Pastries

Ataïf are dearly loved all over the Arab world. They were favorites of the Caliph Mustakfi of Baghdad in the tenth century. At a lavish banquet in his honor, a poem written by a certain Mahmud ibn Husain al-Kushâjim extolling the merits of ataïf was recited. Basically pancakes dipped in syrup, they are sprinkled with pistachios and eaten with thick cream or, more grandly, they are stuffed with chopped nuts or with cheese. The stuffed ones are my favorites. They are eaten during festivals, especially during the month of Ramadan, when they are sold in the street. They are the sweets of happy occasions such as weddings. Once upon a time, in Egypt, on the day of betrothal, a string of camels or donkeys brought the bride’s furniture and belongings to the house of the bridegroom, while he gave a farewell “stag” banquet complete with dancers and singers. The young bride had a ritual bath and was then conducted to her new home by a colorful procession headed by buffoons and musicians, dancers, jugglers, sword swallowers, and fire eaters. These were followed by lavishly decorated donkey carts. A first cart carried a coffeemaker with pots and cups and a fire, making coffee for well-wishers. A second carried makers of ma’amoul and trays covered with these pastries to distribute. A third carried pancake makers, handing out ataïf to passersby. When the bride arrived at the house, she sat down with her guests to a feast where hundreds of these delicacies were consumed. Families nowadays usually buy their ataïf ready-made from bakeries, and then stuff them and soak them in syrup. But the batter is easy enough to make at home. Several people I know always make it themselves. None have scales, nor do they measure quantities. They just look at the batter and add more water or more flour if they think it requires it. An aunt who lives in California and who has never ceased to cook in the Oriental manner uses a well-known pancake mix, which is very acceptable.

Taratir-at-turkman means “bonnets of the Turks.” There are very old recipes for these little pastries. The quantities make a large number, but they keep very well in a tin.

Basbousa is a popular Egyptian pastry, also called helwa, which means “sweet.”

These glorious pastries have a melt-in-the-mouth shell and a variety of fillings of dates or nuts—walnuts, pistachios, or almonds. See the variations for these. My mother always had a biscuit tin full of them to offer with coffee. In Syria and Lebanon they make them with semolina instead of flour. An uncle told us of a baking competition organized by a dignitary in Aleppo many years ago. The maker of the best ma’amoul would get a prize, the equivalent of about two pounds, to be paid by the dignitary. Hundreds of ma’amoul poured into his house, certainly more than two pounds’ worth, and enough to keep him eating happily for months.

Some years ago, when a block of flats crumbled in the suburbs of Cairo, a newspaper jokingly asked people to save any leftover basbousa to rebuild it.

Although not my favorite pastry, makroud is very popular in North Africa, especially in Tunisia, which is a land of dates. The pastries are usually deep-fried in oil, then dipped in warm honey. I prefer the lighter baked version.

These most famous of Moroccan pastries are best known abroad by their French name, cornes de gazelle or gazelle’s horns. Stuffed with ground-almond paste and curved into horn-shaped crescents, they are ubiquitous wedding-party fare. I have eaten some with a very thin hard crust, and some with a thicker, crumbly crust. This one, made with eggs rather than butter, is thin and crisp.

Called knafe by Syrians and Lebanese and kadaif by Greeks and Turks, the dough for this pastry that looks like soft white uncooked shredded wheat or vermicelli can be bought in Middle Eastern stores. There are several traditional fillings. The one with nuts is what you find in Arab pastry shops. The one with cream is my favorite. The one with the cheese is the easiest. The last two are meant to be served hot. They make a marvelous after-dinner dessert and teatime pastry. The quantities given below for the syrup are the usual large amount. You can pour only half over the pastry and serve the rest separately for those who want more.

This Moroccan pastry is a very long coil (hence the name m’hencha, meaning “snake”) of fillo pastry filled with a ground-almond paste. It is stunning to look at and exquisite. I give very large quantities, because it is the thing to make for a grand occasion, but of course you can make it smaller and reduce the quantities. The flavor is better if you grind the blanched almonds yourself rather than use commercially ground ones.

The finest-quality sheets of fillo are best to use for baklawa.

These exquisite and delicate Arab pastries are family favorites. They are extremely easy to make, and delightfully light. They feature in medieval manuscripts as lauzinaj, which were fried and sprinkled with syrup, rose water, and chopped pistachios. In North Africa they are deep-fried, but we have always baked them.

These little triangular-shaped pies are a famous Lenten specialty of the Orthodox Christian communities of Syria and Lebanon. You can serve them hot or cold. They are meant to be tart and lemony. The filling must not be wet or the dough will get soft and will stick to the baking sheet and tear when it is baked. For this reason it is best to use frozen spinach, squeezed dry.

A Syrian and Lebanese specialty.

In Lebanon the turnovers with meat are the most prestigious, but we in Egypt always made cheese ones. No tea party was ever right without them. The recipe for the dough has been passed down in my family for generations as “1 coffee cup of oil, 1 coffee cup of melted butter, 1 coffee cup of warm water, 1 teaspoon of salt, and work in as much flour as it takes.” We baked the pies, but it was also common to fry them in oil.

These Tunisian fried parcels in a crisp casing of ouarka (see page 125) are ubiquitous appetizers in North African restaurants. You can use fillo to make them, although it is not quite the same. They should be served immediately, as soon as they come out of the frying oil.

This is elegant and tasty party fare. The pastries are called briouats in Morocco, where they are made with the paper-thin pancakes called ouarka. Fillo makes an easy and perfect substitute. You can keep the prepared rolls uncooked in the freezer. In Morocco they are fried, but it is much easier to bake them, and the results are very good.

Meat pies are traditionally little triangles. The classic Arab filling is called tatbila. In Turkey, where these are called börek, they use the thicker kind of fillo pastry for them. If your sheets are too thin and look likely to tear, use 2 strips together and brush with melted butter or oil in between.

This is the most popular Turkish börek. The little rolls or “cigars” make ideal appetizers and canapés. It is best to use a thicker quality of fillo, which is not likely to tear during cooking. If the fillo sheets are too thin, use 2 strips together and brush with butter or oil in between. In this case you will need to double the number of sheets.