. Hejazi cities like Jeddah and Mecca have absorbed cooks, pilgrims and traders from Yemen, the Levant, East Africa and South Asia for centuries, and masoub is one of the dishes that settled in and stayed. The Yemeni version tends to be built on ragag or malooj bread and can be almost soupy; the Saudi version is usually thicker, richer with cream and often made with tamees, the wide tandoor bread sold on every other corner.\n\nThe name comes from the Arabic root meaning to squeeze or press together, which is exactly the method: you press the bread into the banana with your hands until there is nothing recognisable as either. That hands-on step is not romantic tradition for its own sake — a food processor turns masoub into a smooth purée, and the whole appeal is the slightly uneven, shaggy texture where fragments of bread are still doing something for the mouthfeel.\n\nIn Jeddah it is sold all day from small specialist shops alongside its cousins mahalabiya and areeka, spooned into a bowl and buried under cream, honey, crushed nuts and sometimes a shower of shredded cheese — which sounds strange and works. It is also a Ramadan dish, eaten after the fast is broken, when something sweet, dense and immediately restorative is exactly what a body wants. At home it is breakfast, made from the bananas nobody got round to eating and the bread left over from yesterday, which is a large part of why it exists at all.",[15,16,17,18],"Uses the hand-mashing method that gives masoub its shaggy texture instead of a blender purée.","Warms the bread first, so it drinks up the banana and cream instead of staying dry and crumbly.","Balances the sweetness with a pinch of salt and cardamom — otherwise a bowl this sweet flattens out fast.","Works with any soft flatbread you can actually buy, and says exactly what changes when you swap.",[20,21,22,23,24,25],"Use bananas that look past saving — heavily blackened skins mean the sugars have developed and the flesh mashes to nothing without effort.","Warm the flatbread before tearing it. Warm bread absorbs cream and banana; cold bread sits in the bowl as separate dry crumbs.","Mash by hand or with a fork, never in a food processor — masoub should stay slightly uneven, not become a smooth purée.","Add the cream in stages and stop when it holds a soft mound on the spoon. Too much and it slumps into a milkshake.","Taste before you sweeten. Very ripe bananas plus a good honey can be plenty on their own, and honeys vary hugely in strength.","Serve it warm and serve it immediately — masoub thickens and dulls within about half an hour of sitting.",[27,31,35,39],{"original":28,"swap":29,"note":30},"Tamees or Arabic flatbread","Pita, naan, chapati or even brioche torn into pieces","Any soft, slightly enriched bread works. Avoid sourdough or heavily crusted loaves — the sour tang fights the banana and hard crust never softens.",{"original":32,"swap":33,"note":34},"Heavy cream","Qishta or clotted cream for something richer, or full-fat yogurt for a lighter, tangier bowl","Qishta, the thick Arab clotted cream, is the traditional choice and worth seeking out at a Middle Eastern grocer.",{"original":36,"swap":37,"note":38},"Honey","Date syrup (dibs al-tamr)","Date syrup gives a darker, more caramel sweetness and is common in Saudi kitchens. Use slightly less, as it is more assertive than most honey.",{"original":40,"swap":41,"note":42},"Ghee","Melted unsalted butter","Butter is fine, though ghee has the nuttier, toastier flavour that makes the finishing drizzle worth doing at all.",[44,47,50],{"name":45,"description":46},"Masoub bil jibn","The Jeddah shop version, finished with a handful of shredded mozzarella-style white cheese that goes stringy against the warm banana. Sweet and salty at once.",{"name":48,"description":49},"Areeka","The close relative made with dates instead of bananas — dates mashed into the same warm bread with ghee and cream. Denser, darker and even sweeter.",{"name":51,"description":52},"Mango masoub","A modern Jeddah café riff swapping in ripe mango, or layering mango over the banana base. Brighter and more perfumed than the original.",[54],"Small cups of unsweetened gahwa — the bitter cardamom coffee cuts through a bowl this sweet exactly the way it is supposed to.","Masoub is a make-and-eat dish. It will keep covered in the fridge for up to 24 hours, but the banana darkens, the bread swells and the texture turns