SC - My redaction of âdhân or Ears

[Harold Tackett]

This is my frist redaction from " An Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook of the
13th Century". I made it for a get together this weekend and it went over
quite well.
The Preparation of âdhân (Ears)
 Knead white flour with water and oil without leaven, then roll out little
thin qursas, like the qursas of aqrû n, and let them be as big as the palm
of a hand or bigger. Fold in two, and mix fold with fold, and open their
edges, and fry, after inserting thin sticks into them so that the open ends
do not seal. And when they are fried, make a filling of pistachios or
almonds and sugar and knead with rosewater, and stuff the "ears" with them.
Whoever wishes to aromatize the stuffing [with spices] may. Then pour into a
plate and moisten with stiffly thickened rosewater syrup, after sprinkling
with rosewater. And sprinkle with sugar, galingale [literally, "wood"],
clove and ground cinnamon and use.[74]

My version:
Paste:      Filling:
1 ½  cup flour             1 cup nuts pistachios or almonds (or ½ cup nuts -
½ cup olive oil                 pistachios / almonds)
1 to 2 tbs. water        ½ cup sugar
Oil for frying                1 to 2 tbs. rosewater
Syrup:                          spices / optional - clove, cinnamon,
galingale*
1 cup Sugar
½ cups water
1 tbs. rosewater
rosewater, sugar, galingale*, clove, and cinnamon mixed together
     Make the Rosewater syrup.  Dissolve the sugar in the water, bring to a
boil.  Cook until it coats the back of a spoon or if you have a candy
thermometor until 200°.  Take off of the heat, add the rosewater.  Let cool.
     Make a paste with the flour, oil and a little water.  When smooth and
rested, take a piece the size of a walnut and shape into a thin circle,
about 4 inches in diameter.  Fold in half, creasing the fold.  Pull the two
ends of the half circle together forming a cone, leave the end of the cone
open.  Fry in oil.
     Mix the nuts and sugar together in a food processor and grind small.
Add the rosewater a little at a time until you get a corse paste.  Add
spices if desired.  Stuff the fried "ears" with the paste.  After stuffing
sprinkle with rosewater and moisten with the Rose syrup.  Dust with the
spices mixture.  Serve, makes approximately 24 pastries.
*Note- I did not have any galingale, I used ground ginger.  I substituted
the ginger for the galingale because of the fact that the are of the same
family.  Another substitution I made was that I used vegetable oil instead
of using olive oil as it would most likely have been.
Dinah bint Ismai'l