Ramadan 101: Day 19

Every North African and Middle Eastern country has their own version of pancakes served for dessert during Ramadan. In Morocco, thick, spongy pancakes are topped with butter and honey. In Egypt and areas of the Levant, pancakes are stuffed with nuts, fried or baked until golden, and then topped with a sweet syrup. Some people stuff them with a thick cream or pudding. They're so delicious it's hard to pick a favorite! To watch a video of Qatayef being made during Ramadan in Nablus, click here. Even if you don't speak Arabic, you'll still get a sense of the role they play on the Ramadan tables. Here's my recipe from Nile Style: Egyptian Cuisine and Culture: RECIPE: Sweet Nut Filled Pancakes Atayef Makes 14 Atayef (The "Q" is silent in Egyptian dialect) are synonymous with Ramadan in Egypt. I remember one year, at 4:10AM on the first day of Ramadan, the first call to prayer sounded. Various mosques around town continued their chorus of prayer calls until 4:40 AM whence silence once again befell on a country which seemed to never sleep. Five minutes later two fold able tables were set up on the sidewalk of the empty street in front of our apartment. Using lanterns as their guides, two men and a woman began preparing batter that would be transformed into Atayef once the day started. The Atayef makers decorated their downstairs apartment with red, white, and green lights in a U-shaped formation to call attention to their sweets. Some pastry shops use red, green, and yellow food coloring to dye the batter making the pancakes. The batter, filling, and syrup, may all be made the day before serving and stored separately in the refrigerator. On the day of serving the pancakes will just need to be made, filled, fried, and topped. Ingredients: For batter:

• 1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
• 2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Canola oil, for frying

For Syrup:

• 1 cup sugar
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 3 strips lemon peel
• ½ teaspoon orange blossom water
• ½ teaspoon rose water

For filling:

• ¼ cup blanched almonds, ground
• ¼ cup walnuts, ground

Preparation:

1. Mix yeast with sugar and ¼ cup of warm water. Stir until dissolved.
2. Sift flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center.
3. Pour in yeast mixture and 1 ¼ cup warm water. Whisk mixture until a smooth batter is formed.
4. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and kitchen towels and place in a warm, draft-free area. Allow to rise for 1 hour. Batter is ready when it is bubbly.
5. In the meantime, prepare the syrup. Combine ¾ cup water with sugar, lemon juice, and peel in a medium saucepan.
6. Stir and cook over medium high heat, dissolving sugar and stirring often.
7. Bring mixture to a boil, stop stirring, and lower heat to medium low. Allow mixture to cook for 10 minutes. Take off of heat and set aside to cool. When syrup has cooled, remove and discard lemon peel.
8. When batter is ready, heat 2 tablespoons of canola oil in a large frying pan.
9. Using a batter dispenser or a tablespoon, carefully pour 1 tablespoon of batter into the oil forming a 4-inch circle-shaped pancake (Egyptians use forerunner of the modern batter dispenser to do this).
10. Continue with remaining batter, do not crowd pan.
11. When top of pancakes are full of holes, remove them with a spatula and place on a paper towel lined tray, cooked side down.
12. When all of batter has been used, begin to fill the pancakes.
13. Mix ground almonds and walnuts together. Holding a pancake in the palm of your left hand, fill it with1 teaspoon of the nut mixture on the uncooked side of the pancake.
14. Gently press the very tip of the pancake to seal it in the form of a half moon. (Be careful not to make a thick ridge like ravioli or it will cause atayef to fry unevenly).
15. Place pancakes on a plate. Continue filling and sealing the remaining pancakes.
16. Heat 2-inches of oil in a large frying pan. When oil is hot, fry the pancakes for 2minutes per side, or until golden. Remove pancakes and place onto a platter lined with paper towels.
17. While still warm, place on a serving platter and pour syrup over the top. Allow to cool enough to handle and serve warm.