pasty rather than shaggy. If you must store it, hold back the cream and nuts and stir them through after reheating. To reheat, warm gently in a pan with a splash of milk, stirring until it loosens. Do not freeze — thawed banana weeps and the bread collapses entirely.",[57,60,63,66,69],{"question":58,"answer":59},"Is masoub Saudi or Yemeni?","Both, genuinely. Masoub is eaten across the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia and throughout Yemen, and the two traditions have influenced each other for centuries through trade, migration and pilgrimage. Yemeni versions are often thinner and built on ragag bread; Saudi versions are typically thicker with cream and made with tamees. There is no settled first claim and it is not worth arguing about.",{"question":61,"answer":62},"What bread should I use if I cannot find tamees?","Any soft flatbread will do the job: pita, naan, chapati, lavash or even torn brioche. What matters is that the bread is soft, mildly sweet or neutral, and not heavily crusted. Sourdough and rustic loaves are the wrong choice, because the sour flavour clashes with banana and the tough crust refuses to soften into the mash.",{"question":64,"answer":65},"Can I make masoub without cream?","Yes. Full-fat yogurt gives a lighter, tangier bowl, and evaporated milk or a thick oat cream both work for a dairy-free version. The dish will be looser and less rich, so add the liquid more cautiously and lean a little harder on the honey and ghee for body.",{"question":67,"answer":68},"Why is my masoub gluey instead of soft?","Almost always a food processor. Blitzing banana and bread together develops the starch into a sticky paste with no texture left. Mash by hand or with a fork so fragments of bread survive. Using cold bread or too much liquid can also make it heavy — warm the bread first and add the cream in stages.",{"question":70,"answer":71},"Is masoub eaten hot or cold?","Warm, in the great majority of cases. The bread is warmed before mashing and the bowl goes out while the ghee is still melting into the surface. Jeddah shops do serve chilled versions in summer, which are refreshing but noticeably less fragrant, since heat is what carries the cardamom and honey aroma.",[73,74,75],"Large mixing bowl","Sturdy fork or potato masher","Small pan for melting the ghee",4,10,5,"easy",[81,82],"breakfast","dessert",[84],"vegetarian",[86,87,88,89],"banana","pita-bread","heavy-cream","honey",[91,95,99,103,106,111,115,120,124,129],{"ref":86,"qty":78,"unit":92,"name":93,"group":94},"piece","very ripe bananas, skins heavily spotted","Base",{"ref":87,"qty":96,"unit":97,"name":98,"group":94},250,"g","soft flatbread (tamees, pita or naan), torn into pieces",{"ref":88,"qty":100,"unit":101,"name":102,"group":94},150,"ml","heavy cream or qishta",{"ref":89,"qty":76,"unit":104,"name":105,"group":94},"tbsp","honey, plus more to finish",{"ref":107,"qty":108,"unit":109,"name":110,"group":94},"cardamom",0.5,"tsp","ground cardamom",{"qty":112,"unit":113,"name":114,"group":94},1,"pinch","fine salt",{"ref":116,"qty":117,"unit":104,"name":118,"group":119},"ghee",3,"ghee, melted","To finish",{"ref":121,"qty":122,"unit":97,"name":123,"group":119},"pistachios",40,"pistachios, roughly crushed",{"ref":125,"qty":126,"unit":97,"name":127,"optional":128,"group":119},"almonds",30,"almonds, slivered and toasted",true,{"ref":130,"qty":76,"unit":92,"name":131,"optional":128,"group":119},"dates","soft dates, torn, to serve alongside",[133,137,141,144,147,150],{"title":134,"text":135,"timerSeconds":136},"Warm the bread","Tear the flatbread into rough pieces the size of a matchbox and warm them for 3–4 minutes in a low oven or a dry pan, until soft, pliable and just steaming. Cold bread will not absorb anything and stays as dry crumbs in the finished bowl.",240,{"title":138,"text":139,"tip":140},"Mash the bananas","Peel the bananas into a wide bowl and mash them with a fork until mostly smooth with a few lumps left — about a minute of work if they are ripe enough. Stir in the cardamom, the pinch of salt and half the honey.","If the bananas resist the fork they are not ripe enough; leave them another day rather than fighting them.",{"title":142,"text":143},"Press the bread in","Add the warm bread a handful at a time, squeezing and pressing it into the banana with your hands or the back of a fork until the pieces break down and the mixture reads as one shaggy mass. Some