Atayyef/ Kattaey/ Qattaeif

I prefer calling this dessert Qattayef and honestly as much as I love to research the origin of many food that I cook am really not particular about this one cause some say Egypt, Syria, Lebanon..etc. The bottom line they are all the same and differ very little in the ingredients.

Right now all I know is I just love them and NO! I did not grow up eating these delicious pancakes filled with goodness and dripping with aromatic syrups. Of course residing in the UAE for 20 years there's no doubt that I was bound  stumble on them in the supermarkets , grocery stores and restaurants and friend's home etc. 

The supermarkets sold only the pancakes in small trays and I guess you have to decide on the filling wheres the restaurants sold them with various fillings of your choice.

So I was introduced to these light dessert by one of my good friend who invited me for a meal in a small yet very reputable restaurant in Al Rigga street, it had very beautiful and precise french decor.

I do not recall what I had for my main course but what lingered in my mind to this day was the Qattayef, I did not know what they were called then. I was served the mini ones and they were filled with ricotta cheese mixed with something else and what made a lasting impression was the aromatic orange blossom water both in the filling and the syrup, Naji Khoury I hope someday you will get to read this.

I have looked for the recipe for a while and I discovered that there are quite a number of recipes out there varying from the origin be it Lebanon, Egypt or Syria and of-course since I started with the Lebanese restaurant I obvious opted for that. 

My recipe for the pancakes is adapted from Dedemed.com but the cream is my own with her inspiration,  

Recipe yields 12-15

Ingredient

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup milk
3/4 cup water
1 tspn yeast
1 tspn baking powder
1 Tbsp sugar

Method

https://youtu.be/MzsCBSOYDSQ



Mix all the ingredients in one bowl, mix well and remove any lumps. Cover for 1/2 hour or so it and let it rise.

After it has double in volume , give it one stir.

Place a pan on low heat, pour a scoop of batter to make a small circle do not spread it.

Look out for the bubble the surface will appear shiny

Let it cook for about 4-5 mins until the surface is dry.

Remove from the pan and keep cooking the rest

Once you have finished, you will seal half side below and leave the top open 

Use a zip lock back or pastry back to fill in the pan cakes.

I have used pastry cream which was added with rose water and orange blossom water to give it a reall Middle astern touch.