Qatayef, stuffed and fried Middle Eastern pancakes
Middle Eats · ♥ 1.3K likes · 33.2K views · 10 min video
Read about quick breads in the BrightCulinary Book
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Ingredients
Method
Techniques
- 200 g all-purpose flour
- 60 g fine semolina
- 1½ tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp powdered milk
- ½ tsp baking powder
Put the flour, semolina, sugar, powdered milk, baking powder, baking soda and instant yeast in the blender.
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp instant yeast
- 475 ml warm water
Add the warm water, neither hot nor cold, and blend everything really well, scraping down the sides.
Transfer to a bowl; the batter should be runny and smooth. Rest it in a warm part of the kitchen 10 to 15 minutes, until a light bubbly foam forms on the surface.
- 15 ml batter
Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat and add one tablespoon of batter, cooking about 90 seconds until the top turns dry, with no visible wetness; do not flip it, it cooks on one side only.
Cooking the pancakes on one side
The heat is right when the batter spreads well and quickly forms lots of air bubbles on the surface.
Once cooled, test a pancake by folding it in half and pressing the sides together; they should stick as if glued, and if they do not the pancakes were overcooked.
Testing the seal and keeping them covered
Stack the pancakes on a plate or tray covered with a kitchen towel to trap the moisture, and use them within four hours.
- 150 g peeled hazelnuts
Line an oven tray with greaseproof paper, spread out the hazelnuts and roast at 180 Celsius or 360 Fahrenheit for 10 to 15 minutes, until light brown.
- 50 g golden sultanas or raisins
- 1 tbsp desiccated coconut
- 2 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp softened butter
Mix the chopped nuts with the sultanas, desiccated coconut, sugar, cinnamon and softened butter.
- 4 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 4 tbsp corn flour
- 2 tsp sugar
- salt
- 350 ml whole milk
- 400 ml heavy cream
For the ishta, whisk the flour, corn flour, sugar and a pinch of salt with the whole milk and heavy cream until super smooth.
Cook it in a pot over medium high heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring the entire time, until it thickens and looks like a bechamel.
Pour into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 4 to 6 hours until firm, then whip with a stick blender until it looks like whipped cream.
- 250 g sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla powder
- ½ tbsp lemon juice
- 150 ml water
For the charbat, bring the sugar, vanilla powder, lemon juice and water to a boil in a pot, then once the sugar has dissolved turn the heat to low and simmer 15 minutes; cool completely.
Put a pancake in your palm, add a tablespoon of the nut filling, fold it over and pinch the two sides together at the centre with good pressure, working all the way around into a sealed crescent.
For the cream ones use about a heaped teaspoon of the ishta, spread out a little, keeping the cream off the sealing edges.
- 600 ml frying oil
Pour the cooled syrup into a bowl for dunking.
Heat the frying oil to between 170 and 180 Celsius, 340 to 360 Fahrenheit, and fry three to four stuffed atayef at a time for about two minutes, until deep golden and hard.
Move them straight from the oil into the syrup, soak about 15 seconds, flip and soak again for an even coat, then drain on a wire rack.
For raw atayef, pipe the cream in: seal the pancake from the midway point, pinch two thirds of the way around leaving a decent opening, and fill with as much cream as you want.
- crushed pistachio
Dip the plain cream ones in crushed pistachio. If you are serving the raw ones, reduce the syrup's cooking time by a few minutes for a pourable consistency.