texture should survive — this is not a purée.",{"title":145,"text":146},"Loosen with cream","Work in the cream in three additions, stopping when the masoub holds a soft mound on the spoon and slumps only slowly. You may not need all of it, depending on how dry your bread was.",{"title":148,"text":149},"Taste and sweeten","Taste and add the remaining honey only if it needs it — very ripe bananas plus a strong honey can already be enough. It should be clearly sweet but not cloying, with the cardamom just detectable underneath.",{"title":151,"text":152},"Finish and serve warm","Spoon into bowls, pour the melted ghee over the surface so it pools and runs into the cracks, drizzle with extra honey, and scatter generously with crushed pistachios and toasted almonds. Serve immediately, with dates and gahwa alongside.",{"calories":154,"protein":155,"carbs":156,"fat":157,"fiber":158,"sugar":159,"sodium":160,"estimated":128},620,11,88,26,6,42,420,[162],{"src":163,"alt":164},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fmasoub\u002Fhero.svg","A bowl of Saudi masoub, mashed banana and bread topped with cream, honey drizzle and crushed pistachios",[4,166,167,168,169,170],"saudi breakfast","banana bread pudding","hejazi food","jeddah","ramadan dessert","2026-08-21","dishroute-kitchen",{"items":174,"total":77,"page":112,"limit":393,"hasMore":394},[175,202,229,251,273,296,319,326,349,369],{"slug":176,"title":177,"nativeName":178,"countrySlug":8,"region":179,"baseServings":158,"prepMinutes":180,"cookMinutes":181,"difficulty":182,"course":183,"diet":185,"mainIngredients":187,"images":191,"keywords":195,"publishedAt":171,"updatedAt":171,"authorSlug":172},"jareesh","Jareesh (Crushed Wheat and Lamb Porridge)","جريش","Najd (central Saudi Arabia)",20,110,"medium",[184],"main",[186],"halal-friendly",[188,189,190,116],"lamb","buttermilk","onion",[192],{"src":193,"alt":194},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fjareesh\u002Fhero.svg","Wide bowl of Saudi jareesh — creamy pale crushed-wheat porridge with shredded lamb, topped with deep brown fried onions in melted ghee",[176,196,197,198,199,200,201],"saudi arabia","crushed wheat","lamb porridge","najdi","laban","ramadan food",{"slug":203,"title":204,"nativeName":205,"countrySlug":8,"region":206,"baseServings":158,"prepMinutes":207,"cookMinutes":208,"restMinutes":77,"difficulty":182,"course":209,"diet":210,"mainIngredients":213,"images":217,"keywords":221,"publishedAt":171,"updatedAt":171,"authorSlug":172},"saudi-kabsa","Kabsa (Saudi Spiced Rice with Chicken)","كبسة","Nationwide, with a Najdi core",25,75,[184],[186,211,212],"dairy-free","gluten-free",[214,215,216,107],"chicken","basmati-rice","tomato",[218],{"src":219,"alt":220},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsaudi-kabsa\u002Fhero.svg","Wide platter of Saudi kabsa — golden spiced basmati rice topped with browned chicken pieces, raisins and toasted almonds, with a bowl of red daqoos sauce beside it",[222,196,223,224,225,226,227,228],"kabsa","spiced rice","chicken and rice","dried lime","loomi","gulf cuisine","one pot",{"slug":230,"title":231,"nativeName":232,"countrySlug":8,"region":233,"baseServings":158,"prepMinutes":126,"cookMinutes":234,"restMinutes":235,"difficulty":236,"course":237,"diet":238,"mainIngredients":239,"images":240,"keywords":244,"publishedAt":171,"updatedAt":171,"authorSlug":172},"saudi-mandi","Mandi (Pit-Smoked Lamb and Rice)","مندي","Southern Saudi Arabia and the Hejaz",200,15,"hard",[184],[186,211,212],[188,215,107,116],[241],{"src":242,"alt":243},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsaudi-mandi\u002Fhero.svg","Platter of Saudi mandi — pale saffron-marbled basmati rice topped with falling-apart smoked lamb shoulder, slivered almonds and raisins",[245,196,246,247,248,249,250],"mandi","smoked lamb","lamb and rice","yemeni","charcoal smoking","one pot feast",{"slug":252,"title":253,"nativeName":254,"romanized":255,"countrySlug":8,"region":256,"baseServings":76,"prepMinutes":180,"cookMinutes":257,"difficulty":79,"course":258,"diet":259,"mainIngredients":261,"images":264,"keywords":268,"publishedAt":171,"updatedAt":171,"authorSlug":172},"saleeg","Saleeg (Hejazi Creamy Milk Rice with Chicken)","سليق","salīq","Hejaz — Taif, Mecca and Jeddah",80,[184],[212,260,186],"nut-free",[262,214,263,116],"short-grain-rice","milk",[265],{"src":266,"alt":267},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsaleeg\u002Fhero.svg","Wide