Atayef,Qatayef(Middle eastern Pancakes)

There is Something wonderful about dishes that are only served in special occasions, and one of those are Atayef or Qatayef :) when we say Ramadan, then it's Qatayef! as they are Ramadan stable dessert.

Atayef are usually sold in bakeries in most of Arabic countries during the holy month of Ramadan, and some people like to prepare them at home.

Atayef are very similar to Pancakes, they are made with flour,semolina, sugar,yeast,milk and baking powder.The batter is sort of thin but the best way to know if you need to add more water or not is by cooking your first Atayef on hot non-stick pan over medium-low heat with no oil ,if you got lots of bubbles then your batter is just perfect in consistency, but if you don't then you need to add more water to your batter mixture. They are usually cooked on one side only until the batter dries up completely and filled with bubbles! **Watch the video at the bottom

There are mainly 2 kinds of Atayef according to their size, regular size Atayef, and Smaller ones are called "Atayef Asafiri".

They are stuffed with various kinds of fillings such as;

-White cheese (Akkawi cheese) or Ricotta cheese, Walnuts with cinnamon and sugar and you can add coconut too, Almonds with cardamom ,....this is for regular Atayef

-Ashta(Clotted cream) usually is the filling for Atayef Asafiri, and sometimes with Nutella :)

The best way to stuff Atayef with fillings is to start pinching from one corner to the next,if it was hard to close then you should remove some of the filling and try to close it again and seal them well.They look like half a moon shape, you have to be patient but they are easy to assemble :)

Atayef are either fried in deep oil or baked in oven for lighter version, then soaked hot in cold sugar syrup and served.

Very tasty treats as they are number one dessert on Ramadan list!

Will leave you now with the full Recipe,Enjoy! :)

Atayef,Qatayef (middle eastern stuffed pancakes) :

Ingredients:

2 cups plain flour

1/2 cup fine semolina

3 tsp. corn starch

3 tsp. sugar

1/4 tbsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. instant yeast

2 Tbsp. milk powder

3 cups water(you may need more or less depending on the kind of flour and semolina used).

For the simple Syrup :

1.5 cups water

2 cups sugar

1 tsp rose water

1 tsp lemon juice

Direction :

-Prepare sugar syrup: combine water, sugar, lemon juice on medium heat, unstirred until sugar is completely dissolved. stir and let boil (5-10 mins), add rose water then set aside to cool.

-For Qatayef batter :

-In a blender, food processor or with electric mixer mix all dry ingredients, add gradually water while mixer is till running. process for couple of minutes tell you get a smooth foamy thin mixture batter.

-Cover and let set at room temperature for 1/2 an hour or so.

-To cook Atayef, preheat a heavy non-stick pan,or cast iron skillet on medium-low heat, and have kitchen towels ready to stack and cover atayef as they cook.

-Pour batter on the center of the pan (to make medium size Atayef measure 3 tablespoon of batter, for Asafiri Atayef measure 2 tablespoons batter) . Cook atayef on one side, one at a time for 25-35 seconds till it's no more shiny and covered with bubbles! transfer into kitchen towel and cover to keep them soft otherwise they will dry and it will be hard to fill them.

-Repeat with remaining batter. Cool atayef for 15 minutes before filling them.

- Put 1 Tablespoon filling in the middle and fold over circle to form a crescent shape,pinch from one corner tell the next one, until completely sealed. Cover again and repeat with the rest.

-To serve Atayef: deep-fry in oil until golden in color, soak in sugar syrup for 2 seconds then transfer into serving dish. Or you can brush atayef with corn oil ,place them on a baking sheet pan,and bake on 200c until golden and crunchy, then soaked in cold syrup as mention above. bon appétit!

Ramadan kareem :)

*Filling suggestions 1. White cheese for example sweetened Akkawi cheese with rose water. 2. Walnuts, cinnamon, coconut, and sugar. 3. Almonds, cardamom, and sugar. for Recipe in ARABIC plz click here

**Qatayef Making!