During the blessed month of Ramadan, Tunisians flock from all sides to the city of Beja in the northwest of the country, to buy the "makraq and dumplings" sweets that the governorate has known for more than a century and a half, because of their special taste, and they are the sweets that are not absent from the Tunisian Ramadan tables.

The city brings new life to the month of Ramadan, with the abundance of visitors and expatriates who come to buy what is available of these sweets of golden color and magical taste.

Although they are abundant in all parts of the country, minkhari and pagi dumplings have a special flavor.

Frying buggy nicks takes a double effort and can take this circular shape (Al Jazeera)

The secret of distinctive taste

The minkhariqs consist mainly of semolina, flour, butter, oil and eggs, but the makers of the Baji minkeq added ghee and honey to the regular ingredients, and they called it "al-Muathba" because of the hardship it takes to make.

Uncle Mustafa, 60 years old, says, "For more than 40 years I have been working in the making of buggy piercings, and I have been called the tormentor because of the fatigue and hardship it requires, from fermentation of the dough to selecting the ghee that remains for a whole year in storage, and careful selection of the ingredients of the bleach (honey) and even the method of frying ".

Muhammed, 40, from Zaghouan governorate, says, "Minkhariq and Baji dumplings are like salt that is not absent from food for me. I travel hundreds of kilometers and come here to buy at least enough quantity for the middle of Ramadan, and then return as soon as it ends. The table without piercings is empty for me and my family." ".

The second form of miraculous, which is a hard, bright brown color and tastes like honey (Al-Jazeera)

How to prepare

Uncle Mustafa provided us with the details of making the original Buggy hacks, as he tells Al-Jazeera Net, "We mix semolina with wet flour, together, then mix it with oil and ghee, and add water little by little until we get a sticky dough. Then we add an egg yolk and mix."

Then we knead the dough well for 15 minutes over a smooth surface until it becomes firm and soft, and let it ferment until it doubles in size.

Uncle Mustafa dips the piercers in blackheads or industrial honey after frying them (Al-Jazeera)

After it doubles in size, we heat the oil, and divide the dough into small pieces.

We form each piece in the form of a cylinder with 3 holes in the center, or into a ring as desired.

Then we fry the minkaqs directly until they turn brown, then we take them out of the oil and put them directly in the syrup to dry.

As for the dumplings, they take another form, and a yellow food coloring is added to them to give them a golden color that distinguishes them from the miraculous ones.

The dumplings are distinguished by their crunchy spiral shape and golden yellow color (Al-Jazeera)

The most famous couple

The dumplings and dumplings are the two most famous desserts in Tunisia, and in Beja in particular, and despite their differences in taste and color, the one heading towards Medina does not buy one type only, but rather combines the two together, and the dumplings are golden in the form of a round, crunchy spiral with a sugary taste. It is somewhat distinguished by its bright brown color, and is usually round or rectangular in shape, and its taste is similar to honey.

In the month of Ramadan, and on religious occasions, the ritual rituals attract thousands of visitors from Tunisia and even from neighboring countries, such as Libya and Algeria, which made the wheel of tourism and the economy spin in the city after it witnessed a recession in the past year.