platter of creamy Saudi saleeg rice topped with browned whole chicken and melted ghee, tomato daqoos alongside",[252,269,168,270,224,271,272],"saudi rice","milk rice","taif","daqoos",{"slug":274,"title":275,"nativeName":276,"countrySlug":8,"region":277,"baseServings":158,"prepMinutes":78,"cookMinutes":235,"restMinutes":78,"difficulty":79,"course":278,"diet":280,"mainIngredients":282,"images":285,"keywords":289,"publishedAt":171,"updatedAt":171,"authorSlug":172},"saudi-gahwa","Saudi Gahwa (Cardamom Coffee)","قهوة عربية","Nationwide",[279],"drink",[281,84,212,211,186],"vegan",[107,283,284,130],"saffron","cloves",[286],{"src":287,"alt":288},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsaudi-gahwa\u002Fhero.svg","A brass dallah pouring pale gold Saudi gahwa into a small handleless cup beside a plate of dates",[290,291,292,293,294,295],"gahwa","arabic coffee","saudi coffee","cardamom coffee","dallah","saffron coffee",{"slug":297,"title":298,"nativeName":299,"countrySlug":8,"region":300,"baseServings":158,"prepMinutes":180,"cookMinutes":207,"restMinutes":301,"difficulty":79,"course":302,"diet":304,"mainIngredients":305,"images":308,"keywords":312,"publishedAt":171,"updatedAt":171,"authorSlug":172},"saudi-luqaimat","Saudi Luqaimat (Syrup-Soaked Dough Balls)","لقيمات","Nationwide, especially in Ramadan",90,[82,303],"snack",[84],[306,307,107,283],"flour","yeast",[309],{"src":310,"alt":311},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsaudi-luqaimat\u002Fhero.svg","A plate of golden luqaimat dough balls glazed in dark syrup and scattered with sesame seeds and pistachios",[313,314,315,316,317,318],"luqaimat","saudi dessert","ramadan sweets","fried dough balls","date syrup","gulf dessert",{"slug":4,"title":5,"nativeName":6,"countrySlug":8,"region":9,"baseServings":76,"prepMinutes":77,"cookMinutes":78,"difficulty":79,"course":320,"diet":321,"mainIngredients":322,"images":323,"keywords":325,"publishedAt":171,"updatedAt":171,"authorSlug":172},[81,82],[84],[86,87,88,89],[324],{"src":163,"alt":164},[4,166,167,168,169,170],{"slug":327,"title":328,"nativeName":329,"romanized":330,"countrySlug":8,"region":9,"baseServings":76,"prepMinutes":122,"cookMinutes":126,"restMinutes":331,"difficulty":182,"course":332,"diet":334,"mainIngredients":335,"images":339,"keywords":343,"publishedAt":171,"updatedAt":171,"authorSlug":172},"saudi-mutabbaq","Saudi Mutabbaq (Folded Meat-Stuffed Pancake)","مطبق","muṭabbaq",120,[333],"street-food",[211,260,186],[306,336,337,338],"ground-beef","leek","eggs",[340],{"src":341,"alt":342},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsaudi-mutabbaq\u002Fhero.svg","Square of Saudi mutabbaq cut open to show spiced minced beef, leek and set egg inside a crisp blistered pastry",[344,345,346,347,201,169,348],"mutabbaq","murtabak","saudi street food","stuffed pancake","minced beef pastry",{"slug":350,"title":351,"nativeName":352,"countrySlug":8,"region":353,"baseServings":76,"prepMinutes":207,"cookMinutes":126,"restMinutes":301,"difficulty":182,"course":354,"diet":356,"mainIngredients":357,"images":359,"keywords":363,"publishedAt":171,"updatedAt":171,"authorSlug":172},"tamees","Saudi Tamees (Tandoor Flatbread)","تميس","Riyadh and Jeddah bakeries",[355],"bread",[84,186],[306,307,263,358],"sesame-seeds",[360],{"src":361,"alt":362},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Ftamees\u002Fhero.svg","A wide round of Saudi tamees flatbread with deep finger grooves, blistered golden top and sesame seeds",[350,364,365,366,367,368],"saudi bread","tandoor flatbread","afghan naan","breakfast bread","flatbread recipe",{"slug":370,"title":371,"nativeName":372,"romanized":373,"countrySlug":8,"baseServings":76,"prepMinutes":235,"cookMinutes":374,"difficulty":79,"course":375,"diet":377,"mainIngredients":378,"images":381,"keywords":385,"publishedAt":171,"updatedAt":171,"authorSlug":172},"shorbat-freekeh","Shorbat Freekeh (Saudi Smoked Green Wheat Soup)","شوربة فريكة","shorbat farīkah",55,[376],"soup",[211,260,186],[188,216,190,379,380],"cumin","stock",[382],{"src":383,"alt":384},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fshorbat-freekeh\u002Fhero.svg","Bowl of thick Saudi freekeh soup with lamb, green wheat grains and parsley, lemon wedge and dates alongside",[386,387,388,389,390,391,392],"shorbat freekeh","freekeh soup","green wheat","ramadan soup","saudi soup","iftar","lamb soup",24,false,1787360064565]