The famous kanafeh from Nablusĭespite the Syrian origins of this pastry, it is the city of Nablus in the Palestinian Arab territories that is known worldwide as the cradle of knafeh. The root of the name comes from the Arabic word “kanaf”, which literally means “to protect”, “to shelter”, probably a reference to the two layers of dough that contain the cheese inside. One of the recipes in the book called kunāfa describes a thin crepe stuffed with fresh cheese before being baked and drizzled with honey and rose water syrup.ĭepending on the country, the word kanafeh can be written in many ways: knafeh, knefeh, konafa, kunafa, kunefe or kenafeh. There are also traces of an ancient version of kanafi in a thirteenth-century medieval Andalusian cookbook called Kitab al-Tabikh. He would have asked his cook to prepare a dish rich enough to support the fasting period of Ramadan. If this dessert is very common in Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Israel or Algeria and Egypt, several books and culinary experts agree that the first kanafeh is of Syrian origin.Īccording to the legend, kanafeh was invented in Damascus in Syria in the 7th century by Mu’awiya I, the first caliph of the Umayyad dynasty. Hugely popular in many Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries for many centuries, it is difficult to trace the exact origins of knafeh. This very salty cheese is commonly used in Middle Eastern cuisine, for both savory dishes and pastries. What is akkawi?Īkawi or akkawi is a cheese made from cow’s milk, but it can also be made with sheep’s milk or goat’s milk. The word kadaïf normally refers to the dough, but can also apply to the whole dessert. Kadaïf dough (or ktaïf, kadaifi, kadayif) is a cousin of phyllo dough, consisting simply of water and wheat flour and prepared in the form of long half-cooked vermicelli. Once baked, the kanafeh is eaten immediately and always hot. In the traditional recipe, a few drops of orange dye are used in the kadaïf and butter preparation to give it a beautiful bright color. Rose water is a central ingredient of the recipe, bringing a lot of flavors and aromas to the pastry. Doing it just before tasting makes it possible to dose the desired amount of syrup according to your taste for sugar. The sweet side of the dessert comes only from the thick rose-water syrup, which is drizzled on the kanafeh just before tasting. Crispy on the outside and melting on the inside, this delicately scented dessert is a real treat. Once baked, the kanafeh is drizzled with a rose water scented syrup and sprinkled with crushed pistachios or walnuts. Kanafeh is a Middle Eastern pastry made of kadaïf or kataifi (more commonly called angel hair), akawi cheese and samneh or ghee (clarified butter).
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