Atayef Asafiri
Little pancakes cooked on one side only, folded round thick cream and left open at one end so the pistachio shows. Made in enormous quantities in Ramadan.
Photograph credit: قطايف عصافيري1 by عباد ديرانية · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
What Goes With It
- Arabic coffee
- Mint tea
- Fresh dates
Photograph credit: قطايف عصافيري2 by عباد ديرانية · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
Making Atayef Asafiri, Step by Step
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Blend all the batter ingredients until completely smooth and the consistency of single cream. Leave 30 minutes until the surface is covered in bubbles.
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Boil the syrup sugar, water and lemon for 6 minutes, stir in the rose water off the heat, and cool completely.
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Whip the cream to soft peaks and fold in the ricotta, icing sugar and orange blossom water.
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Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat with no fat at all. Drop tablespoons of batter to make 8 cm discs.
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Cook on one side only, 60 to 90 seconds, until the top has lost all its shine and is covered in open holes. Do not turn them.
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Lift onto a cloth and cover. While still warm, fold each in half and pinch the seam from the point to about two-thirds along, leaving one end open.
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Pipe or spoon cream into the open end and dip that end in chopped pistachios. Serve with the cold syrup alongside.
Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.
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A Few Notes
One side only. A turned pancake will not seal.
Wait for the top to go matt and holey before lifting.
Fold while warm — cold ones crack.
Keeping What's Left
Assemble on the day. The unfilled pancakes keep 2 days refrigerated and freeze for a month.
Atayef Asafiri: Your Questions Answered
How long does Atayef Asafiri take to make?
35 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking, plus 30 minutes of standing, so allow 1 hour 25 minutes from start to finish. The method also needs time for cooling completely, which it does not time, so treat that as a minimum. The recipe serves 8.
The Numbers per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
Cooked this? Keep a note for next time
Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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