Palestinian Qatayaf Recipe in Ramadan, with my story moving to the camp and running away from racism and sexual harrasement .

A recipe for Qatayef from a Palestinian refugee from Lebanon. 

This dessert is not only beautiful to look at it is also very tasty. It is called Qatayef, and it is one of the most important and most well famous Ramadan sweets you will find on the Palestinian table during the holly month.

Qatayef

The one thing I regret though is that a large percentage of the Palestinian camp residents will not be able to buy or make this sweet, and this is painful for me.

Despite this heartache, I will share some of what I know about Qatayef with you and how I came to learn about it and even when I first tasted this beautiful dessert. (I have attached some photos of the Qatayef sweets that I have prepared at home for various occasions).

I remember first seeing Qatayef after I moved with my family to the camp of Ein Al-Hilweh (Palestinian Refugee camp in southern of Lebanon) in November 1993, while it was my first month of the Holy Ramadan on the camp there. I was so excited to move in and finally live between my Palestinian people. To enjoy their company and join their passionate fighting for our right of return, and if I am honest to feel safe and protected. Before moving to the camp, I was constantly the target for sexual harassment by some of the men on the isolated road to school. My family could not afford to put me on a school bus or even for an umbrella.

I had to walk long distances on my own which it was a real struggle every single day wondering what would happen next. I could not tell my family about what was happening or how much I was struggling; I just did not dare to do anything. I know I was lucky not to be raped or killed, I sadly know there are many women and girls going through this struggle to this day.

The Second reason I was happy to move to the camp was because of the racism and bullying we endured from some of Lebanese citizens. They made sure to make fun of my accent and insult me just for being Palestinian. I remember a disturbing incident that occurred to me and my siblings when I was little, one of our neighbours’ kids, saw the Israeli soldiers who were patrolling the houses and spreading terror among the residents, the boy’s voice raised and started screaming and wailing as he was pointing his finger at us, shouting to the soldiers, “These are the Palestinians.”

I honestly felt scared at the time, being Palestinian, I though it was a death penalty.

Oh well never mind, let us get back to the sweet that I was introduced to on the camp I was to call home. It was fascinating for me to see our next-door neighbour Hajj Abu Ibrahim making everything on site and selling it fresh. When I first saw it, I said: Oh my God, what a craftsman! He would pour this liquid and turn it into a circle with perfect sides. It was magical and so creative!

Qatayef outside

My family could not afford Qatayef often as it was not considered necessity, so this treat was the sort of thing that was up to us to buy if we could afford it. It was roughly eight years before I was able to buy two big mega size portions of this pudding for myself and take them home and enjoy filling it with akkawi cheese (cheese called after the Palestinian city Acer), which I had to soak in water for a day to make sure the all salt leached out, then after that I could place the two big pieces of Qatayef in top of each other stuffed with this cheese and place it inside the oven. I left it until it changed colour and became crispy on the surface. Then I poured on top of it a delicious syrup in which you can smell the orange blossom. A fragrance that filled the small humble but very humid kitchen. It was delicious finally being able to eat it after ending my day long Ramadan fast.

So, let us get back to the Qatayef story. I first need to share with you a note of caution! The calories in the Qatayef dessert are very high, ranging between 350 and 544 calories per piece, and this depends on the filling and whether it is fried or not.

Fried Qatayef

There are several stories about Qatayef, about when Qatayef was first made and the reason for its association with the holy month of Ramadan, so here is a brief account of the story…

Some date its emergence in history to either the Abbasid era or the late Umayyad era, and others credit it to the Fatimid era (so approximately 720AD – 754AD). Its name is either because it feels soft, like velvet and it is easy to pick up from a plate. The association with the holy month of Ramadan is probably because it is mostly made in the shape of a crescent moon.

It is very famous in Tunisia, Egypt, and the Levant, but one of the most beautiful things I have read about Qatayef is that some people eat it as the first thing when they break their fast, especially in the Palestinian city of Nablus.

I am going to share with you some very traditional ingredients, preparation, and cooking Qatayef in the Palestinian way. 

There are two ways of eating Qatayef, you can have it either fried or cold, or have them both fried and cold on the same plate, as it shown on the images. It can also be stuffed with many types of amazing fillings which I shall also share with you.

First, you need to prepare the homemade syrup that you will dunk the Qatayef in, as much as you want and the filling it on the day you make the Qatayef or before.

Syrup ingredients and cooking method:

 1 cup of water.

2 cups of sugar.

3 teaspoons of lemon juice

Drop of Orange blossom water.

Mix the water and sugar and place them in a medium saucepan on a medium heat and leave it until it boils, add the lemon then switch off and leave it cool.

Fillings:

A. walnut

Ingredients and preparation:

2 cups of crushed walnuts.

1 cup of grated coconut.

1cup of caster sugar.

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of rose water

Mix all ingredients and voila the filling is ready.

 

B. Cream (if it is not available at your local shop you can have the alternative solution which

Homemade cream.

 Ingredients:

2 cups of milk.

3 tablespoons of starch.

1 tablespoon of sugar.

1 tablespoon of rose water.

Preparation:

Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan and stir well. When the mixture boils reach the thickness, you desire switch off the heat, add rose water and stir well and leave it to cool.

In reality you can also use things like chocolate spread, whatever you feel like putting in these very versatile and delicious sweets, a popular way to serve it is sprinkled with crushed pistachio nuts.

Chocolate filled Qatayef

 Ingredients of Qatayef dough according to the Palestinian method: 

2 cups of white flour

2 cups liquid milk

2 teaspoons of fine semolina optional

2 teaspoons of sugar

1 tablespoon of instant yeast

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup of corn oil.

Preparation:

Mix all the ingredients well by any method that suits your need, such as hand mixer, and until you get a homogeneous mixture. Cover the mixture and leave it at room temperature for at least half an hour.

Plain cooked Qatayef

 Cooking:

Pour an appropriate amount of the texture that suits you, on to a heated non-stick frying pan.

Remove the ready-made Qatayef from the pan after bubbles appear and it changes colour to a golden-brown, almost like a small pancake.

Ingredients may vary by personal taste the quantity or by brand or even by country, as well as how you want it to taste. The way to fill the Qatayef is very easy whether it was the half-moon shape or the cone (small size) version.  You can copy my images to get the right shape.

 Posted by Taghrid Al-Mawed Layton 1/4/2021

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