[Sca-cooks] Abbasid Qataif (spiced nut filled pastries)

[Johnna Holloway]

In answer to the request “ from On 3/2/17 12:22 PM, Aruvqan wrote—  anybody have a copy of the quataif/kataif recipe that has chicken and is more savory than sweet? My copy of the book collection sort of went up in smoke when the house burnt and it doesn't seem that thepostI made on it about 10 years ago never made it into the FLorithingy ...

Pretty please? 

—
Well this one is about the right time period but it’s a sweet one.

Maybe someone else suggested making it with minced or diced chicken. Those versions appear on the internet.

Johnnae

> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> From: Lilinah <lilinah at earthlink.net>
> Subject: [Sca-cooks] Abbasid Qataif (spiced nut filled pastries)
> Date: May 22, 2008 at 2:44:14 PM EDT
> To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
> Reply-To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
> 
> Abbasid Qataif
> 
> Original Recipe
> (13th C. anonymous Andalusian cookbook)
> 
> It is made from the pierced musahhada that has already been mentioned. Take peeled almonds, pound them and let them dry until they are like semolina. Add as much again of sugar, spikenard, cloves, and Chinese cinnamon. Then take a flat bread (raghif) of the aforementioned musahhada, free of burns, and sprinkle it with those almonds and ground sugar aplenty. Sprinkle it with rosewater in which some camphor is dissolved, and fold it until it is a half circle. Glue the edges with dough wetted in rosewater, and put it in a frying-pan full of fresh oil. Boil it, and then take it out immediately and remove it so it drains of the oil. Let it float in a syrup of roses or julep or skimmed honey. You might make raghifs on raghifs, filled inside, and glue the margins together, and they will turn out circles and halves. [note]
> 
> [note] Huici Miranda's derivation of qataif from a verb meaning to sift flour is wrong. "Qataif" is simply the plural of the noun meaning "plush, velvet"; the texture is more fabric-like than bread. This basic recipe - crepes (the crepes themselves were called "mushahhada" in al-Andalus) folded over around a filling and deep fried - is what the word "qataif" still means in Lebanon and Syria. The "qataif" can be removed from the cooking oil immediately, because the crepe ("flat bread") is already cooked. The last sentence suggests instead of folding over one mushahhada you could glue two together and make a fully round, rather than a half-round, version, so that you can serve both circles and half-circles. (Charles Perry)
> 
> ---
> 
> My Version
> Made about 55 - that were how many wonton wrapper were in my package
> 
> Filling:
> 1 cup Blanched Almonds
> 1 cup Granulated White Sugar
> 1/4 to 1/3 tsp. Powdered Cloves
> 1/2 to 3/4 tsp. Powdered Cinnamon
> 1 tsp. Rosewater (Lebanese)
> 
> 1 pkg. circular Wonton Wrappers
> Mild Vegetable Oil for frying
> --- i mixed safflower and sunflower oils
> 
> Syrup:
> 1/4 c. Honey
> 1/2 c. Water
> 1 tsp. Lemon juice
> 
> Prepare Filling:
> Grind almonds with sugar in the food processor to a somewhat rough stage
> Then mix in cloves, cinnamon, and rosewater by hand.
> I skipped the spikenard, since people seem to find its flavor odd.
> I skipped the camphor because it is a potential health hazard.
> 
> Assemble:
> Fill a small bowl with plain water and set it next to the work space.
> On a baking sheet with low sides, lay out several wonton wrappers.
> Put a small amount of spiced ground nuts on one half.
> With a finger dipped in the bowl of water, moisten half the edge of the wonton, then fold it over the filling, pressing the edges firmly together to seal.
> Repeat until all the filling is used up.
> 
> I did this early in the day.
> 
> Fry:
> Heat about 1 inch of oil in a cast iron skillet or wok.
> Fry as many half-moon as will comfortably fit - i did 6 to 8 at a time - until golden, transferring on a baking sheet with low sides covered with paper towels as soon as they are done.
> Let cool.
> 
> I did this late in the day
> 
> Syrup:
> Mix honey, water, and lemon juice in a small saucepan.
> Bring just to a boil
> Turn off the heat and let the syrup cool.
> When cool, put in a container.
> 
> Pour syrup over the fried pastries shortly before serving them.
> 
> I think these would have been quite good with a little rose petal jam diluted with a little water...
> Watch out for modern rose syrups as many are colored red, which is just horrible! It should be clear and colorless, and is quite easy to make oneself.
> 
> Anyway, i fried them on Friday night and served them on Saturday afternoon, and they were nice and crispy - of course, it has been quite dry here. If you live in a humid climate, they need to be well-sealed as soon as they are fried to keep the humidity out. However, given the instructions to soak in syrup, perhaps they are not meant to be crisp. What do i know? My time machine is malfunctioning :-)
> -- 
> Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
> the persona formerly known as Anahita